Penny: from Houston

Por la nube de cenizas, se esperan nuevas cancelaciones de vuelos en Ezeiza y Aeroparque (Due to the ash cloud, new cancelations are expected at Ezeiza y Jorge Newbery)

[Thursday night]

Despite checking hourly for flight updates to BA (and told by Continental that flights to BA were leaving on schedule), I find myself stuck in Houston airport . . . a predicament that I went to great lengths to avoid. I was told, upon arrival in Houston, that I should have been told of the flight cancellations at check-in (duh) instead of being given a boarding pass for the BA flight, so my expenses and hotel have been taken care of, however, I am furious beyond words. There was no indication from Continental that the flight may not be going – otherwise I would have stayed in Vancouver!

Now there is no availability to BA for the foreseeable future and no way home to Vancouver again tonight. I cannot get a confirmed flight on any airline from North America to BA until Tuesday 14th so . . . it looks like I may be going back to Vancouver tomorrow. I have hung on here in Houston for a couple of days because I really need to get to Cafayate to see my house, and I really want to go furniture shopping. Furthermore, my schedule does not allow for another trip until mid-July. Not sure what my next move is . . .

[Friday morning]

Interior painting has started, and the wood floor will be laid shortly thereafter. After much testing and sampling, I will be choosing exterior paint and interior wood finish on this trip. I selected several interior colours on my last trip and have been eliminating them as test patches go up on the wall, and I see the effects of light, etc. (Beware of the green light cast by the vineyards and golf course, and take several photos, flash on/off, etc.)

Did I mention that I am dressed for BA in the winter, and it is a very humid 35C here, and that the rooms at the Airport Marriott are not nearly as nice as the lobby would suggest? I have so much to accomplish this trip . . . still hoping to get out tonight.

[later on Friday morning]

Wow! I literally just heard from the Continental Concierge that I have a confirmed seat on tonight's flight if EZE re-opens. I was quite surprised by this because I am travelling on points . . . Continental bumped someone with an upgrade back down so that I could get a seat!

According to the BA Herald, the "Crisis Committee" just met in BA and airports may reopen at 6pm. If I cannot get out tonight, Continental will fly me home to re-group.

[Friday afternoon]

Thanks to the "Crisis Committee" in BA, flight tonight is still a go.

[later on Friday afternoon]

Just sang "O Canada" in the Houston Airport sportsbar.

[even later]

Onboard flight CO53 to BA !!!!

wine storage

parilla cabinetry

traveling to Salta without going thru Buenos Aires

[from Pete Kofod, 30 March 2011]

I flew Aerosur roundtrip from Miami, through Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to Salta, & returned the same way I came. The experience was largely without incident. Aerosur is a smaller airline, compared to other national carriers like American, Aerolineas, and LAN. To the best of my understanding, their only US destination is Miami, and I believe they serve the route 4-5 times per week. The flight is a red-eye in both directions, leaves around 11 PM, and lands 5:30 the following morning.

The only drawback was the 9 hour layover in Santa Cruz (both times), but the Internet was fast, the food good, and the atmosphere very relaxed, so I only considered it a minor inconvenience. The airport has modern regional airport feel to it with a gentle stream of business people and backpackers passing through the terminal throughout the day.

It is clear that the US DEA heavily subsidizes law enforcement in Bolivia. On my return to the US, my carryon bags were inspected with the ardor typically reserved for forensic scientists with OCD. This level of personalized attention was extended to everyone flying in to the US, not just yours truly. The poor chap next to me had his bag of trail mix opened and sampled. Ah yes, the War on Drugs. We may not be winning, but we can sure blow a bunch of money in the process.

Aerosur's website is a hopeless mess. It goes down continuously, and when by chance it happens to be available to the public, it provides no useful information. In the days leading up to my travel, I found myself hoping that the level of effort put to website management was not reflective of Aerosur's commitment to keeping its fleet safely maintained. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. On my flight down, there were many Brazilians on board. Apparently it is cheaper to fly from Miami through Santa Cruz to Sao Paulo than to catch the direct flight.

