Visa done

Ticked another box tonight; got the visa applications all packed into the envelopes. Was all set to do it a couple of months ago and then all of a sudden I couldn’t find my passport. I’d had it in the study and used it to fill out the visa form and then it disappeared into thin air. Searched all the usual places four or five times. So that one simmered on the back burner for six weeks until one weekend Rachel came in and asked me if I knew why my passport was in the attic. It was on the floor wedged between a couple of boxes. Now that’s a puzzle. We have an old turn of the previous century house with a walk up attic full of all kinds of stuff, a lot of which we packed up before the move to England and haven’t unpacked since we moved back here in 1999. I’m just glad to have the passport back….lots of good memories in all the stamps.

Now I don’t really feel good about putting my passport in an envelope and mailing it off, but I don’t feel like driving into DC either so off it goes. They want the money order (easy), proof of airplane tickets (easy) and proof that I have money to sustain myself (wtf?) or something like that. Did anybody do anything about that? I’m planning on ignoring it.

I’m meeting up with Rachel and we’re going on a short safari and spending a few days in Zanzibar after the trek. On the way back we fly from Dar to Nairobi and then Amsterdam and the US. A couple of sources said you have to buy some kind of stopover or transit visa but that makes no sense and I’ve never had to worry about landing in an intermediate country if you just take off again.