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Fly Around The World With Me 268 Individual Flights PART EIGHT |
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TRIP DETAILS: Click here to view a map of the trip. |
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FLIGHT 237: October 6, 2003 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (SBGL) Sao Paulo, Brazil (SBSP) Well, Rio is everything it promised – and then some. We arrived on the evening of September 30 and stayed with some close friends right on the Copacabana beach. It was a wonderful stay. We’re now begin our final chapter in our trip around the world in our Cessna Turbo 182T. It’s about 6:30, just after dawn and the weather’s not all that great, but the flight should be uneventful in any case. It’s 70F degrees and humid. We probably won’t get off the ground till close to 7:00 since we still need to top off the tanks, file our flight plan and taxi over to the end of this 13,300-foot runway - 28. We’ll be flying to Sao Paulo today at 10,000 feet and we should arrive there at about 8:15 local time – taking into account a one-hour time shift to the west. FLIGHT 238: October 6, 2003 Sao Paulo, Brazil (SBSP) Florianopolis, Brazil (SBFL) We’ve had a great breakfast at the terminal and we’re pressing onwards to Hercilio Luz, International airport in Florianoplois. Once again we’ll be flying at 10,000 and we should arrive about 12:45. We’ll grab a late lunch, bid adieu to Brazil and head on to our final destination for today – Montevideo, Uruguay. FLIGHT 239: October 6, 2003 Florianopolis, Brazil (SBFL) Montevideo, Uruguay (SUAA) Florianópolis is situated on the Island of Santa Catarina (the capital of the state of Santa Catarina) and has a landscape sprinkled with lakes, sand dunes, 42 beaches and small islands all along the coast. It is quite beautiful. This is a place we will need to revisit for sure. We must keep moving! Once again, we’ll be cruising at 10,000 feet on this five-hour flight. It’s currently a comfortable room temperature (68F degrees) and the skies are overcast with light coastal clouds. We’ll get on top of this layer and we ought to see a magnificent sunset on this clear evening. We have contacted the Carrasco International Hotel in Montevideo and arranged for a late arrival. FLIGHT 240: October 8, 2003 Montevideo, Uruguay (SUAA) Buenos Aries, Argentina (SAEZ) We arrived in Montevideo just after 20:30 on Monday and we stayed at the beautiful, five star Carrasco International Hotel built in 1999 – it’s quite remarkable. We spent last evening with some very close friends and had a spectacular meal at the Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel. It’s now just past 10:00 on Wednesday, October 8, 2003 and we’re on our way to Buenos Aires – about a 125-mile jaunt. We will be flying at 6,000 feet and Ezeiza International Ministro Pistarin airport in Buenos Aires is reporting a 1,200-foot ceiling in light rain. We should arrive about 11:30. We will be spending a few weeks with some close friends in Buenos Aires. FLIGHT 241: October 26, 2003 Buenos Aries, Argentina (SAEZ) Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina (SAVC) The past few weeks have been a blast! We had a real nice time. It’s now just after 7:00 on October 26, 2003 and we’re about to embark on a 775 nm trip to Comodora Rivadavia in the south. We’ll be cruising at 8,000 on this leg. It should be smooth sailing for the most part. We'll be flying over low cloud cover a good part of the way. And, it’s warm enough (66F degrees) such that icing should not be a problem. The weather reports strong headwinds as we leave the local area, swinging to 15 kt tailwinds about 50 miles out, then back to headwinds as we approach Bahia Blanca. There are also reports of moderate to severe turbulence in the Bahia Blanca area. Just south of Viedma, we’ll be putting our life-jackets on as we traverse about 125 miles of water. As we approach Trelew, we can expect to battling very strong headwinds that’ll bring our ground speed to below 100 knots. However, according to the current radar images, the clouds will have