Athena53

All the posts with this keyword were pretty old so I'm starting a new one, hoping to get recent experience.

DH, my beloved travel companion, died last November. He was 15 years older and had health issues, so I'd expected that I'd outlive him and always planned to scatter bits of his ashes in some of the places we loved- and new places that he was never able to visit with me.

That starts next month when I go to Central America. What's least likely to be confiscated? I'm planning on putting a few ounces of them in a baggie and keeping it in my carry-on. If you haven't seen cremains (sorry if this is TMI), they look pretty much like greyish particles with the occasional larger chips of bone. Hard to mistake them for anything elsealthough I sppose a terrorist with some imagination could mix explosives with them. I have a large plastic container from the funeral home that's large enough to contain all his ashes; it's got his name and my name on it (the latter as the person who authorized cremation). If that would make them feel better I can certainly bring it with me; I can also bring a death certificate. I'll mostly be pis*ed if they confiscate them- there will be plenty more at home- but how can I maximize my chances of getting DH's ashes through without a major incident?

Thanks.

catocony

This is an extremely bad idea. It's generally not legal to transport remains of any kind without quite a bit of paperwork, and international transport is even harder. I had a friend die in Brasil a while back and it took a couple of months to get the paperwork in order for the cremains to be brought back to the US. I have no idea what it would involve going the other way.

If you don't get caught, then you're ok. But, especially in foreign countries, if you're caught, you will be in a world of hurt.

bitterproffit

Putting a few ounces of any powder in a baggie and traveling internationally is never a good idea. While I don't recommend traveling with cremains, maybe something less innocuous like a small opaque container that could be also thought of as makeup or foundation? Since its symbolic, you don't need really a lot of cremains. I have traveled with cremains but never internationally. Be careful and also know that your travel companion would enjoy the caper.

Athena53

catocony, thanks for the dire warning- I really don't want to get into trouble over this and, God willing, I was planning to do this in a wide variety of countries (Panama, Costa Rica Iceland and India booked, Scotland will be next on the list). My main concern had been getting them out of the US but, now that you mention it, I remember my incoming bag was X-rayed in Bangalore once so that probably happens elsewhere.

bitterprofit, I think I can get a little more creative. One thought I had was a brand of baking-soda-based toothbrushing powder I bought during the "no liquids in carry-on" insanity. It came in a small, almost opaque blue plastic bottle and that may be the best option. I flew with it many times when I didn't want to bother with a Freedom Baggie (I don't use makeup and am happy with whatever shampoo the hotel provides so no need for any other liquids) and it never got any attention.

Yes, DH would find this a funny problem to solve. While checking for the toothbrushing powder I came across the prescription cough syrup bottle he always used to carry on so he could have a little nip of gin on the plane when he wanted it. The prescription date was in 2008. Of course the label is so faded it's hard to read! It's been in more countries than the average American.

Our travels will always be one of the most precious of my memories of our years together. The picture I used for his obituary showed him enjoying a can of Gull beer in Geysir, Iceland.

GUWonder

Sorry to hear about your loss and my condolences to you on his death.

I know someone who traveled internationally with some of their relative's cremated remains always while traveling and probably still does. While I haven't heard of any instances of her having had the cremated remains in her pendant (and perhaps even a ring) seized by airport security or customs, I suspect there is a chance that it could happen or that they could otherwise end up being in part mishandled by the screeners if they ever decide to investigate the item too closely.

In a sealed bag of toiletries, it's more likely to be flagged for examination but it's less likely to be singled out for extra-close scrutiny compared to other stuff in the toiletries/make-up kit. Customs is highly unlikely to notice such items, but if the person is flagged as a drug-smuggler, then the chances of issues rise. Volume, I suspect, matters. If you put an item with cremated remains in a container that is then placed close to your electronics, you'll increase the chances of it being flagged. The chances of it being flagged amongst make-up and some limited jewelry in a 3-1-1 bag and confiscated is very low.

Athena53

That thought occurred to me, too. The mortuary offered pendants and tiny glass flasks that would hold some cremains- not my thing (I went for a silver charm with a digital version of DH's fingerprint) but I could put some in an inexpensive locket. As bitterprofit noted, this is a symbolic act and a small amount will do. There's always the possibility they'd open the locket of a perfectly-average-looking 64-year old lady but it's a tiny possibility.

pinkcat

I have been taking portions of my husbands ashes with me on all my trips for the last 3 years and never had an issue at all. I carry them in a small pot and "declare" them at security screening.

catocony

Pinkcat, what countries have you traveled to? Odd as it seems, cremation is illegal in some Catholic countries.

Brasil is weird - you can't be cremated until 3 years after death unless a judge signs off on a will, usually for foreigners. Twice I've had friends - US ones who died in Rio - be interred in a cemetery for 3 years. After that, they don't seem to care. You return to the cemetery and they put the bones in a paper box for you and you carry it out like leftovers from a picnic. You can then have the bones cremated, bury them, put them in a vault, deposit them in random locations on the beaches in a macabre joke, hand them to a little kid and say "here's a present for you", throw the box in a corner and forget about it, etc.

I have experience with dead gringos in Rio de Janeiro, in case anyone's wondering

Athena53

Thanks- that makes me feel better! I probably have to be more careful in Central America since there may be more Catholic sentiment there. I remember somewhere reading about a woman whose husband died suddenly in a Central American or South American country where cremation was illegal. She had to bury him there and go home to the US because she couldn't afford to repatriate his body. My main concern had been getting through the TSA at my home airport without any issues but catocony's responses have reminded me that the country I'm entering may have an issue as well.

I've also sent an e-mail to an old HS friend of DH's, who scattered some ashes of a mutual friend of theirs in the Panama Canal, to ask how he got them there.

Flyingmama

I took my husband's cremains back to the UK so he could be buried with his family, and no one asked anything about it - either leaving the US or entering the UK. Just to be safe I took his death certificate and cremation receipt with me, but didn't need them. No one was interested in what was in the box.

Athena53

Response from friend: "I just put Jack's ashes in a clear glass bottle with a stopper, and put it in my checked bag. There were no questions or problems, on the airlines or the Princess cruise ships. I spread ashes on at least two separate cruises, to the Panama Canal and to the Baltic, and it was fine.

After all, you can carry a pistol in checked baggage, as long as you have the pistol and the ammo separately, and it isn't loaded.

So I don't think you'll have any problems. But if you are concerned, you might use an opaque container with an innocuous label, as you suggested."

I'm leaning between the blue plastic bottle or a prescription bottle- definitely in my carry-on so some bozo inspecting my luggage doesn't think it's cocaine and steal it. I'll keep a death certificate with me. I like the idea of pointing it out and telling the TSA what it is before they X-ray the bag- I suspect once I tell them it's DH's ashes, 99% of them won't want to touch it.

Athena53

OK, here's what I decided and it worked. Put some ashes in a travel-size Gold Bond Medicated Powder bottle (opaque) in my checked bag. Got into Panama last night with no issues at all. Knowing the recent Roman Catholic pronouncements against taking possession of a loved one's cremains and scattering them willy-nilly, and seeing that they won't even sell alcohol here today in observance of Good Friday, I'm not going to bring this up in conversation with anyone.

Transiting the Canal tomorrow night.

pinkcat

Nowhere particularly Catholic
USA(including AK and HI) Ireland, Germany, Belgium.

:D!

is like 80% Catholic (how many practise and how many truly believe I don't know) though obviously the state is more secular