At 5 AM Casco Viejo was quiet and deserted, but our driver dutifully showed up and we had a quick trip to the international airport, where it was pretty busy at this early hour. If you recall I had a problem with our trip to Panama because Copa Airlines had canceled our flight. Today we are scheduled to fly Copa to Chicago with a connecting flight to Seattle, and in the back of my mind I was concerned whether this flight might be canceled. There was also a bit of concern when we checked our luggage as the gate agent was taking a lot of time checking us in, obviously having some issue. She even asked me for our confirmation code. Oh, oh…I thought, here we go again. Luckily she resolved the issue (it had to do with making sure our luggage got transferred to the Chicago flight) and all was well. In fact, she even moved us up to the premium economy section from our previous seats in the back of the plane. We quickly went through security (had to take off our shoes!) and immigration.

I had promised Yvonne we would have some breakfast at the airport before boarding our flight. Sadly we did not find the usual eateries open. However, near our departure gate we did find a snack bar where I was able to grab some coffee and a ham & cheese croissant. As I returned to our gate with the food, I found that we would again have to go through a security check (through the scanner) at the gate (never have seen that ever in all our travels) and liquids would not be allowed, so the coffee had to go! Oh, well, at least the croissant passed safely through the check!

I am also reluctant to fly through Chicago in the winter because of possible weather delays but today was not an issue. In fact it was sunny with not a bit of snow on the ground when we landed-something rare for Chicago at this time of the year. There was enough time between flights to have a decent lunch, making up for the lack of a breakfast in Panama City.

By the way going through US immigration was a breeze. No longer filling out forms, no longer scanning your passport. No longer even getting a printout to hand in. All we did was have our picture taken at a self serve kiosk, wait for a green light and told to proceed. We never did speak to a US customs agent. I am not sure if it is because we hold Nexus cards (sort of like global entry but for use too/from Canada). Entering the US via Chicago was amazing.

The flight to Seattle was on time, the ferry schedule worked in our favor and we returned to our home on Miller Bay safe and sound.

Epilogue

1. The trip was more fun than we expected, as we had been concerned about the language issues given that most of the passengers were Spanish speaking. They are a fun loving group! Language was not an issue onboard the ship.

2.  Our two favorite cruise stops were Cartagena, Columbia and Curaçao. But there is a bit of bias as I like history, culture, and old towns, rather than beaches. Bonaire was the least interesting of the three ABC islands.

3. Panamá City was a very pleasant surprise and worth a visit even if you are not on a cruise. Although we did not visit any of their beach areas I hear they are very good.

4.  Royal Caribbean (Rhapsody of the Sea) was a bit of a disappointment. I agree with other people’s reviews about the food quality on board having gone downhill from earlier years. I do not know if it is only an issue on this ship or is it across the entire fleet. The ship, however, was in good physical shape.

Thought for the day: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain