Exit Mania

 As I alluded to yesterday, whenever I or we head out for travel various things seem to come up. I am off on Wednesday to Ghana where things are really heating up with the Theodora Project. But a trip to Ghana is never without its share of travel requirement angst in this age of Covid. 

For those who may have forgotten, going to Ghana has four requirements before you can board a plane and then one other when you arrive. They are:

1. You must have a PCR Covid test no more than 72 hours before you board your flight
2. You must upload these results to the African CDC and get a QPR code that you will show when you check in
3. You must pre-pay for a Rapid Antigen test administered when you arrive in Ghana
4. And you must fill in an online Health Questionnaire which can only be done if you have fulfilled # 3 and get a special code.

Let's see how it went.

1. It was impossible to get free Covid test. All available venues were booked out for over a week. I ended up paying for a test at the airport. Who knew if they were going to be swamped. They weren't. We are in New Mexico. People are cheap here. No one is going to actually pay for a test.
2.  This actually went very smoothly. Amazing.
3. I've done this multiple times without a problem. This time the site rejected my credit card. And my second one. And my third. I call the credit card companies and they say they are not blocking the transaction. I communicate with the Ghana health organization and they send a reply about something called 3D security and how possibly if you are from a North American bank you won't be able to use your credit card. None of the customer service reps of the banks we are with have a clue what 3D security is. Fortunately I try a fourth card and have success. 
4. I can now fill out this form. When I submit it, there is an error message saying "you must input a number." Unfortunately it doesn't highlight which field they are talking about. After much trial and error, I find I have put a space in the phone numbers. Eliminating the space and the form is accepted. 

There you have it folks. Another fun day in the world of Covid era travel.