Earlier this month, LAN Airlines transported an orphaned herd of nine African elephants between the ages of four and nine years old from Namibia to Mexico, where the animals will find their new home at the African Safari Zoo in Puebla.A statement from the airline says each elephant traveled with ample space and was under the constant care of veterinarians. Just like human passengers, the elephants traveled while awake during their trip on the Boeing 777 freighter, which has the capacity to transport up to 104 tons. Full-grown male African elephants weigh between 10,000 and 13,300 pounds, making them the largest living terrestrial animals on Earth.
According to the press release, LAN has also successfully transported giraffes, rhinos, lions and zebras from Africa, as well as wallabies, dolphins, bees, deer and horses (of which the airline once transported 45 in a single flight). Friday’s flight was the largest African elephant shipment the airline made in its 80-year history.
Traveling across the United States, Canada and Mexico, Ted Brady is raising money to support local animal shelters. Biking through a variety of terrains and weather conditions along with his cat, he stays with families or camps along the way. Already traveling more than 1,000 miles through a variety of conditions, happy times and disappointments, the journey is far from over.
The cross-country cycling trip started last October in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to raise money and awareness for the ASPCA and local shelters. Ted bikes, while his cat Pikachu (“Pika” to his friends) rides behind in a covered, secure cat shelter. The pair travels, meets people and engages a growing online following, posting videos of their adventure as it unfolds.
Last December, when Pika went missing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, followers and local residents joined in the search, eventually finding Pika and reuniting the two weeks later.
“He’s my best buddy and we go everywhere together. The bond that you share with your pet, it’s more than just a pet. It’s your best friend,” Brady told LifeWithCats at the time.
Back on the road this month, Ted and Pika will make their way with the help of friends, old and new. Just a few days ago via Instagram, Ted posted a map and an upbeat plea for shelter on the road. “Do you know anyone along this route? This is the path I’m taking north into Colorado, if you know anyone I could stay with on the way, hit me up!”
Follow Ted and Pika on their journey via Facebook, Instagram or on their website The Traveling Kitty.
Loyalty programs keep travelers coming back, granting more perks and benefits the more they use a service provider. But what happens as the world of travel evolves and companies merge to gain efficiency and price advantage or just to stay in business? In some cases, the customer comes out ahead.
Southwest Airlines’ merger with the AirTran Airways subsidiary is well underway. Though not yet complete, the company is bringing the benefits of each carrier’s frequent flier program to the members of both.
Air travelers who are members of both Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program and AirTran’s A+ Rewards plan can shift program credits between the two in order to redeem award travel on either airline.
The move gives Southwest Rapid Rewards members some new vacation options. AirTran flies to destinations Southwest doesn’t serve in Mexico and the Caribbean. Still, only credit transfers between accounts are allowed, as the two loyalty programs remain separate.
“Rapid Rewards members can transfer 1,200 program points or one Rapids Rewards credit into one A+ Rewards credit. AirTran frequent flyers can switch one A+ credit into one Rapid Rewards credit. The A+ program requires 16 credits for one round-trip coach ticket on AirTran, and Southwest’s program requires 16 credits for one Standard Award ticket. Thirty-two A+ Rewards credits are worth one Freedom Award in the Southwest program,” said an article in Executive Travel Magazine.
Thinking of other frequent flier programs, a common question is raised: What might happen to accumulated points if a proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways occurs?
Experts agree: probably not much.
“All things being equal, I would expect a merged American-US Airways frequent flier program to be somewhat less generous than the two airlines’ programs today,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner of Airline Weekly in a Reuters report. “Maybe you’ll need more miles for free tickets to certain regions, or maybe award seats will be more scarce, or maybe it’ll be harder for elite fliers to get first-class upgrades.”
Kaplan offers the following advice:
Start using up your miles, particularly if you’re interested in flying on a carrier in an alliance that might not be available to you when the deal is done.
Shop around to see whether another airline would meet your needs. But make sure the carrier flies the routes you most travel. This way when one of them starts dangling offers to lure you, you’ll know if it’s a smart move to shift your loyalties.
Take advantage of deals still being offered in the current programs, such as free upgrades.
The notion that travelers are “married to their frequent traveler programs” may not be a stretch. In a survey conducted in January by Starwood Preferred Guest, 73 percent of participants chose their loyalty program benefits over a spouse if they could take just one on the road.
One of the best parts about a vacation? The food. We love trying local delicacies and adding to our recipe books with tips and techniques learned from our travels. Immerse yourself in native cuisine with these seven great cooking experiences that combine luxury travel with fun, hands-on cooking classes.
