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June, 2009:

Anti-Airbus Rhetoric Equals Ignorance

Jun 30th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
5 comments

There’s something I need to make clear to all the irrational, jingoistic would-be aviation pundits out there: Airbus aircraft are no more dangerous than their Boeing counterparts. Because of the recent crashes of Air France Flight 447 and Yemenia Flight 626, the Interwebz are ablaze with ignorant armchair aeronautical engineers insisting that the consecutive crashes involving Airbus-built jets are proof that they are inferior to Boeing. I’m just waiting for some chawbacon to blame it on the godless socialist European employees of Airbus. Jeez.
Here are some of the issues raised:
-Fly by wire: Most of your newer Boeing aircraft also use it. And it works extremely well for the military forces of the world flying under much more extreme circumstances, don’t you think? And yes, the auto features can be disengaged. Here’s where you need to look to get some education if you think otherwise.
-Composite components: Again, look to military aircraft. Composites are not causing a problem there, are they?
Let’s remember this – Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s plane was an Airbus. He plopped it down on the Hudson and it survived, and nobody was killed or even seriously injured. Of course, that is the third recent loss of a mainline aircraft involving an Airbus.
But statistically speaking, that’s not so unexpected. If two Boeings in a row crashed, would we call for the Boeings to be grounded? Nope. It’s happened before, and nobody pointed fingers at Boeing.
Look, Airbus makes a perfectly fine aircraft. Statistically, it’s no less safe than a Boeing. I’ll happily [...]

Boil and Bubble at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, New Zealand

Jun 24th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
2 comments

If an army of Parrotheads and Grateful Dead fans ever invades New Zealand, I know exactly what strategy to take to stop the assault: The New Zealand forces would need to establish its positition and fall back, leading the unsuspecting invaders to the Mud Pool at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland south of Rotorua.
There, the marching Parrotheads and Dead Heads would come to a complete standstill. They would be rendered immobile by a combination of cannabis, the crazy colors and the pits of bubbling, boiling mud.
Look, I’m not exactly proud to admit this: I could’ve spent the entire day at the mud pit, watching as volcanic gas built up pressure, created huge bubbles, and then exploded, spewing the smell of sulfur and rancid baked beans through the air. It smelled like I was living with my dad again!
Here’s the thing – this part of the north island has a lot of active volcanic features. And here at Waiotapu, they really force their way to the surface. It’s a fascinating landscape of mud pits, boiling ponds, sulfur pits and other weird crap that I can’t even begin to describe.
So what’s so cool about watching mud boil and splash all over? Well, if you’re from a place as extensively paved as Phoenix, it’s wonderful to get a reminder that the earth is very much still alive. That there’s change. And that, for all our technology and influence on the world, humans are just a small part of the whole. And maybe not even the [...]

Creature Feature – Coatis in Costa Rica

Jun 21st, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
No comments yet

If you like things furry and four-legged, there’s a good chance you’ll run into a coati during your visit to Costa Rica. I didn’t know this until I arrived in Monteverde, a laid-back town in the mountains north of San Jose.
We showed up in Monteverde after the bruising ride from La Fortuna – the boat portion of the trip across Lake Arenal was fun, but after that? Forget about it. An exercise in brutality, it was – but that’s for another post.
After stashing our bags at La Colina, I was eager to walk around and get my equilibrium back. I filled up some water bottles and we began meandering about. Off in the distance near a trailhead, I saw a bunch of small creatures with their tails proudly thrust into the air. We were far away, and I assumed this was just some massive collection of house cats.
Being the cat-friendly guy that I am, I wanted to pet them. So I made the universal “kittykittykitty” noise. And the group turned to face me as one.
These were no cats! They had longer snouts and huge claws. But they trotted gamely up to us – clearly, visitors had not been heeding the signs that we began reading: DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. They quickly surrounded us, hoping for food. When they realized we were going to obey the signs, they wandered off.
Interestingly enough, coatis live far north, all the way into Arizona. They’ve been known to hang out east of Phoenix. I [...]

Game-Changing Boeing 787 – First Flight Coming Soon?

Jun 16th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
2 comments

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Boeing 787 might be going wheels-up for the first time before July 1.
Let’s hope so. The 787 has the potential to change travel for the better. I’m not just talking about its fuel economy, which is still a great step forward. I’m not talking about its higher cabin humidity and bigger windows, which will make travel more comfortable.
I’m mostly thinking of the sum of its benefits. With its fuel economy, any company considering phasing out a bunch of older planes should really have a good think about the 787. Yes, it’s a big wide-body twinjet. But imagine replacing five 737-800s with three 787s-3s: Depending on the seating configuration, you’d carry more people with fewer planes.
Long term, I’d bet that adds up to fuel savings, more passengers moved, fewer gate fees and fewer planes clogging the taxiways and airways. On that last point: Southwest Airlines sends a never-ending stream of 737s from Phoenix to LA. Call me crazy, but why not fewer flights in more airplanes? That means paying fewer crew members, too. And it would free up some gates that airports could use to entice other airlines – like you, Phoenix Sky Harbor, that so dreadfully lacks international carriers to major international destinations (hint, poke, hint, hint).
That could mean fewer flight delays, resulting in happier customers (especially when you factor in the cabin enhancements).
I know I’m not alone here, as the always-wise Patrick Smith of Ask the Pilot fame confirms. I remember that, back in the “old [...]

