So on February 11, 2022, my carefully planned Caribbean vacation to Isle Mujeres began.\u00a0 The trip was a fundraiser for KAXE Radio out of Grand Rapids Minnesota. I flew from Bozeman, Montana, to Minneapolis, where I met up with my friend Mary.\u00a0 Mary is the one who graciously invited me on this adventure.<\/p>\n

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She and I stayed in a really neat basement Air B&B, went to the Mall of America to explore, and ate dinner at Jimmy Buffet\u2019s Margaritaville.\u00a0https:\/\/www.margaritavillemallofamerica.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The next day we joined our fellow travelers at the airport, all retirees
living in Minnesota.\u00a0 These folks heading out on the KAXE trip are all
associated with the oldest rural independently operated public radio station, in one way or another.\u00a0 http:\/\/kaxe.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Waiting for the flight to Cancun.<\/span><\/figure>\n

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Saturday<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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On Saturday morning, we took the 3.5-hour flight to Cancun.\u00a0 From
Cancun, we took a ferry across to the island, where we met up with the last two members of the tropical trip, Lissa and John, the hosts of the trip.\u00a0https:\/\/www.islamujeresferry.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Over the course of the next week, I hung out with some amazing people, saw world class sites, ate fabulous food, and worked on a great \u201cnot in Montana\u201d tan!\u00a0 I also picked the brains of people with a lot more experience in this world than I have; that alone was worth the trip!<\/p>\n

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On Saturday the 19th as we were en route to the airport, I made a careless mistake. I did not take my purse with me to the bathroom at Puerto Juarez, the Cancun port. I left it with all the luggage and my compatriots, not thinking about how small and easy to grab my purse was, relative to other luggage.<\/p>\n

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Of course, my purse contained my passport, credit cards, cash and pesos; every piece of paper or plastic that would prove who I am. \u00a0And my phone, with dozens of photos of the once-in-a-lifetime sites I\u2019d visited.<\/p>\n

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Since the rest of the group had to move forward, Michael, who was
tasked with getting folks back to Minnesota, stepped up.\u00a0 He called the Lissa and John, who said get her a ferry ticket and send her over.<\/p>\n

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