cleared, meaning that we can rest easier knowing we don’t have to be concerned about icing as the outside temperature approaches 32F degrees. FLIGHT 242: October 27, 2003 Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina (SAVC) Carlos Ibanez Del Campo, Punta Arenas, Chile (SCCI) Comodoro Rivadavia is nicknamed the “Capital of Eolic Energy” by the locals – wind-energy devices were everywhere to be seen. We spent the evening at a lovely motel on the Gulf of San Jorge, and we’re now on our way to Punta Arenas, Chile. This will be a about a 450 km trip and we’ll be flying at only 6,000 feet to avoid icing. It’s about 9:10 and we should arrive in Punta Arenas around 13:30. It’s a fabulous day for flying and about the only degree of excitement will be landing in Punta Arenas with 25-30 knot crosswinds! We have confirmed reservations at the Best Western Hotel Finis Terrae. FLIGHT 243: October 28, 2003 Carlos Ibanez Del Campo, Punta Arenas, Chile (SCCI) Puerto Montt, Chile (SCTE) It took just even longer to clear customs and immigration in Punta Arenas than it did when we left Comodoro Rivadavia. We hit the rack very early last night because we wanted to get an early start on the long day ahead of us. Our first leg will be about a 550 mile trip northwards, from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt. It’s just coming up on 6:00 and we’ll be flying at 12,000 feet. And, if my math is correct, since we’re going to be battling 50-knot headwinds, we can expect to be burning up about 13 gallons of fuel per hour, at an airspeed of 110 knots and we’ll obtain a ground speed of less than 100 knots for the first part of this LONG flight. The first 60 miles or so, we’ll be flying in Chilean airspace – after that, we’ll be flying over Argentina most of the way. We should arrive about 12:30 with a bit of luck and fuel. I have three messages Captain: 1) Bring plenty of food and coffee, 2) Make sure the cowls are closed and 3) CONSERVE FUEL! This is definitely going to be Pitot Heater time – the outside temperature at our cruising altitude will be about 10F degrees. Yikes! FLIGHT 244: October 28, 2003 Puerto Montt, Chile (SCTE) Arturo Merino Benitez International, Santiago, Chile (SCEL) We had a great lunch at the airport in Puerto Montt. The meal was called “Empanada” – a combination of meat, chicken or fish, with onions, eggs, raisins and olives inside a flour pastry. Fantastic! It’s now approaching 15:00 and we’ll carry on to Santiago. This will be about a 500 mile trip, so we should arrive around 19:25. It looks like the flight will be very smooth. A heavy marine layer will develop around Temuco and stay below us until we reach Linares. We have confirmed reservations to stay at the Hotel Manquehue in the Santiago suburb of Las Condes. FLIGHT 245: October 31, 2003 Arturo Merino Benitez International, Santiago, Chile (SCEL) Cordoba, Argentina (SACO) What can one say about Santiago? It’s a rockin’ town. It’s just coming up on 6:00 in the morning and we’ll be testing the specifications of our Cessna C182T Turbo today, as we climb to 19,000 feet over the mountains to Cordoba, Argentina. The outside temperature at that height will be near 0F degrees! We should arrive about 9:30. Captain, I might suggest that you disengage the autopilot once you reach our cruising altitude so that you can maneuver around the mountain peaks. FLIGHT 246: October 31, 2003 Cordoba, Argentina (SACO) Silvio Pettirossi Intl, Asuncion, Paraguay (SGAS) We had our special clearance to land in Cordoba as arranged when we left Comodoro Rivadavia last Monday. We’ve filled the tanks and our tummies and we’re continuing our trip today to Asuncion, Paraguay. We’ll be flying at 10,000 feet on this 500-mile trip and we should arrive about 16:45. We have confirmed reservations at the Hotel Westfalenhaus that is only a few minutes away from the Airport as well as downtown. FLIGHT 247: November 3, 2003 Silvio Pettirossi Intl, Asuncion, Paraguay(SGAS) El Alto Intl, La Paz, Boliva (SLLP) We spent a fantastic weekend in Asuncion and regretfully, we need to press onwards. Today we’ll be flying at 17,000. The airport