Move Over, Sheep: Rabbits Star at New Zealand’s Shearing Shed

Jun 15th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

Really, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen someone shear a rabbit the size of a Shetland Sheepdog.
Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration. But let’s see you visit The Shearing Shed in Waitomo, NZ, and be able to look away. All over New Zealand, locals will try enticing you into watching a sheep get shorn. I’m from the Old West, and this is Old Hat.
Shearing a huge bunny, though, is another bag of oats entirely.
We did this after a pretty full morning including caving. We were pretty hungry for something weird to do, and Waitomo isn’t exactly Wellington. Heck, it’s not even Nelson! The Shearing Shed was right near the road to Woodlyn Park, so we said “why not?”
The schedule seems sporadic, and we were just lucky to be there moments before a friendly woman clutching a white Andora rabbit seemed ready to get the party started. This is also when a busload of German uni students showed up.
That day’s shearer drew the drama out, explaining about the care and feeding and growth of the rabbits. Let me say, I am still amazed at the size of an Angora rabbit, and I’m certain the Kiwis are happy to read this. Anyway, these little creatures are pretty handy. They’re small for “livestock” but they grow enough fur to be utilitarian. The folks at the Shed sell their wool for other people to turn into useful items, and I believe they may produce a little of their own, too.
You can pick up all sorts [...]

Watch Wallabies and other Wildlife in Australia’s Top End

Jun 11th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

Everyone has a reason for traveling – shopping, lying by the beach, sightseeing, sampling cuisine.
It seeing wildlife is the reason you book long-haul flights, put Australia high on your list. The entire continent is too much for most people to explore in a single trip – especially us Americans who struggle to get two weeks away from the cubicle. If you want to maximize the number of creatures you’ll see, there’s one place you need to visit: The Northern Territory, or Top End as it’s often known in Australia. It’s a real Australian travel experience you’ll always remember.
If you’ve seen Crocodile Dundee, you’ve caught a glimpse of the Northern Territory. It’s littered with towns bearing lyrical names like Humpty Doo and Jabiru, most derived from Aboriginal languages. Among its centerpieces is the Kakadu National Park,  measuring nearly 60 by 120
And each square mile of both the Top End and the Kakadu is overflowing with creatures of every size, shape and classification. The roads are rough. The distances are formidable. The routes are varying. And many of the creatures are fierece. That makes a guide a good idea. I highly recommend Wilderness Adventures.
During my time bouncing around the NT, here are some spots that yielded the best creature sightings (WARNING – mind your guides and everything they say about staying safe. Your life is on the line out there):

Corroboree Billabong

This place is absolutely crawling with crocs. You know you’re starting to get assimilated when you point one out to your travel buddies and [...]

Belize – The Right Destination for You?

Jun 8th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
2 comments

The cool thing about Central America is that just because you’ve seen one of its countries, you haven’t seen them all. It might be natural to assume that Belize would be like Costa Rica, but with more Mayan ruins. It would also be completely wrong.
So is Belize worth visiting? That depends on you, traveling friends, and what you want out of your journey. No matter what, Phillip SW Goldson Airport will be Belize’s first chance to make an impression. This is a Mos Eisley Cantina of an airport – hot, stuffy and far more chaotic than an airport of its Lilliputian proportions should be. Plus points – no jetways! You get to kick it Old School by descending a moving staircase (unfortunately, it’s not attached to a truck like Michael Bluth’s ride in Arrested Development). You’ll also see large commercial aircraft lined up with three-person Cessnas from local airlines. That ups the Indiana Jones factor.

Monkeys on the Prowl in Costa Rica

Jun 4th, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
4 comments

So picture sitting down to breakfast. You’re having a nice plate of eggs and some fresh fruit when a monkey comes bursting in through a window.
The sharp-eyed little guy, who might weigh about 10 pounds, surveys the situation. His finely tuned senses spot a bunch of bananas hanging from some sort of rack. Before you can even think to reach for your digital camera -and before anyone else can- he seizes a banana and slips back out the window.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, all 20 of you, abandons breakfast to see more of this brash little primate. He shimmies up a telephone pole, banana in hand, and crosses over the street via a telephone wire. There, he shares his banana bounty with the rest of his troupe while everyone snaps photos.
That’s Manuel San Antonio, Costa Rica, in a nutshell. Monkeys add even more flavor to a vacation than a bottle of Salsa Lizano.

Create a Taste of New Zealand in Your Kitchen

Jun 2nd, 2009
by WanderingJustin.
3 comments

Sometimes, I like to re-create my vacation in my kitchen. This weekend, I felt like making my own slice of New Zealand in the form of a raw fish dish I had at Aggy’s Shack in Queenstown.
I believe Aggy listed it on his menu as “Raw Fish in Coconut Milk.” Think of it as a South Pacific ceviche. I looked up several recipes and decided to use those as the basis for reverse-engineering my own. I found lots of references to kokoda and poisson cru. The second one seemed to mostly use ahi tuna, where Aggy’s creation seemed like a whiter fish.
Here’s my ingredient list:
1.25 lbs fresh opakapaka (a variety of snapper)
the juice of 6 fresh limes
1 finely chopped red pepper
12 ounces light coconut milk
3 chopped scallions
two cloves (not bulbs!) of chopped garlic
half-cup of chopped cilantro
dash of black pepper
1. Remove any skin from the fish and cube it into one-inch pieces
2. Submerge the fish in the lime juice. Refrigerate for three hours or until fish is white.
3. Remove, combine with other ingredients. You can refrigerate it a bit longer, or serve it immediately.
It pairs nicely with wild rice and a salad. A squirt of Sriracha hot chile sauce also adds some nice heat.
I think mine compared pretty favorably to Aggy’s version. If I do it again, I might add a squirt of soy sauce. Of course, there’s no way I’ll be able to equal his steamed green-lipped mussels.
 
 

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