- While hiking in Colombia, I ruined my passport by allowing it to get wet during a rainstorm.
- Years later, I made the same mistake at a rainy baseball game in Japan. This time, it was worse.
- After two close calls with immigration officials, I protect my travel documents in waterproof cases.
Despite visiting 109 countries, I’ve made the same rookie mistake twice with my most important travel document — my passport.
Both incidents nearly left me stranded abroad and taught me a lesson I’ll now never forget.
My first passport disaster happened during a Colombian downpour
imantsu/Getty Images
On a trip to Colombia, my group spent the night camping in the beautiful Tayrona National Park. To reach our accommodation, we hiked for two hours through a lush rainforest.
We carried small daypacks with our essentials, including travel documents. About a mile into our hike, a massive storm rolled in.
The relentless rain turned the trail into small streams while water dripped from the thick canopy above.
After trudging through the deluge for two hours, we finally reached our accommodation, soaked to the bone. Everything in my daypack — including my passport — was completely waterlogged.
Staying in a remote national park with limited facilities, we had few options for drying our stuff. I attempted to separate the pages carefully and let them air dry, but the damage was done.
Border crossing became an especially nerve-racking experience
When I left Colombia a week later, my passport was still in terrible condition. As I approached immigration, I felt a growing sense of dread because damaged passports can be rejected by border officials.
The official spent an uncomfortable amount of time scrutinizing my damaged passport, meticulously flicking through each page.
After what felt like an eternity, I explained my unfortunate hiking adventure. To my relief, his stern expression softened into a smile.
He stamped my passport, allowing me to board my flight home. Had this official denied my exit, I could’ve been stranded for days or weeks while securing emergency documentation from my embassy.
I’d gotten lucky. I promised myself I would never put my passport at risk again.
Incredibly, I repeated the same mistake in Japan
Ash Jurberg
Several years later, my family and I attended a baseball game in Osaka, Japan.
Despite another sudden downpour, we chose to stay and experience the game from our uncovered seats. Completely immersed in the excitement, I forgot about my passport, which I’d carelessly kept in my back pocket.
As we jumped up and down, cheering with the crowd, my passport slowly absorbed water with every passing minute.
To make matters worse, this was a brand-new passport I’d received just two weeks before our trip.
This time, my passport’s damage was more severe
Back at our hotel, I discovered my passport was in worse condition than the time in Colombia. The pages were completely stuck together, and the ink had started running.
I desperately tried drying it with a hairdryer, terrified I would also damage its microchip or barcode. Although it eventually dried, the main identification page remained noticeably smudged.
At immigration, the official had the same bemused expression as his Colombian counterpart. This time, he called over a colleague for a consultation in Japanese.
My heart sank as I watched them discuss my damaged document.
After a few tense minutes, they allowed me through but advised me to get a new passport upon returning home — which I did, at considerable expense and inconvenience.
After 2 lucky escapes, I’ve finally learned my lesson
Protecting your passport should be a top priority for any traveler, whether you’ve visited one country or 100.
Since these close calls, I’ve implemented a non-negotiable travel rule: My passport always stays in a protective waterproof cover.
Although I was fortunate to encounter understanding officials twice, a simple protective case would’ve saved me from the anxiety of those border crossings and the $250 replacement cost of my passport.
