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Airplane News / Airline News / Travel With Children / → All Tags

Another Baby Born In The Air, Another Set Of Free Airline Tickets

Someone was probably not listening to her doctor, but things turned out pretty well despite the circumstances. Last week a baby was welcomed to the world at an altitude of about 24,000 feet aboard a Transportes Aereos Militares flight, and we’re thinking the little girl has already caught the travel bug.

The newborn was about two weeks early, but despite the makeshift maternity ward mother and baby were doing fine. Thankfully there was a doctor and nurse on board to ensure things went smoothly as passengers headed to La Paz experienced some unique in-flight entertainment.

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World's Most Dangerous Airports / Bolivia Travel / Juana Azurduy Airport / SRE / → All Tags

At Least The Juana Azurduy Airport Has a Paved Runway

We're still adding to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Know a stomach dropping, palm sweat inducing airport we should check out? Send it along.

It's been a while since we updated our World's Most Dangerous Airports list but thanks to a Jaunted tipster, we have learned of yet another scary airport to seek out/avoid. It's Juana Azurduy (SRE) in Sucre, Bolivia.

I flew in once (this was 1993, I spent a summer in that part of the world). It's like a lot of other airports - hot and high (about 9000 feet above MSL), in a natural bowl of mountains. The really nasty trick is that just at the end of the runway there is a small hill: incoming aircraft descend, then have to pull up sharply, then drop again to hit the end of the runway.

What makes matters worse is that there is no taxiway, so having gone past the terminal building the aircraft apparently starts to leave the runway altogether to the right before making a turn in its own length and taxiing back up to the terminal. Very unnerving if you haven't done it before!

You can see a great shot of the airport here on Airliners.net. On the bright side, the airport's runway is paved--something that you don't always get in this part of the world. And while the landing can be freaky, the airport is only open from sunrise to sunset so there can be no attempts to maneuver the descent in the dark. Phew!

Related Stories:
· Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport [Wikipedia]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]

[Photo: tesking]

Amazing Race 13 / Television Travel / Videos / → All Tags

High Flying Travel: Inside the World of Bolivia's Cholitas

Though the best part of "Amazing Race" is all the drama between teams--and teammates--we're sometimes left wanting a little more in terms of the cool stuff racers get to check out on the course.

But National Geographic presciently published a piece on Bolivia's female wrestlers in September, which fleshes out the story of the cholitas:

In the cold, treeless, comfortless city of El Alto ("high point"), 13,000 feet above sea level, there are one million people, most of whom fled here over the past three decades to escape the countryside's pervasive misery.

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Amazing-Race-13 / Amazing Race 13 / Chasing Racers / Television Travel / TV Travel / → All Tags

Amazing Race 13: Did You Push My Sports Bra off the Ledge?

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 13 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Lucky Season 13 of The Amazing Race is clipping right along, and the action is heating up! Last week, Anthony and Stephanie were booted, while Ken, Tina and their damaged marriage made it to the mat first.

This week, will Terence and Sarah keep from imploding? Can Mark and Bill use their considerable brain power to surge ahead, or will Nick and Starr get down and dirty with the divorcees?

Only nine teams remain. Who will make it to the Pit Stop and who will be Philiminated?!

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Airlines / American Airlines / Evo Morales / → All Tags

American Airlines Suspends Bolivia Travel

American Airlines, which provides the only nonstop flights to Bolivia from the US, announced it has halted flights between the countries. Service is expected to resume October 2, but we're not counting on it.

It all depends on the worsening political situation in one of South America's poorest countries. After unprecedented support during his first three years in office, Bolivia's first indigenous president is experiencing fierce reprisals from the European-descendant minority opposing plans to nationalize the country's use of natural resources.

We can't blame AA for being skittish, but at least Morales hasn't been calling tourists "Shithead Yankees!"

Related Stories:
· American Airlines Suspends Bolivia Flights [IHT]
· American Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: alainbachellier]

WTF-Map / Little Known Destinations / Cordillera Real / Mountains / → All Tags

WTF is Cordillera Real

Welcome to Where To Find, our growing guide to those little-known places that never seem to show up on the travel radar--until now. We're not saying they're undiscovered, but you may need to look 'em up on our WTF Map.

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worlds-most-dangerous-roads / Driving / Mountain Biking / → All Tags

World's Most Dangerous Roads: Bolivia's Road of Death

Since summer trip driving season is about to go into full swing we figured why not take a look at the world's most dangerous roads. Know a road rage inducing strip of asphalt that puts normal highways to shame? Send it along.

Do you really need any more evidence than the above video to prove that this road belongs on the World's Most Dangerous Roads list?

Every year, 200 to 300 people die along a stretch of dirt road less than 50 miles. Locals know The North Yungas Road, as El Camino de la Muerte, or "Road of Death." Packed buses regularly plunge off cliffsides. The 43-mile road leads northeast from the La Paz to Coroico, in the Yungas region of Bolivia. Along the way, it winds up and down through the Andes Mountains.

First, the road ascends to a nausea-inducing elevation of over three miles, before plunging down to a height of 1,079 feet. Stop for a minute before the descent -- as long as no cars are coming -- to glimpse an untouched mountain landscape.

Travelers, many of whom must maneuver tractor trailers and buses, contend with sharp dropoffs (with no guardrails to break the fall) and single-lane width. Frequent rain and fog reduce visibility, make the road surface muddy, and loosen rocks from the hillsides above.

Extreme mountain bikers have taken to riding the stretch of road, dodging diesel trucks and jumping roadblocks. Let's just hope they wear their helmets.

Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking runs mountain biking tours on the road, definitely a summer vacation with an edge if you attempt it.

Related Stories:
World's Most Dangerous Roads [Jaunted]

Sports / Travel Health / → All Tags

Apparently, There Is Such a Thing as Too High

Travelers to high altitude areas of South America are always being warned to take care of their health when they get up high, and are always whining for months about their ill-health when they come back. And the risks at altitude are nothing to be ignored--you might remember the guy who didn't make it back from Tibet on the new railroad, a victim of altitude sickness.

So let's say you're up in the mountains of Bolivia, or more specifically in the town of Potosi, over 13,000 feet above sea level. Should you be prepared to play a game of soccer? The answer's a very strong no, according to Brazilian team Flamengo who reckon that "allowing teams to play at high altitude was a form of doping."

Of course, it wouldn't be anything to do with the fact that they didn't win the game (to their credit, perhaps, they did manage a draw). Flamengo is refusing to play again under such circumstances. Perhaps they just wanted to head home fast for Carnival.

[Photo: nutak]

Related Stories:
· No More High Altitude Matches [Guardian]
· Death on the Rails [Jaunted]