Video Of The Day: Finding Fortaleza
Rio de Janeiro-based production company MOOV maintains Fortaleza is “one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil,” and in the video above we get to see it through their eyes – or, rather, their camera lenses. Located in Northeastern Brazil, Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, a city where nearly 2.3 million people reside. On the tourism front, the city is a major destination for Brazilians (and, increasingly, international travelers), who flock to the city’s urban beaches. But as you’ll see in the video above, Fortaleza is much more than just fun in the sun.
Dozens Arrested For Baggage Theft In Italy
Having an airline lose a piece of luggage is a relatively common – albeit frustrating – part of travel. But when just a few items repeatedly go missing out of a bags, there is a major call for concern. CNN is reporting that’s just what has allegedly been happening over and over again with baggage handlers working with Italian airline Alitalia, leading to dozens of arrests last Friday.
According to the news outlet, police made 49 arrests at Rome’s Fiumicino airport, plus another 37 at airports in Bari, Bologna, Milan Linate, Naples, Palermo and Verona. The arrests came after an 18-month investigation spurred by reports of missing items at the airport of the Italian city of Lamezia Terme. Police maintain the alleged thefts happened during the loading and unloading of baggage onto aircraft, and that they have surveillance footage of thefts taking place. During the investigation, Alitalia security personnel worked with police to catch the supposed thieves.
Our only advice to you, dear travelers, is to either leave valuables at home or keep them with you in the cabin whenever possible (so long as these items follow security rules, of course). You just never know what could happen.
[Photo credit: Flickr user sun dazed]
Alaska Volcano Erupts, Air Travel Disruption Possible
It’s been nearly two years since scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) warned that Alaska’s Cleveland volcano could erupt at any time, issuing a code yellow eruption advisory. Saturday, those scientists were proven more than right.
“We haven’t seen a phase like this where we’ve had multiple explosions,” Rick Wessels, a geophysicist at the US Geological Survey‘s Alaska Volcano Observatory, told Reuters in a Christian Science Monitor report.
Over the weekend, the Cleveland volcano erupted, spewing gas, steam and low levels of ash 15,000 feet into the atmosphere, directly into the commercial airline flight path between Asia and North America. While disruption in the atmosphere at 15,000 feet is well below the normal 35,000 feet cruising altitude of commercial aircraft, the concern is that further eruptions could disrupt air traffic, much like Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano (pictured) did in 2010.Then, nearly 20 European countries closed their airspace after a secondary eruption ejected an ash plume that rose to a height of 30,000 feet. For now, scientists wait and watch.
Bike Share Program Will Bring 10,000 Bikes To New York City
Anyone who has ever set foot in New York knows transportation options are plentiful. If you don’t want to hoof it through the city or jump in one of the Big Apple’s infamous yellow cabs, it’s possible to hop on subways, buses and even ferries. But after a few hiccups (mainly Superstorm Sandy), the New York City Department of Transportation is officially hopping on the bikeshare trend, and two-wheelers will be available to rent sometime this month, Associated Press is reporting.
London, Barcelona, Paris and Washington, DC are just a few other cities that have introduced bike share programs. But in New York, the undertaking is on a massive scale; when the program launches, there will be 6,000 bikes at 330 stations in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. And that’s just the beginning; there are plans to expand the bike share to 10,000 bikes and 600 docking stations across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
With stats like that, Associated Press reports New York’s bike share will be the largest of its kind in the country (in case you’re curious, the picture above is part of the world’s largest public bike share system is in Hangzhou, China, where there are an estimated 69,500 bikes and close to 3,000 docking stations). So this summer, take advantage of the 300 miles of new bike lanes the city has added in the past five years, plus 200 more miles of greenways and routes that traverse parks. Our prediction is it’s going to be a great summer to pedal around New York.
[Photo credit: Flickr user Payton Chung]