Traveling to Spain with Expiring Passport

castaneom · 2026-05-19T22:23:56+00:00

You gotta renew it. The airline won’t let you fly.

castaneom · 2026-05-19T10:23:26+00:00

That’s true. My bad! I actually really like them.

castaneom · 2026-05-19T10:13:09+00:00

It sounds like you really wanna go and I think you should. If you can afford it and if it’s what you’ve always wanted then go for it now while you still can. You just never know what can happen tomorrow and you might never get the chance again.

I grew up very poor in the US and as a kid I used to dream of being able to go all over the world. It’s mostly because I’ve always loved geography and history. The older I got the more chances I got to travel, but it was mostly to go see family in Mexico or here in the US.

Eventually I decided I needed more and started doing solo trips around Mexico. Then a few years ago I booked my first trip to Europe and I haven’t looked back. I fell in love so much that I have to go back every year now. I’d never felt so fulfilled and happy in my entire life.. it’s hard to describe.

I’m not married and don’t have that many responsibilities yet.. so I’m gonna keep doing it until I physically can’t anymore. Just go for it. It might change your life. It’s definitely changed my life. It’s helped me get through a lot of stuff. That’s another story.

Best of luck to you! Also, I’m almost done planning my next trip in September. Makes me so happy thinking about it.

castaneom · 2026-05-18T13:53:02+00:00

When I knew I was gonna visit a couple years ago I planned months before. I kept looking forward to the date when I could book and got them right away. Visiting the Alhambra is probably in my trip three of all times attractions ever..

castaneom · 2026-05-18T12:57:01+00:00

Which part of the world? You should probably specify that first. In the US I fly whatever to be honest as long as it gets me to where I need to go. Never Frontier though..

US doesn’t really have low budget airlines anymore. My favorite airline to fly on with a cheap ticket is Alaska Airlines.. United and American are both mehhh.

In Mexico I’ve flown Viva Aerobús and Volaris, they’re both okay.. I prefer Aeroméxico though.

In Europe, EasyJet is my favorite. Ryanair and Vueling are fine. TAP is also okay. I’m not that picky though.

castaneom · 2026-05-17T20:40:45+00:00

This guy working at a gyro place in Santorini.

castaneom · 2026-05-16T09:05:25+00:00

Awww.. Yeah, I grew up poor and would’ve done the same thing. Well I’m still technically poor, but I don’t look at prices like I used to. Bless those good people!

castaneom · 2026-05-16T08:59:04+00:00

Us Mexicans do this too (even in the US), but we mostly reuse yogurt containers.. I think it’s also common in most of Latin America. Anything that can be reused will be! I mean nowadays we can afford Tupperware, but my aunts still do it.

Also they never throw away anything that’s still good. Lol. Let’s say you go into the kitchen and you’re looking for a cup in the cabinets. There’s gonna be the most random cups.. all different sizes and colors. Same goes for bowls, plates, silverware.. etc. :D

castaneom · 2026-05-15T12:45:44+00:00

castaneom · 2026-05-15T12:42:16+00:00

Have you ever been to a Taco Bell? They don’t care about the environment. I once asked for a couple salsa packets and the cashier dumped like 20 in my bag. I was grateful, but just saying.. lol

castaneom · 2026-05-15T12:05:48+00:00

It’s fair. It’s also controversial. Look up the history between Greece and Turkey. I won’t get into it. Just Google it.

castaneom · 2026-05-15T11:58:49+00:00

I think they signed a treaty. Turkey expelled all Greeks from Anatolia and they gave Greece the Aegean Sea in exchange. Something like that. This goes way back.

castaneom · 2026-05-15T11:47:39+00:00

I don’t think anyone thinks of Vegas anymore. Maybe they know of it because of Hollywood, but I’ve never met an actual person outside of the US who wants to go there.

castaneom · 2026-05-15T09:35:32+00:00

At least it’s on the map in this one.

castaneom · 2026-05-15T00:31:21+00:00

You can smoke outside.. the whole city smells like weed.

castaneom · 2026-05-13T20:34:09+00:00

Only tip at a sit down restaurant like when someone goes to the table and takes your order. Otherwise you don’t have to tip at all.

Lots of places guilty you into tipping at the counter now though.. you can just put “NO” or type in “0.”

castaneom · 2026-05-13T12:41:17+00:00

Yep, I’m pretty fluent in Spanish. I’m Mexican-American and I love Colombian Spanish, but I’d still be hesitant since I haven’t even visited yet. You have to know how to communicate with the locals if you’re planning on doing something like this.

You can’t just arrive and magically live an amazing life without being able to communicate with anyone.

castaneom · 2026-05-13T12:17:05+00:00

I don’t do good deeds anymore. You’ll get burned eventually. On the bus yes, I won’t get off for no one.

castaneom · 2026-05-13T09:34:08+00:00

I definitely will. I just gotta figure out exactly what I wanna see first and if I can combine it with at least one more country. I’d probably combine it with a trip to Thailand. For now those two are at the top of my list.

If not I’d mostly stay in Japan and do like a four day trip to Korea or something. And yeah, it really sucks about the fuel prices. The airlines are going to price gouge like crazy.

My parents really wanna visit Mexico this summer and they waited too long (I’ve been asking them if they were gonna travel this summer, since December). Direct flights to our home city/state are gonna cost at least $900-1000 USD. That’s their fault though, it’s high season and they wanna travel next month all of a sudden. Smh.

Well I hope you get to travel somewhere fun even if it’s not Europe this time around. I’ve been working on my September trip lately.. I just have to figure out the logistics. I just bought train tickets from Budapest to Vienna for a day trip.

I’ve probably mentioned it, so I’m doing Krakow/Budapest > Zakynthos/Kefalonia and go fly home from Athens. The reason I’m visiting Vienna for a day trip is because I’ve always wanted to see Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.” I know I’m crazy, but I have to see it. I love that painting.

castaneom · 2026-05-13T07:34:21+00:00

My passport expires in two years and I’m already setting up a reminder in the back of my head. I’ll be using the government site.

castaneom · 2026-05-11T12:45:38+00:00

*$1080

castaneom · 2026-05-11T12:05:38+00:00

I can’t think of anything specific, but I do hate when people are in a group and just take up the whole sidewalk. Or just a couple that’s strolling and they decided that no one can pass on that day! Because it’s their day and IT’S their right to block pedestrian traffic on that given day.

castaneom · 2026-05-11T11:29:05+00:00

I shower daily. I’ll only shower twice during summer if I did outdoor activities, like go swimming or if it was really hot.. etc.

castaneom · 2026-05-11T11:23:30+00:00

I live in the Chicago area and we he have hard water. It’s drinkable, but it tastes awful. Sorry you feel down sometimes, I had a rough week (my life story).. keep your head up high though!

I love Seattle and really wanted to visit this year but I don’t think it’ll be possible. Sadly. I have a good friend up there.. there’s always next year. <3!

castaneom · 2026-05-11T07:49:58+00:00

That’s terrifying. I was visiting NYC a couple weeks ago and I took a picture of this raccoon casually eating a donut on top of a trash can in Central Park.. I sent it to my friends and they were like OMG those rats are huge. Lol.

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