The Traveling Widower

Tag: travel

Default category for all travel related posts.

  • Please Let Me In Your Country

    AI generated image of 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 Panama 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.

    Beautiful room at the Panama City Waldorf Astoria hotel.
    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

  • Yet Another Shutdown #@!!%!

    A long line of travelers waiting in an airport terminal near a security checkpoint. This was the start of the line in terminal E at the Houston airport (IAH)

    March 19th, 2026

    I seem to be jinxed on air and auto travel. This is the third time now that I’ve had one of my travel adventures during some kind of government shutdown. The last time, was Antarctica, and there was a good chance that my flights could have been cancelled due to the TSA shutdown. I lucked out on that one, after stressing out looking for alternatives to getting to LA for the international flight. Then there was another shutdown, where all the rest stops on the main highways were shuttered. That was difficult for anyone with bladder issues. And here we are again…..another TSA shutdown, and chaos at the major hubs. The one thing I REALLY DO NOT NEED on this trip is stress. Right.

    It takes two flights to get to Panama City from Sacramento – I opted to stay overnight in Houston, so flew in yesterday. That was an easy flight, until I tried checking in for the flight from IAH to Panama City. For some obscure reason, United would not let me check-in – apparently, I needed some document to prove that I was going to leave Panama, since I was flying back from Costa Rica. United had my reservations, but knew nothing about the National Geographic cruise. My first reason to stress-out on the trip. I called United, and they said I just needed to check-in the next day and everything would be fine. Sure. Do I look like someone that believes that foreign countries are paying the tariffs? The National Geographic travel agent was pretty sure that’s all I needed to do as well. That did not help either – I’m a glass half empty kind of guy. So I worried during the entire flight from SMF to Houston. And then I had to walk about a mile to get to the United check-in lobby, to try and get things worked out. This is a huge airport. Fortunately, I found a helpful agent who magically got me checked-in. Stress relieved. Another long walk and short train ride and I made it to the Marriott for the night. I really could have used a martini. I had gelato instead. Almost as good. 

    My flight for Panama City was scheduled for 9:30 the next morning, so I figured I’d start heading over to the international terminal (hey, I was traveling to another country….seemed like the right place to go). I checked the TSA site, which had a 15 minute wait to get through security, so I figured maybe leave around 6:45 to get to the terminal.  I woke up early for a change (sarcasm…I always get up too early), and headed down to the train station, to get to Terminal E. Baggage check-in was a snap, then I turned around to head to security. Yikes!! The line was endless. But wait….it got worse.

    Busy airport terminal with a long check-in line, displaying multiple screens and travelers waiting.

    As I moved along this first line, the entire mass of humanity waiting to get through security came into view. There were separate TSA Pre and Clear lines, merged together for some reason, but the all the lines seemed to be crawling along at the same speed. But at least they were moving. After a while, someone from Clear separated their customers from the TSA Pre line, so that moved us ahead a bit. Still a long line. What a mess. Not a problem for me since I had a lot of time before my flight, but I wound up letting some young woman cut in front, who only had a few minutes to catch her plane. I told her to look for kind people who would let her cut further ahead, but she was too shy. I would have done that. 

    A large crowd of travelers waiting in line at an airport terminal, with various individuals carrying luggage and wearing different types of clothing.
    A crowded airport terminal with a long line of travelers waiting in line, colorful decorations hanging above them.

    Eventually, I made it through after about 30 minutes or so. The main problem was at the TSA end – there were only two luggage scan stations out of about 15 that were staffed. Quite the bottleneck. A big thank you to the US Congress. The only good news is that everyone seemed to be taking this mess in stride (a slight pun, not intended) – most everyone quietly suffered. And nobody blamed the TSA workers, just our ineffective government.

    After all that, I looked down at my boarding pass and realized I was in the wrong terminal. My flight left from Terminal C, not E. So, I opted for the long walk rather than taking the train. I needed to stretch my legs. And like most airports, there was lots of cool and strange artwork along the endless corridors.

    An airport hallway with travelers walking, one with a luggage cart. The area features bright lighting, polished floors, and large windows providing natural light.
    A circular window featuring vibrant artwork of marine life, including fish and underwater plants, framed by intricate designs and patterns.
    Sculpture titled 'Lost in Thought' by Clara Hoag, featuring a head made of glazed and fired clay, adorned with colorful painted brick-like structures, displayed in an airport setting.

    I ended my airport excursion  at the United Red Carpet Club – international first class does have some useful privileges. On to Panama! It’s got to get less stressful once I get there.