My Horoscope Predicted This Would Happen

I totally get why most of the population doesn’t read their horoscopes. Most of the magazines and websites that print monthly zodiac predictions just spew out vague details that can be bent and misconstrued until they fit everyone who was born in the month of October. Despite this fact, I am obsessed (quite unabashedly) with reading my horoscope on the first of each month. I read AstrologyZone.com, which publishes a very detailed analysis at the beginning of each month. Yes, I take it with a grain of salt, but it tends to be pretty accurate most of the time. (I know, I just said that most of the horoscopes can be made to fit, but whatever…) So this month, I happen to read my horoscope and it’s all about not traveling the second half of the month. There are a few lines about miscommunication and travel-related blunders, but I decided to ignore the astrological warnings. I was already traveling after all, and had no plans on turning around just because AstrologyZone.com warned Capricorns to be cautious in September. And then the travel nightmares began…

1.) When we checked Into Orpheus Rooms in Mykonos, the landlady took my passport to make a photocopy of it for the hotels records. This is a standard procedure. Seth had been holding my passport for the ferry trip and handed the lady my passport when we checked in. The actual owner of the hotel was the son of the lady who took my passport, but he was out of town when we checked in. I was supposed to collect my passport when her son, George, returned the following day. As I mentioned before, we were only in Mykonos for 3 days; we all forgot about my passport and when we checked out George forgot to give it back.

Fast-forward to about 3 hours later. Avery, Seth, and I are en route to Athens when we realize my passport is still at Orpheus Rooms. We all freak out because our ferry gets in at 7:45 pm and we have a flight to Delhi the next day at 2:00 pm. I am basically having a panic attack and insist on speaking with one of the Blue Star Ferries officers. I figured that when the ferry dropped off some of the passengers at the next island, I would get off, take the next ferry back to Mykonos, get my passport, and head back on the next ferry to Athens. I start spitting out my plan at a mile a minute and the Greek officials tell me to slow down. I try again, but no one has any idea what I am saying.

Suddenly, this man comes out of the back office and saves the day. Nicolas suggests that we call George, have him rush the passport over to the Mykonos port, give the passport to the Hellenic Seaways officials on the high-speed ferry to Athens, and meet the Hellenic crew at the Athens seaport at 8:30 pm to collect my passport. Nicolas makes the phone calls to all the appropriate people, and I hold my breath all the way to Athens. At this point my stomach is in knots and I have a stress headache; I keep thinking, Am I an idiot? Who leaves their passport with people in a hotel? Do you really think you can handle the next three months in Asia? I was a mess.

I have to write a thank you letter to Nicolas and Blue Star Ferries, because at 8:30 pm I rushed onto the high-speed ferry and bombarded the nearest man in a uniform. I blurted out a, “HimynameisJessicaFigueroaandIthinkthecaptainhasmypassport. CanIyouhelpmeplease?” As soon as the man heard my name he called over his fellow crew members and a group of 5 men reunited me and my passport (which was locked away in an envelope, in a locked file cabinet, behind a locked gate). Everyone on the ship had heard my story and were almost as happy as I was to see my heinous passport picture. Crisis avoided.

2.) Although my scare was resolved, the curse was not over. We finally get on the subway and are on our way to Hotel Aristoteles. There is a group of four people who seem to be in a bit of a fight, so the three of us move out of their way. As the doors open to our stop, one of the men pushes into me and I snap, “We are all getting out at the stop so you don’t have to push!” I turn around and see that the same man and his 3 accomplices are pushing Avery around. She pushes the away and we continue on to the hotel.

For a brief second we check our backpacks and the zippers to make sure the crazy people didn’t try to take anything, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. Then we got to the hotel. Avery goes to get something from her bag and realizes that her wallet is missing. We rip apart her backpack and purse and it is nowhere to be found. Not only were her credit cards and money inside, but her passport, drivers license, and backup copies were all taken. In case you forgot, we were supposed to leave for Delhi the following day; needless to say, we postponed our flight.

Long, long story short, we head to the US Embassy, get Avery a temporary passport, and try to get her an Indian visa. The Indian Consulate isn’t as timely as the US Embassy and tells her that it will take 7 business days to process her request. Furthermore,in order to get to all of the places on our itinerary, Avery needs more than the 5-page temporary passport for all of our visas. She does the math and decides that a week in NYC to sort out all of her visa/passport stuff is more efficient than spending 9 days in Greece(the amount it takes to get an Indian visa, never mind the additional time it would take to get another Vietnam visa). So that’s where Avery is now.

Seth and I rearranged our flights and flew to Delhi the next day. I will pick up in Delhi in my next post.