There is no doubt that we are fascinated with wildlife. We love to watch diverse and interesting animals, preferably in their natural habitats, and we’re often willing to travel to remote places, sometimes at great expense, to see them. If you enjoy the kind of travel that allows for these kinds of animal encounters, they you’ll want to check out BootsnAll’s list of the Seven Endangered Species You Can Find Outside a Zoo.
The article not only lists the creatures, it also gives us the best locations to go and see them for ourselves, including some brief insights into what to expect out of the journey. For instance, if you want to see polar bears in the wild, you can expect a long flight, or 40-hour train ride, to Churchill, Canada, on the famed Hudson Bay, where every October and November, the bears gather, waiting for the bay to freeze so they can continue on northward. The other creatures, and locations that can be found, include: sea turtles in Barbados, tigers in India, rhinos in Tanzania, elephants in South Africa, pandas in China, and gray whales in Mexico.
As the article points out, in the era of ecotourism, these trips to see these rare animals can be a force for good. Conservation efforts can receive funding from our visits and an increased awareness about the plight of the animals helps to prevent poaching and protect natural habitats as well. Just be sure to travel with a reputable guide service and make sure you pack out everything you pack in.
So did they leave anything off the list? I was a bit surprised to not see the mountain gorillas that we wrote about last week, on there. They’d certainly make my top list. What’s on yours?
There are some advantages to flying a reserve schedule every now and then. I prefer the variety and the thought that just maybe I’ll get called out to cover a New York trip to Zurich or Brussels. It’s rare, but it has happened before.
For April, I didn’t fly anywhere I hadn’t flown before, and they managed to use me on almost every one of my available days. Having just arrived home from the Miami and San Francisco trip, crew scheduling already needed me for another early morning departure. This time they had me fly down to Miami and deadhead home on the same day.
It was hardly worthy of a full Cockpit Chronicles. I rode home in the coach cabin and slept most of the way. Fortunately, we’re required to have at least one day off every 7 days, and crew scheduling decided I could use one.
This meant that I’d have a small stretch of three days in a row before my month would be over. There’s always the chance that a three-day trip could pop up if someone called in sick, but I was pretty sure I’d have the last few days off.
My wife gets nervous when I tell her that there’s little chance they could use me. Don’t worry, I’ll be home to take you and the kids to the airport for your trip to Germany, I’m sure! I figured I’d flown too many hours to be legal for another three-day trip. I should have listened to my wife. She knew I’d get the call.
%Gallery-22103%This time it was for yet another 5:45 a.m. departure. But at least I’d be flying with my photography mentor, Captain Jim P., who you might remember from this Panama City and Caracas trip.
For this three-day trip we both left our good cameras at home. But I always bring my little Canon SD800 camera and I took a few more pictures while we were waiting to takeoff from Boston’s runway 4R. This time Spirit airlines was the airplane holding in position just in front of the sunrise.
Jim flew the airplane down to Miami while I talked with ATC. The air was smooth at this time of the morning. While still above 10,000 feet I snapped a few more pictures of Miami beach and the city looking south.
We kept our same Boston flight attendants for the next uneventful leg to Barbados. I realize it must sound like a dream to fly down to Barbados, and while it is nice to get a blast of the warm air, most everyone on the crew was too tired to enjoy the beach. Jim and I planned to meet up at 6 p.m. after a good nap.
We walked across the street from the hotel to eat with two of our flight attendants. The restaurant sat in the parking lot of a small strip mall. While it doesn’t look like much, this fish shack had some great Mahi Mahi sandwiches. I was thrilled to use the last of my Barbados dollars.
When we arrived at the airplane the next morning, the sun was just coming up behind another 757 parked next door. I took my camera with me during the walk-around inspection and snapped pictures of the silhouette. Who says you can’t shoot into the sun!?
For day two, we had just one leg from Barbados to Miami. We laid over at the same crew hotel where I stayed a few days earlier on the domestic trip with Captain Roland.
Jim and I met up in the lobby of the hotel and there was Roland waiting for his co-pilot to arrive for dinner. We all decided to go to a really good Mexican restaurant north of the hotel. I was using my iPhone to find the restaurant. It wasn’t the one I had in mind, but it turned out to have a really attentive waiter and great food.
