Travel Show 8: Senor Monkey

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on July 26, 2010 under Travel Show Podcasts | Read the First Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this edition of the Digital Zone, we talked about:

• Smuggling monkeys
• Maggots on the plane
• Delta reports biggest profit in 10 years
• United rumored to be merging with Continental
• An individual of substantial size boards a plane
• Fire in the cockpit
• Power plant failure closes casinos
• Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin open for business
• Hawaii round-trip tickets for $525
• Alaska cruises for sale

Mexican authorities searching a man with a bulge under his shirt at the airport in the nation’s capital found 18 monkeys hidden beneath his clothes. Investigators grew suspicious after Roberto Sol Cabrera Zavaleta became “markedly nervous” when asked what he was transporting. Two of the monkeys he was carrying in a belt were dead. The 16 other survived the plane ride from Lima, Peru to Mexicao. Cabrera has been detained as authorities continue their investigation. In an interview with authorities released by police, Cabrera said he first carried the monkeys in his suitcase, but then hid the animals in his clothes so they would not be harmed by X-ray machines at the airport. He described the animals as “pets” and told authorities he had purchased them for $30. The monkeys he was transporting, called Titi monkeys, are a protected endangered species requiring a permit for possession. Images released by police show the monkeys tied up in pouches.

————————————————————————————————————————–

PODCAST SPONSOR: The Digital Zone is sponsored by Cliphanger.

The perfect accessory for all cell phones, PDAs, iPods, and MP3 players.

————————————————————————————————————————–

From the weird travel story department, US Airways flight 1537 from Atlanta, Georgia, to Charlotte, North Carolina, was about to depart when a gross discovery forced the plane back to the gate. Maggots appeared on board and were traced back to a container of spoiled meat that a passenger had brought on board and placed in an overhead bin. Once back at the gate, crews checked all of the other carry-on bags for the insects and cleaned the plane. The flight then took off for Charlotte, where the aircraft was more thoroughly cleaned and fumigated. The passenger who brought the spoiled meat deplaned in Atlanta and did not continue on to Charlotte. The spokesperson for U.S. Airways said, “We welcome customers from all walks of life, their baggage and even small dogs and cats on our aircraft, but we don’t really welcome insects, larvae or pupae of any kind.” Last month, there was the strange discovery at Cairo International Airport. Security stopped a man with an unusually large suitcase and found he had eight live foxes and 50 chameleons inside.

A passenger plane made an emergency landing at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday night after the pilot reported smoke and a possible fire in the cockpit. The pilot of the Delta aircraft put out the “very minor” fire himself after landing the plane and no injuries were reported. The Delta flight, which had 107 passengers and five crew members onboard, was flying from Atlanta to Hartford, Connecticut, when pilots smelled something unusual in the cockpit and decided to return to Atlanta. Delta was investigating the incident to determine the cause.

A power plant failure in New Jersey left Boardwalk casinos without air conditioning. Trump Plaza had to shut down Friday and Saturday while Caesars stayed open as crews worked to hook up temporary cooling. The CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts estimated that they lost $3.5 – $4 million. The problem was due to a break in an underground pipe that provided cold water for the casinos’ air conditioning systems.

One of Yellowstone National Park’s famous geyser basins is open to visitors again. The Biscuit Basin area opened to visitors for the first time this season. It’s located three miles north of Old Faithful. The area had been closed the past 14 weeks while workers replaced the boardwalk. National Park Service employees and members of the Youth Conservation Corps replaced or built more than 2,400 feet of trail.