Cramped leg space. Disgruntled and entitiled passengers. Free food. Free alcohol. A movie on a 3 hour flight. A welcoming atmosphere. These are everything all US flight operaters do not have in common. Flying domestically in the states with the airline's stingy, profitable policies, has made air travel that painful knot in your neck because you slept in an awkward position.
We departed Tampa on Copa airlines, a Panamanian airline, early in the morning. I was delighted to see that we got breakfast and a movie on a short 3 hour hop across the Gulf of Mexico to Panama city. Not to mentioned my fantastic Spanish skills (/sarcasm) got Gwen and I exit row seats.
A quick and rather hot half hour spent in the airport before the 45 minute boarding process, and before I had time to split the money exchange, we were on a plane to Lima.
The lunch was somewhat enjoyable, or perhaps I am still that hungry after gorging myself on a bag of cheese-its. I was treated with the pollo y pasta. Throw in a generous whiskey coke (you could get a buzz from taking a few whiffs) from the polite Copa staff and Marcus is a happy traveler. Muy bueno.
International travel is incredibly fun, at least on any non-American carrier.
Next stop: Lima. Time to get this adventure in high gear.