itself is 13,310 feet above sea level… whew! This is another LONG flight – so the message is as always CONSERVE FUEL. Oh yeah, bring lots of coffee and snacks as well. It’s 07:45 and we should arrive in La Paz around 14:00. It’s a comfortable 76F degrees in Asuncion, but it’s going to get cooler in a hurry at our cruising altitude. So, let’s break out the oxygen and hop into our wild mustang – we’re going ballistic! FLIGHT 248: November 4, 2003 El Alto Intl, La Paz, Boliva (SLLP) Jorge Chavez Intl, Lima, Peru (SPIM) It’s 07:45 and we’re on our way to Lima, once again at 17,000 feet. This flight plan has us traveling 842 miles so we should arrive about 14:00. Again, it is vitally critical that we CONSERVE FUEL! The skies are absolutely clear today, so we don’t need to concern ourselves about icing. About half way through the trip, however, we will experience some pretty choppy air for about one and a half hours . Other than that, we’re good to go ballistic! We have confirmed our reservations at the Best Western Embajadores hotel. FLIGHT 249: November 5, 2003 Jorge Chavez Intl, Lima, Peru (SPIM) José Joaquín de Olmedo Intl, Guayaquil, Equador (SEGU) It’s just after 08:45 and we’re on our way to Guayaquil, Equador. We’ll be cruising at 8,000 feet. It’ll take about 6 hours and 45 minutes to complete this journey, meaning we should arrive about 13:30. The weather’s good and it’s a great day to fly the friendly skies! FLIGHT 250: November 5, 2003 José Joaquín de Olmedo Intl, Guayaquil, Equador (SEGU) Santiago de Cali Intl, Columbia (SKCL) We got to the airport about 13:25, cleared customs and immigration and we're now continuing on to Columbia. We’ll be cruising at 9,000 on this trip. It is 14:55 and this is approximately a 420-mile flight, so we should arrive at about 19:45. FLIGHT 251: November 6, 2003 Santiago de Cali Intl, Columbia (SKCL) Tocumen Intl, Panama City, Panama (MPTO) We arrived in Columbia on schedule and spent the evening at the Mercure Hotel Cali Casa del Alferez, about 5 miles from the airport. We managed to sleep in after the long day yesterday, not getting back to the airport until almost noon hour. In fact, per our filed flight plan, we’ll be taking off at 12:45 for Panama City. This will be about a 460-mile flight and we should arrive about 15:15. We’ll be flying at 10,000 feet. FLIGHT 252: November 6, 2003 Tocumen Intl, Panama City, Panama (MPTO) Juan Santamaria Intl, San Jose, Costa Rica (MROC) We managed to get in and out of customs quickly, got our flight filed easily and we’re on our way to San Jose at 15,000. It’s 81F degrees at 16:45 and we’re looking at about a 300-mile flight. The wind has died down completely. We should arrive just past dusk about 19:30. FLIGHT 253: November 7, 2003 San Jose, Costa Rica (MROC) Augusto Cesar Sandino Intl, Managua, Nicaragua (MNMG) We spent a pleasant evening at the Hotel Aeropuerto. This is a country that really deserves to be considered as THE place to live. Democracy and freedom abound. What a great country! Regrettably, we have to move on. We’ll be traveling at 12,000 this morning en route to Managua. It’s now about 07:10 as we depart on this 175-mile trip, so we should arrive just before 9:00. FLIGHT 254: November 7, 2003 Managua, Nicaragua (MNMG) Toncontin Intl, Tegucigalpa, Honduras (MHTG) It’s now about 11:45 as we depart on this 130-mile trip to Tegucigalpa, so we should arrive around 13:00. We’ll be flying at 12,000 feet again. It's a beautiful day for flying! FLIGHT 255: November 7, 2003 Tegucigalpa, Honduras (MHTG) El Salvador Intl, San Salvador, El Salvador (MSLP) The time is now 14:45, we’ve topped off the tanks and our tummies and we are on our way to San Salvador. This is a 110-mile trip and we’ll be flying at 8,000 feet. We should arrive about 16:00. FLIGHT 256: November 7, 2003 San Salvador, El Salvador (MSLP) La Aurora Intl, Guatemala City, Guatemala (MGGT) There are thunderstorms here in the San Salvador area. The time is now 17:15, we’ve topped off the tanks and our tummies and we are on our way to Guatemala City. This is another 110-mile trip and we’ll be flying at 12,000 feet. We should