The four of us talked about every possible rumor running around the airline industry. The major U.S. airlines are doing their best impression of an episode of Desperate Housewives right now. Delta and Northwest are getting married. In a jealous rage, United drops by Continental’s place. Little does United know, but USAirways just slipped out the back door. Continental smiles toward United, but gives a little nod to American who’s out trimming the hedges. Continental finally tells United, “It’s not you, it’s me. I’m just not ready for a relationship right now.”
What’s going to happen next week? After being snubbed by Continental, will United knock on the door of USAirways, saying “We were always meant for each other. It was true eight years ago and it’s true today.”
And will Continental commit to being best friends forever with American and British Airways, the wealthy exchange student who just arrived and who’s trying to figure out who she needs to marry to get a green card?
Stay tuned. We’re in for a wild finale.
The next morning Jim and I ran into a former Boston based co-pilot, Jack, who was traveling with us to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for a vacation.
Jack’s now flying as a co-pilot on the 767 out of New York. He rode along with us in the cockpit and told me how wonderful it was to finally have some seniority in New York. This has allowed him to fly to some great destinations such as Buenos Aires, Brussels, and the occasional trip to Rome.
I have to say, he had me thinking for a while. I could bid to fly from JFK, but there’s no guarantee I’d get back to Boston if I didn’t like the commute. In the end, I decided that I’d stick with the limited flying in Boston so I could be home a day or two more per month.
We pushed back and started up both engines. As the power transferred from the airplane’s APU (auxiliary power unit) to the engine driven generators a light warning us of a problem with our spoilers illuminated on the overhead panel. This meant we’d need to go back to the gate and have our mechanics take a look at the problem.
Spoilers are the panels at the top of the wings that we occasionally use as ‘speedbrakes’ to allow us to descend at a faster rate without picking up any extra speed. They’re also used after touchdown to eliminate some of the lift in the wings which helps put more weight on the wheels for braking.
One of three things could happen at this point. The mechanics could find a fault with the unit that senses the spoiler position. Or they could find a problem with the spoilers themselves that they would need to be fixed. Finally, they could defer the problem by using a large book called the minimum equipment list (MEL) approved by the FAA to see if the airplane is allowed to fly a few days (often just three days) until parts can be found and the problem can be fixed at a major maintenance base.
Fortunately for us (and Jack’s vacation plans) the problem was a fault in the sensor unit that was easily cleared. This is what we suspected, since it happened at the very moment we switched the electrical power. The mechanics then had to go back and verify that this hadn’t occurred in the past month before they could sign it off. After they reviewed the aircraft’s history, we were good to g
o.
It was my leg from Miami to Punta Cana. As we approached the island, we were advised by air traffic control to slow way up. There were two or three flights ahead of us trying to get in. We heard one of them fly a missed approach because they didn’t have the runway in sight, and of course, Punta Cana doesn’t have a Cat III approach that would allow for an autolanding as I discussed in the last Plane Answers post.
After working our way around some small build-ups, we timed our arrival just perfectly. The weather had moved inland and we were able to make a visual approach to the airport. The airplane was equipped with winglets which, in addition to providing nearly 4% in fuel savings, make for a very nice touchdown. Since half of our 757 fleet now have these wingtip extensions, it’s rather noticeable when going back and forth between the converted and not yet converted airplanes. And since we also had a freshly moistened runway, the odds for a smooth landing were well in my favor. As we expected, the spoilers activated properly after touchdown.
My favorite thing about Punta Cana is the airport terminal. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The airplane pulls up just a few feet from a thatched roof terminal. I’ve taken pictures of it in the past, even using it in a ‘where on earth’ post. This time, however, our airplane was parked right in front of a roof that was in the process of being re-thatched. It was rather entertaining to watch this process, both for the passengers walking by and for us in the cockpit. I felt I just had to get some video of this:
The dark clouds that were giving way to a bright sunny sky made for some good photo opportunities on the ground.
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One thing Jim and I noticed on the ramp was an Eos 757 that was parked behind us. I knew one of the premium New York to London carriers had gone bankrupt (which turned out to be MaxJet) but I couldn’t remember which one at the time. The picture of this airplane sitting on the Punta Cana ramp may have been the first clue that Eos was shutting down the next day.
After landing back in Miami, we were told that our gate was occupied. This meant we would have to h old on taxiway JJ which was a perfect perch to watch airplanes land in front of us. With the brakes parked and one engine shut down, I took a few pictures of some of the activity. Most interesting was this 757 which belonged to Honeywell. They are the manufacturers of the FMS, a navigation computer that feeds much of the information to our instruments and helps us navigate. I imagine every time they make a software change they have to demonstrate to the FAA that the are no issues with the upgrade using this 757.
