On Saturday night, I found myself arguing in Spanish with an airline agent in the airport of Lima, Peru. The story, of course, starts way before that moment.
Our itinerary back to Honduras went something like this:
5 years ago I got my yellow fever vaccine in Lusaka, Zambia- a requirement for my trip to Tanzania. I've carried that card around with me ever since, not knowing if I would ever need it again (sometimes my tendency to hoard works in my favor). When friends visited me in Honduras earlier this year, they then went on to Peru and regaled me with a long story of how proof of yellow fever vaccination was required for part of their trip. My ears perked up, knowing that I was going to Peru later in the spring for a Samaritan's Purse retreat.
Fast forward to 10 days ago. I was getting packed for Peru and wrote myself several reminders to bring my yellow fever vaccine card. As I began organizing my 'important papers' stack into my new desk, mostly motivated by my need to find this vaccine card, a growing sense of panic arose. 3 or 4 searches through the entire house, including my important papers, and no yellow card turned up. Since it wasn't here, there was only one other place it could be (well, really, 2 or 3 other places)- in my important documents folder I left at my parents' house for safekeeping.
Identifying the location turned out to be only the start of the challenge. My parents were out of the country, and my brother was away for work. Praise God for friendly helpful neighbors like the Lujans, and for Skype! I called and e-mailed Stan and Amy, with instructions on where I thought the vaccine record might be. They were able to get ahold of my brother for how to get into the house. Their reconnaissance mission was successful- my yellow vaccine card was found safely tucked away!
Now for how to get it to me...pdf scanner to the rescue! The vaccine record appeared in my e-mail inbox within minutes, and I even found some yellow card stock to print it out on. Crisis averted.
We boarded the plane in Honduras with no problems. The week in Peru was wonderfully refreshing, with beautiful scenery, an amazing hotel, great people, and a visit to another mission hospital. I mostly enjoyed not sweating for 7 days, and getting to hike on trails without fear of snakes.
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| view from my hotel room |
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| Diopsi Suyana hospital in Curahuasi, Peru |
Our itinerary back to Honduras went something like this:
Wake up in Curahuasi, 3 hour drive to Cusco. Shop/eat/relax in Cusco for 5 hours, 15 minute drive to airport. Fly from Cusco to Lima. 7 hour layover in Lima (from 9pm to 4am); fly from Lima to El Salvador, El Salvador to Roatan, wait a few hours. Ferry from Roatan to La Ceiba, grocery shop, drive 90 minutes home.
This blog began in the 7 hour middle-of-the-night layover in Lima. We arrived from Cusco, schlepped our bags from the baggage claim in the domestic terminal over to the international terminal and checked in for our international flights. No problem with the checked bags, or finding our reservations. Then the dreaded words: "Can I have your yellow fever vaccine records?" I handed over my yellow paper copy of the yellow fever vaccine card.
It felt like when you are doing a transaction online and get an error message, or when you scan something at the grocery store and it won't accept the item you are trying to purchase. "I'm sorry, this is a copy. You need to have an original. Do you have an original?" Why yes, I have an original...but it is in Alaska. Definitely not in Peru. Unless you have a magic owl like Hedwig, obtaining the original is going to be impossible at this time of night on another continent.
Then began my frustrations with bureaucracy. My printed out copy is clearly proof that I received the vaccine. Why an original is needed still is completely beyond my comprehension. She was unmoved. She claimed the authorities in Honduras require an original, though we walked off the plane in Roatan without even a mention of the vaccine record.
Not to worry, there is a solution here somewhere. The airline agent stated that there was a health center back in the domestic terminal where I could get an original card with the information transcribed from my vaccine record copy. We strode over to the domestic terminal where, sure enough, there was a health center. You could get the yellow fever vaccine for $175, or a malaria vaccine for $12.50, or a copy of a malaria vaccine card for $12.50. I was hoping there was another category for 'copy of yellow fever vaccine card'- maybe it was free? The helpful lady at the desk said that they could in fact give me a yellow vaccine card, for the same price as the malaria vaccine card. I had successfully spent all of my Peruvian soles by the time I reached the airport and of course they did not take credit cards. Off to the ATM I went to get the necessary money. The smallest denomination I could take out was about $20, and the ATM charged me a $6 fee. I came back to pay the fee, and the lady at the desk inspected the bill carefully to make sure it was not counterfeit. It appeared to be legitimate, but unfortunately they did not have change for my single bill that the ATM gave me. Back out to the domestic terminal where there are money changing services. They were able to give me 5 bills for the 1 bill that I had. The health center lady inspected each of the 4 bills I handed over, and they must have passed the test because she took my vaccine card back to the doctor who was on-duty. (In that moment, I was glad that my job is not being the night shift on-duty doctor at the airport health center whose express purpose seems to be re-writing vaccine documents). I got called back to the office where she verified my name, date of birth, and date of vaccination, rewrote everything on a Peruvian yellow fever vaccine card, and handed it over. Now with $6 in Peruvian soles in my hand, and a brand new shiny vaccine card, we walked back over to the international terminal (which includes a mandatory trip outside on the sidewalk), showed my card, and I got my boarding pass. I'm calling it my $26 cultural experience.
Lessons to be learned:
1) If you get a vaccine, keep a record.
2) If you have a vaccine record, keep it with you wherever you go in the world. You never know when you will need it.