I booked my reservation through travelocity, but later found the best prices at cheapOair (yes, that is the name of the company). Miami - Salta roundtrip is $750 or about $200 less than I paid. Because Aerosur doesn't fly to/from Miami every day, I entered a travel window of +/- 3 days for both departure and return to make sure the flight showed up in the search listing.

The onboard service was OK. The flight attendants were competent and polite. The meal was good, but certainly not memorable. Apparently, the service delivery model is to feed you and put you to sleep, so bring a DVD player if you want to watch a movie. I, for one, was exhausted from a week of revelry in Cafayate, so I succumbed to Morpheus' advances shortly after dinner.

On balance, I find the Aerosur option far more attractive than flying through Buenos Aires and will probably do it again, even with the whole family (my kids are 10 and 13). Candelaria indicated that Aerosur honors its Latin American relationship to punctuality and as such may not be an ideal choice for first time visitors arriving from the US or Canada. That said, the ability to check luggage from Miami directly to Salta, not having to deal with the Ezeiza-Aeroparque transfer, and shaving about four hours of flight time makes it my choice for the time being.

As a final note of interest, the Aerosur magazine showed a flight from Santa Cruz to Tucuman. I was unable to find the flight anywhere else, including on their dysfunctional website, though I will keep my eyes peeled for it.

One more observation: the immigrations desk at Salta airport does not charge US/Canadians/Brits the reciprocal visa fee. When I landed with the Tessaris, the immigration official just stamped their passport and waved them through. As Canadians they are supposed to pay every time, yet there wasn't even a booth to collect the fee like there is in Ezeiza. Sometimes inefficiency plays in your favor!

sabotage?

[from la nación, 22 marzo 2011]

Investigan qué provocó la falla que paralizó a Ezeiza y Aeroparque

La ANAC encargó a expertos un peritaje interno, según confirmaron voceros a lanacion.com; lenta normalización de los vuelos en las dos terminales aéreas

Foto - LA NACION Marcelo Gómez (are we in this pic?)

Por una falla, las terminales aéreas no pudieron operan, miles de pasajeros se vieron afectados y hubo que reprogramar todos los vuelos.

Tras una jornada de tensión por la paralización de todos los vuelos en el área metropolitana por una falla técnica inédita en los sistemas de comunicación, comenzó a normalizarse lentamente el servicio aéreo en el aeripuerto de Ezeiza, mientras que los servicios previstos en la terminal de Aeroparque quedaron regularizados durante la madrugada. El desperfecto registrado ayer afectó a más de 200 aviones que permanecieron en tierra durante más de 7 horas.

Voceros de la Administración Nacional de Aviación Civil (ANAC) confirmaron esta mañana a lanacion.com que encargaron un peritaje interno a expertos para localizar en forma fehaciente cuál fue la falla que sacó de funcionamiento a los tres sistemas con los que la torre de control se comunica con las aeronaves.

El inconveniente técnico logró ser resuelto por completo ayer a las 23.55, casi once horas después de que se hubiera declarado y de que obligara por razones de seguridad a interrumpir todos los despegues y aterrizajes en todas las terminales aéreas metropolitanas.

"Minutos antes de la medianoche, se restableció el 100 % del sistema", aseguró a lanacion.com el vocero de la entidad, al ser consultado sobre el desperfecto que provocó el fastidio de cientos de pasajeros y afectó a 200 aviones que permanecieron varados en las estaciones aéreas metropolitanas.

El primer vuelo en partir de Ezeiza tras el inconveniente, que causó gran malestar entre los pasajeros, fue un avión de la empresa Alitalia con destino a Roma. Fue después de siete horas de tensión por la paralización del tránsito aéreo, cuando comenzaron a despegar las primeros vuelos internacionales reprogramados desde Ezeiza con un mecanismo especial debido a la falla generalizada en los sistemas de control. En tanto, después de la medianoche, comenzaron a normalizarse las operaciones aéreas en el Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, aunque la mayoría de los vuelos ya habían sido reprogramados para hoy.

Si fue afectado por la medida, envíe su testimonio y/o foto a reportes@lanacion.com.ar.

En ambos aeropuertos los vuelos fueron reprogramados para esta madrugada y aquellos que estaban fijados para hoy conservaron el horario originalmente estipulado, según anticiparon fuentes de la ANAC en diálogo con este medio.

