The Traveling Widower

Tag: Travel-issues

  • Please Let Me In Your Country

    A distressed man with gray hair and glasses is speaking to an immigration officer at an airport, while a line of passengers waits in the background. The officer appears to be gesturing to the man, who is showing visible emotion.
    Not real, AI generated

    March 19th, 2026

    I really did not think I would have much to write about on my travel day to Panama City. I definitely could have lived without this one incident – yet another major stress.

    The flight out of Houston was OK – about 4 ½ hours of boredom, although I spend some time on an introduction for a book I’ve been thinking of pulling together for the past year. And, I had a window seat, so I of course took a few photo’s, especially once we got to Panama and approached Panama City. You pass over the Pacific side of the canal, and can see all the ships waiting to enter. Pretty amazing. Panama City is also huge and very modern, with some incredible architecture. I hope to get a few pictures this week.

    Aerial view of a coastal city featuring a skyline of tall buildings and a small island in the foreground with waterfront properties.
    Aerial view of a coastal landscape featuring multiple waterways, boats in the water, and a town along the shore, with lush green hills and scattered clouds in the background.
    Aerial view of numerous cargo ships anchored in a calm sea, with an island in the background.
    Aerial view of a coastal city with numerous high-rise buildings, surrounded by water and mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

    At any rate, unlike most of the other airports I’ve been to, you exit from the plane right out to a very large concourse. I was expecting that a foreign flight would have a separate, cordoned off passage directly to immigration. Nope. I had no idea where I was going, and noticed a sign which point to Terminal 1 baggage and immigration. So, off I went on yet another airport hike. When I got to immigration, one of the guards asked me what airline I flew in on, and told me I had to go all the way back to Terminal 2. Another airport hike. I was already nervous about the exit flight thing that I experienced with the airline. And of course, it was a problem with the Panama immigration as well. The officer did not speak much English, and was confused when I told him I was boarding a cruise ship and going to Costa Rica. We went back and forth on this for a while, and he eventually found another officer who spoke some English. I pulled out my itinerary for the trip, which had National Geographic in big letters on it, and the guy looked through it – he started asking what we do on the trip. I told him about going to the National Parks, and then cruising through the islands and he seemed to think this was a research or educational ship. He looked at my camera bag and I told him I was a photographer. So, they both went off to the immigration office, and probably told them I was a National Geographic photographer, and they approved my entry, I was not going to disagree. I was really concerned that they were not going to let me in – I was close to getting down on my knees and pleading, but I would have to use Google Translate, and who knows how that would come out –  I could wind up in an El Salvador prison.

    I grabbed my passport after he stamped it, said Muchas gracias, and sped off to get my luggage. I was the only person coming in on this flight, so there was only one person waiting over by the doors with a NatGeo/Lindlbad sign. Fortunately, I noticed him and off we went to the Waldorf Astoria. Success. I made it here alive. Not too bad a hotel room either – it will be hard switching over to the small cabin on the ship after this level of luxury.

    Modern hotel room featuring a queen bed, a glass-top dining table, and a flat-screen TV with contemporary decor and warm tones.
    If only the ship cabin was like this…

    I’m going to chill for a while, then go to our group welcome dinner. Tomorrow we tour around the city and the Canal. I’ll be trying out that new lens tomorrow for sure. No more stress. I’ve had enough today.

    Peace