Time to Thai inBangkok
Learn traditional Thai cooking in Bangkok at Lebua. You’ll cook a five-course meal with a Thai chef in this three-hour class taught in both English and Thai for the exceptionally affordable rate of $160 per person. Combine it with an overnight at this all-suite luxury property for a true one-of-a-kind experience.
Green Gardening inJordan Garden alongside locals at the bio-garden at Radisson Blu Tala Bay Resort in Aqaba Jordan, then learn to cook traditional Jordan dishes like Mansaff (roast lamb in a saffron yogurt sauce) using the fruits of your labor.
Shopping and Tapas in Barcelona Shop Barcelona’s legendary Boqueria with Spanish Chef Roberto Holz, then prepare a Mediterranean lunch at Hotel Arts Barcelona.
Surf n’ Seafood in Nevis “Dive and dine” for your own spiny lobster at Four Seasons Nevis, then prepare it at a traditional Caribbean barbecue.
Food Safari in Australia Discovery the bounty of Australia’s Kangaroo Island at Southern Ocean Lodge. The hotel hosts an annual KI Food Safari. Activities during the six-day journey will include hands-on classes with the island’s purveyors, who operate on a mostly small scale, sustainable and personal basis while tasting the unique products straight from the source.
Say Olé in Mexico Learn the secrets behind perfect salsa, ceviche and more at one or three-day cooking classes (shown in the photo, above) at the luxurious Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We’d suggest the three-day class – it includes a trip to a local farmers market.
Crime in Mexico continues to concern travelers. Recent accounts of death by a drug lord urge caution when visiting Mexico, yet the country still ranks high as a desirable travel destination.
Seeming to run deeper than ever, crime has weaved its way through Mexico in some unlikely areas as well. Affecting everything from the police, accused and indicted with claims of extortion and false imprisonment, to the launch of an app that could have predicted a recent earthquake, crime continues. Maybe, just in spite of tourism-charged efforts to paint a different picture of Mexico, crime is always going to be a deadly part of the canvass.
Police in Mexico’s northern state of Tamaulipas discovered the bodies of 14 men placed in plastic bags and left in a small delivery truck just this week. All of the men, between 30 and 35 years of age, are suspected to be the victims of the ongoing war between drug cartels, as reported by news organizations as far away as the Daily Star in Lebanon.
Granted, Tamaulipas is one of the areas most affected by drug cartel violence, but the deaths still add to the more than 47,000 people killed in drug-related violence since Mexico launched its “war against organized crimes” in 2006.
To counter the perception that all of Mexico is riddled with crime, the Mexico Tourism Board is making efforts to put a new face on the country.The Mexico Taxi Project, an advertising campaign, seeks to “change perceptions about conditions that tourists find there,” said the New York Times shortly before the program’s launch last November.
In the commercials, reminiscent of a cross between the HBO series “Taxicab Confessions” and Discovery’s “Cash Cab,” we see (via hidden camera) the cab driver asking his passengers how their (insert name of city in Mexico) vacation went. Predictably, the (very touristy but believable-looking) passengers had a (wonderful, safe, fabulous, highly recommended) time and can’t wait to come back.
Nice try, probably typical of the visits of many travelers, but news of a Mexican businessman found slain recently after accusing federal police of various crimes is troubling.
Of even more concern is that the incident is not isolated. As reported by the Latin American Herald Tribune, last September, more police officers were arrested and accused of even more crimes including extortion, bodily injury, abuse of authority and crimes against health.
It seems that the element of crime in Mexico has a way of becoming part of the best, most well directed efforts one could imagine.
Mexico City, host to a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in 1985 that claimed 10,000 lives, has been developing a new Blackberry app to provide early warning for earthquakes. When it failed to work for a recent magnitude 6.5 quake, the problem was found to be that the epicenter of that quake was in an area not yet covered by the app.
Carlos Valdés, head of the National Seismologic Service, told beyondbrics that crime in the state has blocked their efforts and that seismologists have been beaten up and threatened by armed assailants on the highways of the western state of Michoacan.
Still, tourism is growing in Mexico with most locations one might visit considered safe. Our immersion in Mazatlan last year revealed a safe and friendly destination. Fans and supporters of Mexico urge travel in spite of the U.S. Department of State’s warning of caution.
“…Mexican officials are smart enough to know that they’ll need to redouble efforts to prevent crimes like this one from occurring again. In the meantime, travelers who are concerned about violent crime should consider visiting smaller towns, rather than big cities – not just in Mexico but also in many countries around the world.”