Since this trip would have me exceeding the maximum 30 hours in a seven day period, a fresh Miami based co-pilot was assigned to fly the last leg home. Once again I rode in the back for my deadheading leg. In fact, after I wrote about deadheading in the first class cabin, I’ve had a seat in the back ever since. Maybe that post jinxed me.
I have a vacation week at the beginning of May that I’m using to meet up with my wife and kids who are visiting my mother-in-law in Germany. So I’ll get some more time in the back of an airplane before writing the next Cockpit Chronicles. Until then…
Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent’s trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston.
I’ve whipped out my International Calendar to see what might be left to tell about November before it slips away from Eastern Standard Time in a few hours. What I see is a whole lot of independence days and a slew of other politically geared occasions.
Nov. 1–Antigua-Barbuda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1980.
Nov. 3–Dominica gained independence from the UK in 1978. Panama gained Independence from Colombia in 1903 and Micronesia gained independence from the U.S. in 1980.
Nov. 9–Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953.
Nov. 11–Poland gained independence in 1918; Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
Nov. 18–Latvia gained independence from Russia in 1918; Morocco from France in 1956.
Nov. 25–Suriname gained independence
Nov. 28–Mauritania gained Independence from France in 1968 and Albania gained Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Panama gained independence from Spain in 1821 and East Timor gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
Nov. 30-Barbados gained independence from the U.K. in 1966
Other than these, Tonga has had Constitution Day (Nov. 4); Russia, Revolution Day (Nov. 7); Brazil, Republic Day (Nov. 15); and Vanuatu has had National Unity Day, (Nov. 29)
My favorite happening of the bunch of events that occurred this month, though, is the Surin Elephant Round-Up in Thailand.
It’s Friday which means it’s time to lean back and reflect on some of this week’s goodies. Without delay here they are:
5. New Gadling Writer Bios: Some of us have been here forever and some are just getting started. Either way check out the new writer bios to get a taste at what makes the writers tick, itch, scratch or where they like to play when they are not blogging for Gadling.
4. Washington’s Caribbean Phase: Are you a history buff in need of a break away from stuffy and dusty library shelves? Why not head off to Barbados to retrace the steps of President George Washington who spent some time there himself. Read this piece to see what exactly it was old George did on the island and learn about the upcoming museum opening celebrations. 3. Bob Marley’s Legacy Continues: Here’s one for all Marley fans to unite over and experience a day or two of one love-ness. Jaime points out upcoming Reggae music fests worth looking out for if not attending. Attending is always better in my book. 2. Baseball Travel Guide: Now that we’ve covered some history and music trips worth a look, let’s move onto sports. If you’re into baseball you may wish to use it as an excuse or real good reason to get away from the office for a few days to see the boys in training. Check out this guide on where to go to get fired up on America’s favorite past time. 1. Fatpacking: Weight-Loss Backpacking: If you’d rather be losing weight over watching very in shape ball players do what they do best plan a sports like hiking or fatpacking trip of your own and bring sexy back this spring.
We all know of George Washington as the steadfast, brilliant general who led a nation to independence. He was a fair outdoorsman, sure, doing a little cold water paddling across the Delaware, chopping cherry tree wood to pass the time. But did you know old Georgie kicked it old school down in the islands? Yup, our first President spent several months down in Barbados when he was young to sniff the fresh air, get a sun tan and likely to sip a few tasty Daiquiris (rum being, of course, a key export).
Washington came to Barbados at age 19 with his older half-brother Lawrence (aka: “L Dubya”), who had TB. Larry Washington’s doc said that the islands would be good for him, and George figured he’d tag along. George (known in the islands as “Da Wash”) spent two months riding his horse around the islands, apparently he caught his first fireworks shows and he hung out a bit with the governor and some generals. He also caught smallpox, and thus became immune to the disease for the rest of his life.
I guess the long and the short of it is that all this now gives history buffs a good reason to head down to the Caribbean. And to do so quickly, because February 22 is Da Wash’s birthday, and admission to the new Washington museum will be half-price. They will also have birthday cake and songs may be sung, especially when the rum gets broken out, as you know it will.
I cannot tell a lie, that sounds like a pretty good time.