PART 1: LOGISTICS

I flew in on American Airlines out of Miami. Normally, I fly Copa and change planes in Panama.

AA allowed me to check in online and drop my bags with a skycap. Five minutes after getting off the shuttle bus, I was bag-free and wandering around the airport with plenty of time to kill. This was a wonderful experience… almost enough to offset the downsides of flying American

What downsides? Timing. My on-time flight landed at 10:20pm, and I was not at my apartment, unpacked, showered, and ready to go until 11:30. Other than getting laid, it was a waste of a trip day. Coming home was no better – my flight left at 7:00 am on Tuesday, so I had to leave Miraflores at 4:15 in the morning, rendering Tuesday totally useless as well. Sadly, there really aren’t any flight times that work well in the American/Lan family of flights.

Upon arrival, I usually grab a taxi that is dropping off a passenger, but I decided that for a few extra soles, I don’t have to put myself in any peril when I am the most vulnerable. I had a lot of cash, my laptop, and all my clothes, so I figure that five or six bucks is a cheap insurance policy. Taxi Green charges 45 soles, as opposed to the 25 or 30 that I would negotiate further out in the airport. The airport was packed at that time, but I am bigger than most people, so I was in a cab in nothing flat.

Going home, I had the same concerns about traveling in an unknown taxi in the middle of the night with cash and all my worldly possessions. All of the hotels have guys in suits and ties and new black cars standing in front. They charge a fortune, but I decided to talk to a couple in front of a hotel right near my apartment. I was coming home at around 1:45am, and I asked the guys if they worked all night and how much to the airport. They looked at each other and one of them said, “60 soles.” I thanked him, saying that was too much, and he came down to 50. That was close enough for me, so I told him which building I lived in, and that I needed him at 4:15. When I came downstairs at 4:10, he was there, waiting in front of my building. We made it to the airport in nothing flat, and I was checked in fairly quickly.

The flight home was uneventful and on-time. For some reason, there was no line to speak of at immigration at 1:30 in the afternoon. There was quite a wait for our luggage, but everything was there, and customs had better things to do than to deal with my bags this trip.