Sabotaje. Anoche, en tanto, seis gremios aeronáuticos atribuyeron la falla a un "sabotaje" de controladores militares y consideraron "sospechoso" el desperfecto detectado en los sistemas de comunicación.

"Funcionan en un plan concebido para generar imagen negativa del sector aeronáutico en la opinión pública, como método para favorecer un clima privatista" y, "luego, vender las empresas a manos de empresarios amigos", expresaron en un comunicado de prensa firmado por Omar Torres, el secretario general de la Asociación Técnicos y Empleados de Protección y Seguridad a la Aeronavegación (ATEPSA); Ricardo Frescia, secretario general de la Asociación Argentina de Aeronavegantes (AAA); y Rubén Fernández, de la Unión del Personal Superior y Profesional de Empresas Aerocomerciales.

El desperfecto. La falla, que se registró a las 13.10 de ayer, tuvo lugar "en el Sistema de Comunicación de ACC (Centro Control Área)", según había informado ayer el organismo en un comunicado. "El desperfecto detectado proviene del Voice Switching, que es el mecanismo que establece la comunicación entre las aeronaves y las torres de control", habían explicado.

El organismo aconsejó ayer a todos los usuarios afectados que se comunicaran con la aerolínea con la que habían contratado sus pasajes para poder reprogramar su vuelo. El sitio de Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 tiene un listado completo de todas las empresas que operan en las terminales aéreas (ya sean internacionales o de cabotaje ), así como los últimos datos provistos por las mismas compañías.

La Presidenta canceló su viaje. Incluso la presidenta Cristina Kirchner tuvo que suspender ayer su viaje hacia Salta y lo reprogramó para el próximo lunes debido a los desperfectos registrados en las terminales aéreas, según consignó la agencia Télam. La mandataria debía viajar hacia la capital salteña para la inauguración de una planta de producción de cerámicos.

Colombia Canal, aka Railroad

[from Merco Press, 14 February 2011]

Rail alternative to the Panama Canal proposed by China to Colombia

A rail alternative to the Panama Canal built by China is being considered by Colombia in a move that would boost trade between Asia and South America. The 220 kilometers 'dry canal' would link Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail, according to Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia.

“It's a real proposal... and it is quite advanced,” he told The Financial Times. “I don't want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense.”

”The studies (the Chinese) have made on the costs of transporting per ton, the cost of investment, they all work out“ added President Santos.

The rail link would run from the Pacific to a new city near Cartagena in northern Colombia, where imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export throughout the Americas, the Financial Times report in Sunday's edition said.

The project is one of several Chinese proposals designed to help boost transport links between the two continents.

It is also hoped the rail link would help encourage the US to ratify a four-year-old free-trade agreement. Agreements with Colombia and Panama, which would eliminate most tariffs for both countries, have stalled since they were signed in 2006 and 2007.

The Panama Canal represents roughly 5% of world trade, with 13,000 to 14,000 ships passing through it every year.

Sino-Colombian trade stood at more than 5 billion US dollars in 2010, making China Colombia's biggest trade partner, after the US.

”Colombia has a very important strategic position, and we view the country as a port to the rest of Latin America,” Gao Zhengyue, China's ambassador to Colombia, told the Financial Times.

The report also said talks are most advanced over a 800 kilometers railway and expansion of the port of Buenaventura. The 2.7 billion US dollars project is funded by the Chinese Development Bank and operated by China Railway Group.

According to a report posted on the website of the China Coal Transport and Marketing Association last October the project would link the Pacific to the Atlantic and be used to transport coal. Colombia has South America’s largest coal reserves and is one of the world’s leading exporters.

only if you look suspicious . . .

[from Merco Press, 18 January 2011]

Controversial Body Scanner to be Used Shortly at Ezeiza and Santiago Airports

The Body scanner will soon be used by the Airport Security Police (PSA) at Argentina’s main airport.

Airport Security Police is equipped with seven units which they will begin using at Ezeiza Airport and later on at Aeroparque, Mendoza, Salta, and Bariloche. Procedures published in the Official Bulletin indicated that this new technology will be used following specific guidelines.

