Friday, February 2, 2018
Panama to the U.S.A.
The alarm rudely blared at 4:45 a.m., reminding us that we're to meet Ricardo, our taxi driver, downstairs at 6:15. Ships pass through the canal 24 hours a day, and I watched them from our window as I sipped my first cup of coffee. There was heavy traffic on the Bridge of the Americas even at five o'clock in the morning. This city never sleeps.
Pre-dawn view from our room
Breakfast, included in the price of the room, starts at 6:00 a.m. It's a big buffet, but since we got there at 6:08, that left me only seven minutes to scarf some eggs and grab a banana to go before meeting Ricardo. Nothing to eat for Tom this early. Ricardo was driving a nice modern SUV and got us to the Tocumen International Airport on the other side of Panama City in half an hour ($35).
Let me tell you, the security at this airport is pretty dang strict. They confiscated my very ordinary tweezers and broke the teeny tiny file off my nail clippers. Give me a break. As that was happening, I looked back and saw a female security officer giving Tom a pat-down so thorough, I was starting to get jealous! Then we had to go through security a second time when we got to the gate. Sheesh.
Copa Airlines flight 304 left Panama City at 9:05 a.m. and arrived at Dulles at 1:52 p.m. For some damn reason, U.S. Passport Control only had ONE officer checking the U.S. citizens' passports, so immigration took pretty much forever. We caught the shuttle back to our car parked at the Sheraton in Reston, Virginia, and then we still had to drive to Tennessee, arriving home safe and sound at 11:30 p.m. Since we got up at 4:45, it made for a very long day, and in spite of all the fun we'd had, we were happy to be home...
Parting shot: Tom at Cinta Costera Park, Panama City
THE END
Tom
Goetz's Homepage
|