arrive at exactly the same time we took off - about 17:15 as a result of a one-hour time shift. We’ll spend the night in Guatemala City, then press on to Cancun, Mexico for a well-deserved rest. FLIGHT 257: November 8, 2003 Guatemala City, Guatemala (MGGT) Philip S. W. Goldson, Intl, Belize City, Belize (MZBZ) A $9.00 cab ride, and we were at the Holiday Inn Guatemala. When we arrived, we were naturally very tired after a long day, so we ate in at the Los Comensales restaurant on the 2nd flooor of the hotel – the meal was outstanding. We then got to our rooms and… died! And, naturally, we slept in. So we’re here at the airport and it’s 11:00 as we leave for Belize City. It’s about a 220 mile trip so we should arrive about 14:10 local time, considering a one-hour time shift. We’ll be cruising at 11,000 feet on this leg. FLIGHT 258: November 8, 2003 Belize City, Belize (MZBZ) Cancun Intl, Cancun, Mexico (MMUN) We had an opportunity to grab some lunch and speak with some of the locals about their city. We’re now going to complete our traveling for today by flying to Cancun, Mexico where we will spend the next few days chilling-out! We’ll be flying at 3,000 feet on the 225-mile journey. The current time is 15:45, meaning we should arrive in Cancun about 18:00. FLIGHT 259: November 11, 2003 Cancun Intl, Cancun, Mexico (MMUN) C P A Carlos Rovirosa Intl, Villahermosa, Mexico (MMVA) We spent an awesome long weekend in Cancun. We’re now about to embark upon a 400-mile low-level trip to the C P A Carlos Rovirosa Intl airport, in Villahermosa. It’s now just coming up on 07:00, so we should arrive about 09:30 where we will grab some breakfast and head onwards to Mexico City. By the way, we’ll also be flying over water in the gulf for about 30 minutes, so break out the life-jackets. FLIGHT 260: November 11, 2003 C P A Carlos Rovirosa Intl, Villahermosa, Mexico (MMVA) Lic Benito Juarez Intl, Mexico City, Mexico (MMMX) We had some great huevos rancheros at a small cantina near the airport. We’ve filled up on coffee and we’re on our way to Mexico City. We’ll be cruising at 16,000 feet, so break out the oxygen. The time is currently 11:45, so we should arrive in Mexico City about 14:45. About one hour into our flight, we’ll again be flying over water in the gulf for about 60 minutes, so get out the life jackets one more time. As we make our final approach, we'll need to drop like a brick! FLIGHT 261: November 12, 2003 Lic Benito Juarez Intl, Mexico City, Mexico (MMMX) General Juan N Alvarez Intl, Acapulco, Mexico (MMAA) We spent the evening near the airport, because we planned on getting an early start this morning. We’ll be flying at 14,000 feet to Acapulco today – a beautiful day for flying. It’s just about 06:45 and the trip will be about 170 miles. We’ll arrive around 8:30, grab some breakfast and head on to Ixtapa – Zihuatanejo airport. FLIGHT 262: November 12, 2003 General Juan N Alvarez Intl, Acapulco, Mexico (MMAA) Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Intl, Zihuatanejo, Mexico (MMZH) We had breakfast at the airport, and we’re continuing northward. We’ll be flying at 8,000 feet to Zihuatanejo, a 110 mile trip. Except for low level haze, it’s a beautiful, calm morning and a great day for flying. We’ll be flying over water for a good part of the trip, so let’s break out the life preservers. It’s about 10:30 so we should arrive just before noon hour. FLIGHT 263: November 12, 2003 Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Intl, Zihuatanejo, Mexico (MMZH) Don Miguel Hidalgo Intl, Guadalajara, Mexico (MMGL) What can be better than a Mexican lunch? It’s 13:45 and we’re continuing on into the mountains to Guadalajara. Our flying time will be two hours on the two hundred mile flight and we should arrive at the general aviation parking area (after about 15 minutes of taxiing), at about 15:45. We’ll climb to 16,000 feet, head east to the mile-high city of Uruapan, then northeast to the other mile-high city of Guadalajara. FLIGHT 264: November 12, 2003 Don Miguel Hidalgo Intl, Guadalajara, Mexico (MMGL) Gen Rafael Buelna Intl, Mazatlan, Mexico (MMMZ) I wouldn’t want