Another Lesson We've Learned

We're still learning so much as we travel. Just when we think we have things figured out; we have a set back. We should be in Cartagena Colombia by now but we didn't do the homework needed to board the plane. We've had our One-Way tickets booked for a few months now on Spirit Airlines. We left Houston on a Wednesday (07/09) to Orlando Florida. We were spending the night here and board a plane early morning on Thursday to Colombia. When we got to the check-in counter we were told that we needed to have booked a return flight to the States. What? We're Americans we can come and go as we please. We don't need to check in with our government. We tried to explain to the ticket agent that we were traveling South America for the next 5 months. We have no intentions of staying in Colombia the whole time. We do know and understand that each country has regulations as to how long we can stay without getting special permissions from the Embassy. We told the agent that we would be traveling on by bus and returning to the states from Argentina at a date we weren't sure of. Well, that didn't fly. We could not board the plane without a "returned" flight. We were so upset as you could imagine. Bob & I did some research and made a few calls. Even though we as Americans can come and go as we wish; some countries want to know where and how long we plan to visit and some require some documentation as to us leaving the country. We can understand that. But, all the airlines require return flights in their policy. We still think this is a crazy policy. As long as we follow the visiting countries regulations we shouldn't have to book a returned ticket till we're ready. But, anyway- Bob found a loop-hole. We now have a "returned ticket" out of Colombia back to the States. We booked a full fare, unrestricted and fully refundable ticket. We now have proof to provide the airlines that we are returning as they require. But as soon as we get to Colombia we will cancel that flight, get our money back and continue our travels thru South America. I tell ya....we learn something new all the time. When we left the States to Mexico by bus we didn't have these problems. So, we're still in Orlando Fl. We're scheduled to fly out this coming Sunday. In the meantime; we're having a great time here taking in some sites and I have some down time to catch up on my blogging. As everyone knows; you are more than welcome to join us at any point. We plan to visit Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile & Argentina this next leg of our journey. We'd love to see ya if you can swing. We'll post our next destination as soon as we get things figured out. Best deals are found at the last minute, ya know. Maybe we'll see you very soon. Take care and much love to all. B&B