These include having officers of the same sex as the passengers in question performing the scans as well as analyzing the images, and also that the scanners will only be used if there is sufficient reason to suspect that a passenger is carrying illegal drugs, explosives, or other prohibited substances or elements.

In approximately a month the body scanning system will start being used at the Arturo Merino Benitez terminal in Santiago de Chile. The machine will be used mainly in the fight against drug trafficking, and the scans will be carried out by the Investigations Police (PDI).

The PDI has already been using one of these scanners at the border station in Chacalluta, Arica since April of last year. Thanks to the use of this technology, 90 kilos of cocaine have been found in the stomachs of 65 traffickers, most of which were of Peruvian descent. Around 20 people are scanned each day at the border office in the northern zone.

Supporters claim that there are advantages to using the full body scanner as opposed to the traditional strip search as you can look for hidden objects without physically touching a person or removing clothes. However, the scanner has caused controversy world-wide due to the violation of people’s privacy as the body appears almost nude in the images it provides. Opponents also object to the fact that this technology uses radio waves, the long-term effects of which are not yet known.

the story behind our disrupted departure from Argentina

[from Brandon Sun via The Canadian Press Online Edition via Associated Press, 11/8/10, 11:40 AM]

Air travel chaotic in Argentina as overloaded main airport suffers strikes, reprograms flights

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A fistfight between pilots in an airplane cockpit led to a weekend of chaos for thousands of travellers in Argentina, where authorities were still dealing with the backlog on Monday [Nov. 8th, our day of departure].

The country's main international airport was already struggling to absorb 20,000 more daily travellers due to the closure Thursday of Argentina's main domestic airport, Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, when the fight between pilots for rival unions led to a complete shutdown of the country's main carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas.

The fight apparently started when one discovered that the other was carrying a camera to document any problems on their flight, and it became so violent that airport police hauled them off the plane in front of their passengers. Their unions both declared a strike, demanding that neither pilot be punished by the state-owned company.

More than 50 flights were cancelled Thursday, causing a backlog that forced the cancellation of 40 per cent of flights at the Ezeiza airport through the weekend. Thousands of passengers were stranded, including hundreds whose planes were left sitting on the runway. Ezeiza's passenger terminals were jammed with a sea of frustrated travellers, and traffic crawled on the already crowded airport highway.

By Monday, Aerolineas Argentinas and its Austral subsidiary were almost back to normal, with only 15 per cent of scheduled flights grounded.

But then flight attendants for the nation's next-largest carrier, LAN Argentina, went on a surprise strike, alleging that the company was violating Argentine work rules. The company denied it, and the government ordered mediation. In the end, three LAN Argentina flights were cancelled Monday and two dozen others were rescheduled [one of which was ours].

"The idea is to continue normalizing operations in the next hours. The reality is that there will be flights that don't leave, and we should resolve each one of those cases in the best way to avoid affecting passengers," Transportation Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi told the local Noticias Argentinas news agency.

leaving Argentina

Mike & I were sitting in a Salta coffee shop Monday morning when we noticed on the TV news that many of the day's flights into & out of Salta had been canceled. We were not able to translate the subtitles well enough to understand why, although Mendoza & Córdoba seemed to be experiencing extreme weather.

Back at the hotel I visited the LAN website to check the status of our 3:25 PM flight from Salta to Buenos Aires. On time, it claimed.

Arriving at the Salta airport far too early, we found the LAN ticket counters closed, so we stood in line. Soon we noticed travelers behind us whose flights on other airlines had been canceled. When LAN employees began to appear after 1 PM, we learned that the LAN ticket counter would open at 2 PM, that our flight would be delayed & combined with another flight, & that there would be no tickets for these stranded passengers. One couple with a baby in a backpack went off to find a bus.

Our flight finally took off shortly before 6 PM. The projected 7:30 arrival would have worried us more except that the domestic airport in Buenos Aires is closed for renovations during the month of November, which means all flights are arriving at EZE, & we didn't have to take the cross-town taxi ride.