to fly into Guadalajara without IFR on a bad night – yikes! Anyway, we’ve topped off the tanks and had some coffee and we’re on to our final destination after this long day of traveling – Mazatlan. It’s about a 200-mile flight and we’ll be flying as 14,000 after an extremely long taxi. I have no idea why they decided to put the small aircraft so far away from the main runway – dumb, dumber, dumbest! Anyway, it’s about 17:30 so we’ll arrive after sunset, which by the way, ought to be pretty spectacular this evening as we fly northwest over Tepic, then on into Mazatlan with the help of favorable tailwinds. FLIGHT 265: November 14, 2003 Gen Rafael Buelna Intl, Mazatlan, Mexico (MMMZ) General Jose Ma Yenez Intl, Guaymas, Mexico (MMGM) We spent the last couple of nights in Mazatlan and we had a great time experiencing the traditional folklore of Mexico. This morning we’ll be blasting of at 07:15 and we’ll be cruising at 10,000 feet on the 388-mile trip. We should arrive about 10:45 where we will grab a late and leisurely breakfast, top off the tanks and press onwards to Tijuana. FLIGHT 266: November 14, 2003 General Jose Ma Yenez Intl, Guaymas, Mexico (MMGM) Abelardo L Rodriguez Intl, Tijuana, Mexico (MMTJ) It’s now just coming up on 14:00 and we indeed had a great brunch in Guaymas. The tanks have been filled and we’re on our way to Tijuana – our last international destination in our trip around the world. We should arrive in Tijuana around 17:20. We’ll be cruising at 14,000 feet on this 444-mile trip. The weather will be pretty fair, although there are reports of haze en route. We’ll spend the night in Tijuana taking in the sites and head out tomorrow morning for San Diego to visit some friends this weekend. FLIGHT 267: November 15, 2003 Abelardo L Rodriguez Intl, Tijuana, Mexico (MMTJ) Lindbergh San Diego Intl, San Diego, California, USA (KSAN) We’re finally heading back to the U.S.A. It’s been a long trip up through Central America and Mexico. We’ll be staying with some friends in San Diego and head home to Oceano on Monday morning. Are you ready? This will be about a 20-mile flight. It’s just after 10:15 in the morning, and we’ll arrive in San Diego at 11:00. We’ll get as high as 6,000 feet. FLIGHT 268: November 17, 2003 Lindbergh San Diego Intl, San Diego, California, USA (KSAN) Oceano, California, USA (L52) We spent a very pleasant long weekend visiting with friends. Today we’ll be flying at 10,000 feet to Oceano – our final destination of this 365-day trip around the world. We’ll be airborne about 11:25, and this 230-mile trip should see us arrive in Oceano about 14:00. Other than some 25-35 knot headwinds and some periodic blankets of cloud, it should be a pretty smooth flight. Just about all of this trip will be over water – cold water – so, break out the jackets! En route, we’ll be passing over Catalina Island and passing just east of San Clemente. We’ll then head inland towards Point Mugu and Oxnard, continuing northwards passing to the east of Santa Barbara, up over Santa Maria and then begin our descent down into Oceano. Regrettably, there will be a lot of haze today, which will steal part of the view. But I have to admit, even if there will be haze, seeing the Central Coast of California and the lovely Pismo Beach once again, after being away 356 days, will be a VERY pleasant site – HOME AT LONG LAST. It’ll be great to slide into the spa! CONCLUSION At long last, we've made our final landing in Oceano, California, from our odyssey around the world. It was a great voyage and I'm tremendously glad to have succeeded without losing a wheel or wingtip or any other of the myriad accidents that could have occurred! What a fantastic time we had. We were able to meet up with our old friends and made many new friends en route with whom we will keep in touch and perhaps meet again one day. My wife was thrilled that the year-long journey was over. She insisted that I turn off the computer and we celebrated with a glass of nicely chilled champagne while soaking in the hot tub! Click here to view a map of the trip. |
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