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TravelHaven News Brief – Spirit Airlines pilot strike could delay thousands

Jolynn Haven — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:51:28 +0000

Associated Press reports that a strike by Spirit Airlines pilots Saturday may disrupt thousands of vacationers headed to the Caribbean and Latin America from the eastern U.S. The Florida-based carrier canceled all flights for the day after its pilots walked out in a dispute over pay. Spirit is the largest single carrier at the Fort Lauderdale airport and runs about 150 flights a day from airports in the eastern U.S. Spirit tickets aren’t good on other carriers.

The airline said it was refunding fares for Saturday flights plus a $100 credit toward future flights. As recently as Tuesday it had said it would partner with other providers to serve its customers. More than 5,000 passengers arrive and depart on Spirit at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport each day. It didn’t immediately announce plans for its Sunday flights.

Spirit pilots have said their pay lags competitors such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue. The two sides have been in negotiations for more than three years. Although pilots could have walked out as early as midnight Friday, they continued negotiations kept until about 5 a.m. EDT under the guidance of the National Mediation Board in Washington.

“In the end, both sides could not reach an agreement,” said Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and the head of the airline’s branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, in a statement on the union’s website.
He said pilots “will not return to the cockpit until a fair and equitable contract is negotiated.”

The company said it offered to raise pilot pay by 30 percent over five years and offered to include work rule changes. It would have retained the four-day break between every pilot trip, something the company said no other ALPA contract has. The offer also included a $3,000 signing bonus and a larger retirement plan match. Spirit has about 440 active pilots.

“We are frustrated and disappointed that our pilots have turned down an over 30 percent increase at a cost of over $70 million over five years while disrupting thousands of our customers and jeopardizing the livelihoods of our over 2,000 other employees,” Spirit President and CEO Ben Baldanza said in a written statement.

Privately held Spirit is much smaller than major carriers like Delta Air Lines Inc; but it’s the only airline from Fort Lauderdale that flies to fourteen international cities and five U.S. destinations. Travelers trying to reach those cities could be stuck.

Spirit considers itself an ultra low-cost carrier, and says some of its tickets go for $9. It attracted notice recently when it announced that beginning Aug. 1 it would charge passengers up to $45 for carry-on bags.

TravelHaven Journal – Costa Rica Adventure Final

Jolynn Haven — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:30:36 +0000

Departing Costa Rica

We found out yesterday that Eddie, our friend from Costa Rican Trails, will be able to pick us up this morning to take us back to San Jose. This is great news because, of all our excellent guides, Eddie was the one we liked best, the one who first introduced us to this lovely country.

Each morning, around dawn, I have gotten up and gone out on my balcony to write in my journal. And every morning, I have been greeted by the beautiful sounds of birds and the howler monkeys saying hello. And just as early every morning, I have seen the landscapers and hotel personnel making sure the resort is beautiful for us. The surroundings at Casitas Eclipse are beautiful!

Random Thoughts

I’m so glad I planned this trip the way I did! We had some incredible experiences and I feel like we have seen so much that Costa Rica has to offer. I think my next trip to Costa Rica will start with a return to the Arenal Volcano, then to Monteverde cloud forest, then up to Guanacaste, another beautiful beach area.

The only major disappointment on this trip was the Manuel Antonio National Park hike. Maybe that’s because we got to see white faced monkeys (up close and personal), howler monkeys, etc. during the earlier part of our trip. Also, the forest at Manuel Antonio wasn’t nearly as dense as the one in Tortuguero. I just didn’t see much there. Of course we cut it short because of the heat and the dual-language issue. The 3-toed sloth was cool though.

The Costa Rican people (Ticos) we met were all very friendly and helpful. They seem to appreciate it so much if you try to say a few words in Spanish, which we always did. I recently read that, according to an international survey, Ticos were “the happiest people in the world.” When we asked Eddie about this, he said they were mostly happy with their health care and social services, which is paid for by the cost savings from not having an army. We asked what would happen if they were ever attacked and he replied that they were a neutral country so the USA would surely come to their aid.

Almost every village in Costa Rica has these five elements: a Catholic church, a school, a soccer field, a bar, and a police station – religion, education, recreation, and security.

Our trip back to San Jose was uneventful. We had planned to tour a coffee plantation, but it was rainy so we decided to just go back to San Jose and do a little more souvenir shopping at a store Eddie had told us about. The remainder of the day and our last night passed uneventfully. The next morning we were up early and off to the airport for our trip home to Orlando.

Pura Vida will linger in our hearts and in our memories for years to come.

TravelHaven Journal – Costa Rica Adventure 12

Jolynn Haven — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:53:09 +0000

Deep Sea Fishing

On our third day at Manuel Antonio we go out to fish for blue marlin!

We take a cab at 7:00 a.m. to the muella (pier), where we buy fishing licenses (44,500 colones for 3) and board the Blue Marlin II, operated by Captain Dave and his mate, Garden. We were supposed to go with Dale Weir, one of the charter company owners, but his boat wouldn’t start.

Getting under way around 7:45 we speed out over the blue Pacific waters for about an hour or an hour and a half. After about a half hour, my shipmates (not the crew) are lulled to sleep by the motion of the boat. But I was enjoying the wind through my hair and the sparkling water and sunshine. How exhilarating!

