Panama City

I never actually entered Panama; I only changed planes in Panama City. Still, this was where my journey to Peru began.

The stopover is worth mentioning because something unexpectedly fortunate happened. I was flying Copa Airlines, one of several Latin American carriers that let passengers bid for an upgrade. You choose an amount within a suggested range and submit it without knowing what anyone else has offered. The upper end of Copa’s range puzzled me—it was higher than the price shown by the “upgrade now” button.

With little expectation of success, I entered the minimum bid. The original ticket had cost a little over $600, and I offered another $400 for the upgrade. Somehow, it cleared. On an earlier trip to Argentina, I had bid well above the minimum and still lost. This time, perhaps no one else on the flight was especially eager to spend the money.