time the agent tries to get a word in edgewise , all I hear echoing off my side off the plexiglass barrier is , “ No , no , no , no , no …”
This would be mildly entertaining if it weren ’ t so damn humid .
The plexiglass offices that separately house the immigration and customs offices at either end of the room , are less about protecting the staff and more about containing the air conditioning . The public area of the office is sweltering . It ’ s approaching 5pm , and the rhythmic chanting of “ no , no , no no ” in the background fills my head . I suddenly realise that I haven ’ t eaten all day and start getting lightheaded .
I begin to wonder if I ’ m ever going to get out of here , f I ’ ll ever see my passport again . They surely won ’ t let me into Nicaragua , and without a passport , they won ’ t let me back into Honduras . Perhaps I ’ ll just spend the rest of my days here , between borders , in this narrow strip of sweaty jungle .
I begin to see what Jed had been staring at earlier . The infinite …
Lost in thought , teetering between laughing and crying , I ’ m suddenly summoned to the here and now by an inspection form being angrily shook in my face .
“ Inspection form ! Inspection form ! Inspect …” I snatch it out of his hand before he can say it a third time .
My insistent friend stands there , impatiently waiting as I fill out the paperwork . I take my time .
Inspection form in hand , and clearly anxious for something to do , my insistent friend leads me to a giant , free-standing steel structure , hidden in the jungle on the hillside above Immigration . I round the corner to a series of instructional signs and a traffic light at the foot of a 3D x-ray machine , mounted via a series of overhead tracks , large
TRAVERSE 105