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April 2007 issue

Walking to the North Pole

Above, a cloudless sapphire sky seemed to stretch endlessly over the space at the top of the world.

April is the time to travel to the North Pole. In April, there’s no sunrise or sunset and the ice is thick enough for a Twin Otter plane (equipped with skis) to land.

Many have flown over the North Pole, approached it by icebreaker or passed under it by submarine, but I flew with six travelers and two pilots to this isolated region with the intention of hiking from our plane and setting foot on the Pole. This was April 1991 and I was 72.

We started from Ellesmere Island...

May 2008 issue

Stunning views in Mongolia

I went on a very interesting 19-day trip to Mongolia, July 1-19, 2007, with Nomadic Expeditions (Monroe Township, NJ; 800/998-6634, www.nomadic expeditions.com). The president of the company is Mongolian-American. They also have an office in downtown Ulaanbaatar.

The cost of the main trip was $3,575, and an extension to the extreme western province in the Altai mountain range cost $1,550. Airfare was not included.

Mongolia is a fascinating place. Approximately half the people in the country live in the capital of Ulaanbaatar and the rest are essentially nomadic. They may move...

October 2007 issue

Legroom medical concerns

In the letter titled “Economy Class Syndrome” (July ’07, pg. 16), the reader’s recounting of her husband’s pulmonary embolism demonstrates the dangers of the airline’s present policy of cramming more and more people into less and less space on their flights. One of my coworkers died of a pulmonary embolism last November immediately following a flight to the Philippines.

Moving about and doing leg exercises are a must and may decrease the probability of developing a pulmonary embolism. However, as airlines diminish the space allowed each passenger, something which can contribute to...

June 2007 issue

Luggage wrap not free

I recently encountered an airport scam that other ITN readers might watch out for.

On a return flight to the U.S. from Carrasco Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Jan. 28, 2007, immediately upon entering the terminal we were approached by a young American woman touting plastic covering for all of our baggage “for security and cleanliness.”

This was made to appear as a gratis security measure, but when the process was completed on our four bags, we were presented with a bill of $56.

Arriving at our destination, the blue plastic covering on many travelers’ bags made...

November 2007 issue

Limits to enforcing nonsmoking on board

ITN was mailed a copy of a letter sent by a reader to Oceanwide Expeditions, as follows.

My husband, Gene, and I were on Oceanwide Expeditions’ voyage to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula aboard M/V Aleksey Maryshev, Jan. 28-Feb. 15, 2007.

The expedition leader, Rolf Stange, and the guides and lecturers John Harrison and Rupert Krapp were well organized, fit and prepared for anything — and good company as well. Alan Hogan worked hard as hotel manager.

We knew that the ship is not a cruise ship, and we were grateful for its ability to...

March 2008 issue

Doctor on Board

Carry physician ID

In answer to the questions from the doctor not allowed to treat another passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight because he was not carrying his physician ID (Dec. ’07, pg. 45), I think the staff did what was right.

I cannot understand why a physician would have his identification in his checked luggage, of all places. He should know better.

I’m a mental health counselor and I have a copy of my license on my person or in my carry-on at all times, as checked luggage can get lost or the documents stolen.

DONNA McDONELL

Spokane, WA

September 2007 issue

Luggage lagged behind

My partner, Pamela, and I decided to support the work of Earthwatch (3 Clock Tower Place, Ste. 100, Box 75, Maynard, MA 01754; phone 800/776-0188 or 978/ 461-0081, www.earthwatch.org), a wonderful organization which allows laypeople to volunteer to work with scientists on expeditions all over the world. I had participated in prior expeditions in Nepal and South Africa, and we had decided to join a research project in Botswana.

We signed on with Earthwatch and booked our ﬂight on British Airways (B.A.). Our itinerary had us departing San Francisco for London (Heathrow) on Aug. 14,...

April 2008 issue

Siberia surprises

We knew Russia was big, but we didn’t realize how big until we traveled from Vladivostok to Moscow, westbound on the Trans-Siberian Express, May 29-June 11, 2006 — seven time-zone changes over 9,288 kilometers (5,771 miles).

We made our arrangements through MIR Corporation (Seattle, WA; 800/424-7289, www.mircorp.com), the U.S. agent for GW Travel, Ltd. (Altrincham, UK).

Among things that surprised us was the poor condition of the track in places, especially considering the amount of traffic on it.

There are several large, modern cities across Siberia with wide...