Quick facts: Mile high city and capital of Colorado; GPS: 39.739235, -104.985467; GMT-6; Altitude: 5280′
Denver – Last day of this trip! I woke up and went down to have breakfast in the lobby. There was a decent selection of stuff but it was pretty basic. I ate and then went back to my room. I got ready and checked out of the hotel. I didn’t have to wait too long before the shuttle showed up and I headed to the airport. I checked my bag in and headed to the gate.
After getting through security I made it to the gate only to be redirected after a short wait to what I thought was another gate. But this turned out to be just a line they put us in to block off the gate area and re-run us through security AGAIN. Personally I am against this whole security theater bullshit that everyone purports increases our safety in the skies. Someone in the line was said it was because of increased security required by the US. That may be true but it’s ridiculous nonetheless. If the security screeners actually did a good job in the first place then none of this would be necessary. I have forgotten how many times I have been searched to find nothing and then got on the plane with some sort of “contraband” that should have been found. Oh, no… he snook more than 3oz of liquid on the plane, we’re all doomed… So I was pissed when I had to dump my $4 USD bottle of water that I bought specifically for the flight, but some others were allowed to pass with other liquids clearly visible in their possession! After they ran everyone through security again they put us right back where we were. What a joke. All that was separating us from the other people in the airport who hadn’t been re-screened was a rope across the gate area. Like someone couldn’t be handed something after they were checked again? SECURITY THEATER!!! No one working for the airline said anything about this coming or anything afterwards.
We finally boarded the plane and were off. To be honest I hadn’t even been in Panama for 24 hours and I was ready to never come back. This flight was the longest yet at 6.5 hours, but it beat making several stops and layovers like I would’ve had to have done on the other airline. I still had a lot of podcasts to catch up on so I was set for the flight. About 3/4’s of the way there this very old woman that they had to bring on the plane in a wheelchair was allowed to sit in the emergency exit row. This was just another thing that I added to the list of “WOW’s” for today. Not only will I rethink any plans to Panama, but I doubt I will look at taking any flights with Copa Airlines any time soon. I am a firm believer in voting with my dollars and I can be pretty stubborn about it.
I watched as we crossed from the Gulf of Mexico into Texas and was glad to think I was finally back in my own country. We were over Denver before too long and I couldn’t wait to get off this plane and back on the ground. When we landed it was quick to get to immigration where I realized that the other phone I use was the one that I had loaded the Mobile Passport app onto and it was in my checked bag. Luckily, I didn’t need it as I got through quickly without it. I had been looking forward to trying it because it’s supposed to get one through as quickly as if you had Global Entry which I have not felt the need to do yet but haven’t traveled internationally much lately. I am hoping that will change before too long!
I think it was maybe a 45 minute wait to get my bag so they were probably going through extra screening. At this point I had already gotten my passport stamped and there were no bathrooms in the baggage area. I usually try to wait until I get totally out to use the restroom to avoid being stuck in lines here or there but this time that backfired. I eventually made it out and to the bathroom but I’ll have to look more closely if that’ll be a problem as security is seemingly being tightened all over the place.
Alas, I finally made it back! I am glad to be back now, but these last couple of days have reminded me that beyond just problems of inconvenience there are some serious failures in not only our society but others worldwide as well. I don’t have the answers but I hope that things get better not worse, especially when by all accounts the experts keeping saying that things are getting better. Not so sure I concur with that assessment at this point.
One thing I will say about this trip in the positive sense is that with everything that went wrong it will not keep me from wanting to travel to see new places, new cultures, and new experiences. I might have to tailor things here and there to not get bogged down by the bureaucracy but I can work with that as long as I know the rules of the game.
I hope it’s not too long before I can make another extended trip somewhere. Also if I were to have my wish come true, I would be able to find a way to keep doing it permanently.
This concludes my “Ancient Aliens” tour. Carpe Diem and safe travels!