Visa Problems

Spending February, April and now into May in the Mexico City area are more than I had ever planned.

Required visas needed when traveling throughout the world, but sometime they can be time-consuming, and that can be problematic all on its own. I have had to postpone my travels for several months due to visa issues that ordinary vacation travelers would not.

I did not fully understand the visa process when I first started my journey into Mexico; otherwise I would have gotten a different visa and not the tourist type. Tourist visas are only good for six months, and within that timeline everyone most leave the country without exceptions. Mexico is too broad of a county for me to try and take it all in just six months and I needed to extend the visa. I had to leave the country… That was the main reason for my trip back home to Seattle. 

Once back home I went to the Mexican Consulate and acquired a nonresident visa; and I am still waiting for the paperwork to come via online, so now I sit. Once I get the information, then I go back to the immigration office and pick up my nonresident card. Then I can get the papers needed so I can take my car again without worrying that it could be impounded.

The following countries I want to travel into are much smaller so the travel visas will work Belize and El Salvador are so small I want to spend about one month in each mostly due to the diving opportunities, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are not much bigger so the standard visas will work. 

I want to be in Costa Rica by April 2014. I want to get a good feel for the country and unexpected places to see and things to do because; I am hoping my grandchildren will be able to see me there during their summer vacation. Because there is so much for me to see and do there, I will need to stop and make sure that I can come and go, leave my car, and stay for at least a year… More on how that works out eventually.