Still, we needed to retrieve our luggage before we could check into our 9:30 PM Delta flight to Atlanta. EZE was crowded & chaotic. Shortly after 8 PM, I suggested to Mike that he stay at LAN baggage claim to pick up the bags while I ran to Delta to secure our seats to Atlanta.

I was nearly too late. Even though it was barely 8:30 PM, the passport-checker said the flight was already closed. I told her that wasn't okay, so she sent me to argue with the ticket agents. Even though Mike hadn't yet appeared, the agents were sympathetic & guaranteed our place on the flight. One agent even proposed that she & I go find Mike. Needless to say, while we weren't finding him, he arrived at the ticket counter where I wasn't.

Soon we all found each other, the agents checked our two bags & gave us boarding passes. We dashed up the escalator to security where we found an endless line. After turning 3 corners & watching a couple with a baby slip past us all as if they were royalty, Mike decided we were royalty, too. We ducked under the barriers & raced to a security check station. Our cavalier behavior worked perfectly. Within minutes, we were through security & rushing toward immigration.

During this particular passage, we kept an eye out for the ticket agent who had promised to usher us through the crowds. She never appeared. But as we arrived at the immigration line, a Delta official hailed us by name. Yay, I thought, we're going to make it.

"You have missed the flight," he said.

I said, "No we haven't. We're right here." "

No, he said, you are too late, the door is closed."

While Mike headed for the immigration line, I kept arguing with this guy. I refused in six different ways to be kept off the flight.

The official called Mike back from the immigration line, chatted into his headset, then suddenly told us to try to get through the line.

I told everyone in the line, "Let us through please, or else we'll miss our flight." Everyone let us through. In two minutes, I cleared immigration, & the officious official told me to come with him, quickly. I said, "We have to wait for Mike."

Then I noticed the 6 or 7 Delta employees, trim as soldiers in their blue & white & red, milling before us. "You have 2 minutes to run 100 yards," one said. Another employee in high heels sprinted ahead to clear a path through Duty Free.

We ran so fast & so well, we ran right past the final bag inspectors. Someone turned us back to allow the officials to go through the motions of looking through our bags.

Then we ran to the gate, hurried down the jetway, noticed surprise on the faces of the flight crew, & stumbled to our seats, giddy, goofy.

The young man who had taken our seat cheerfully moved back to his own. When he told Mike he had a few things in the seatback pocket, Mike pulled a can of chewing tobacco or snuff, held it up & said, "Oh no, this is bad for you. I can't give you this."

That's when we started to laugh.

20 people die each day on Argentina roads

[from The Latin American Herald Tribune, Saturday, October 2, 2010]

14 Die in Bus Accident in Northern Argentina

BUENOS AIRES – At least 14 people, including several children, were killed and five others suffered serious injuries when a minibus collided with a truck on a highway in northern Argentina, police said Monday.

The accident happened around midnight Sunday, when the bus hit the truck on the outskirts of Villa Ocampo [Santa Fe Province], a city located about 870 kilometers (541 miles) from Buenos Aires.

The bus driver and 13 passengers, including a couple, their daughter and seven other children and teenagers were killed in the crash.

The five passengers injured in the accident were taken to a hospital in Villa Ocampo, police said.

The truck driver was not injured in the crash, but he was hospitalized for treatment of shock, precinct chief Jose Luis Leguiza told Buenos Aires radio stations.

The bus was carrying a children’s dance group that had performed at a music festival in Villa Ocampo and was returning home to the nearby town of Villa Guillermina, Leguiza said.

Investigators suspect that the truck was traveling without its lights on because there are no indications that the bus driver tried to stop to avoid the collision, Leguiza said.

Argentina, where enforcement of traffic laws and fines for violations have increased in recent years, has one of the highest traffic mortality and accident rates in the world.

An average of 20 people die each day on the South American country’s roads, non-governmental organizations say.

I love trains

Argentina once had "the most extensive railroad system in Latin America" [Shumway]. Today, the system is much reduced, but you can still travel from Buenos Aires to some interior cities, including Bariloche, Córdoba, Mendoza, Posadas, & Tucumán. I look forward to taking a few of these trips. You can travel turista (tourist), primera (first class), Pullman, or camarote (sleeper).

Click here for the official railroad site with routes, schedules, & prices.