If you are an ex-pat living over seas, you are probably well versed in what we like to call the “border run.”
While your first run for the border, which usually occurs on around the expiration date of your tourist visa, is often looked at as an adventure, after a year or two it can become quite a nuisance.
If living in Central America, you probably just worked up enough confidence to be able to confront third world stereotypes about your current temporary home, but you may have a few qualms about crossing into a neighboring country.
I am going to let you all on to a little secret. If you are not smuggling drugs, arms or money from either of the later two into a country, with a little common sense, you really have nothing to fear. I have been yelled at, asked to pay border officers off for “letting me get away with cutting corners,” and have paid fees that don’t exist. But in the end, the damage is minute, and the bark is worse than the bite.
In my recent crossing from Costa Rica into Panama, a well-trained little boy was trying to get me to pay his “friend” to get my passport stamped because I could not present the “required” $500 cash. While my little speech about the credit card’s raison d’etre could not change his staunch demeanor, it did get me approved.
My advice is to look at your border run as an opportunity. Plan in advance, be safe, learn a little about the place you are going, and prepare to be mystified by the differences that do exist in this thin isthmus. Think of it as your quarterly swift kick in the butt to adventure.
By: ClaireSay