We heave to at last and throw in our lines. Then we sit for almost two hours with not even a nibble . Then Alisa gets a strike and hauls in a yellowfin tuna! It goes into the bucket hopefully to be joined by many more fish very soon! About 15 minutes later, Mike catches a needlefish—interesting, but a throwback, too bony. Five minutes later, I get a beautiful rainbow; unfortunately rainbows are not “eating fish” either, so over the side it goes. Another half hour with some nibbles but no real strikes, then Alisa brings in a nice mahi-mahi—another fish for dinner. After a while, we set out for another area where we catch a lot of little fish, but nothing decent and we decide to call it a day. We head in and get back to the pier, dinner in hand, around 3:45. Our quest for a huge tuna or marlin didn’t materialize, but what a fun day we had! And scored dinner too!

We take the tuna and mahi-mahi to El Avion where they grill them with lemon and butter and flambé them at our table, a ritual they always perform when guests provide their own catch. What a nice touch! We had the same server every night, Luis Lopez, so he is now like an old friend. The fish was delicious (and plenty for Mike, Alisa and I, since Kaley and Torrey don’t eat fish). And Alisa feels like a great fisherwoman, having provided dinner for her family. We have three sauces on the side—soy, pineapple soy, and another that I didn’t try. The pineapple soy was my favorite!

Tired from our day at sea under the strong sun with the constant motion of the water, we head to our rooms right after dinner. Big partiers, huh?

TravelHaven Journal – Costa Rica Adventure 11

Jolynn Haven — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:34:52 +0000

Another Day at Manuel Antonio

My second morning at Manuel Antonio National Park starts with a toucan in the tree next to my porch. It isn’t as large or colorful as I expected (thanks, Froot Loops), but that beak is just as I knew it would be—long and curved.

We’re picked up from the lobby at 7:45 by an Iguana Tours bus again for a 2 ½ hour nature hike in the National Park. We plan to devote the afternoon to the beach.

We’re paired with a Spanish-speaking couple, which means our guide has to give his remarks twice—once in Spanish and then in English. Of course, this slows us down considerably and after about 45 minutes, we’ve only seen a three-toed sloth, a spider and a grasshopper. We were very hot and the slow pace was very frustrating, so we decide to peel off from the tour and head for the beach.

We spend about three hours at the National Park beach. The bottom Is very stony near the shore with some very large rocks submerged a little past that, but once you get by those, it’s wonderful! The Pacific water is surprisingly warm with a soft sandy bottom.

Around 1:00, we walk to the nearby village for lunch. After eating, we go to the bus stop to head back to the beach and, after standing there a while, we figure that a bus surely should have come by now. About that time, an American guy comes over and tells us the police have blocked off the road, which means the bus can’t get to us. We have to hike a little way up the road to catch the bus back to the hotel.

It turns out that the vendors who usually line the beach selling their wares mostly don’t have permits. Today, the police are cracking down on them. This explains the strong police presence we noticed earlier in the day (probably they expected protests or trouble due to the crackdown). Standing at the bus stop we can see just a couple of policemen still on the beach.

The rest of the day we spend just relaxing at the hotel – napping, reading, talking. It was a nice change of pace from our activities and the constant sunshine.

In the evening, we take the local bus into Quepos, about a 15 minute ride. Not sure where to get off, we ride all the way to the end of the line. Then we walk around a little, looking at shops and decide on El Gran Escape (The Great Escape) for dinner. It was a wonderful meal, especially their signature drink with cacique, rum, orange juice and something else. It tasted like a creamsicle—Yum! The food was also delicious. We leave the restaurant, grab a cab for home, and retire for the night.

TravelHaven Journal – Costa Rica Adventure 10

Jolynn Haven — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:59:30 +0000

Whitewater Adventure

Lisa isn’t feeling well (darn it!), so the party consists of Mike, Kaley, Torrey and me. We’re up and at breakfast at 7:30 to be ready for our pickup at 8:10 and the Iguana Tours bus is right on time. We stop at the Iguana Tours office to transfer to a mini bus to take us to the Savegre (Savage) River and the adventure begins!

The ride to the Savegre takes about 90 minutes, much of it very bumpy (but not as bad as that road to Cana Blanca). This gives us a chance to see some of the non-touristy parts of the area, as we pass homes, industrial areas, processing plants, road construction, and more ordinary life.

We stop in Silencio to place our order for lunch, which we’ll get on our way back from the rafting trip. They are developing a small resort at the restaurant that sits right on the side of a mountain and has a great view! Mike and I ordered the tipical pork lunch and the girls order chicken. We get some water and soft drinks and then back on the bus to continue our ride to the river.

Along the way, Eduardo, our guide describes what is going past in decent English with a very heavy Spanish accent. He periodically whistles to the driver (in a cab separate from the rest of the bus) and the driver stops while Eduardo jumps out to get some “nature” for us.

We smell cilantro, the small round berries of which are coriander; ylang ylang leaves, which they use to make Chanel Number 5 perfume; lemongrass; and cinnamon—ok, so I never knew cinnamon was the bark of a tree, did you? All of these grow abundantly in Costa Rica! Eduardo even made us a grasshopper out of a leaf! We tasted lychee, a fruit with flavor like a grape, encased in a skin with soft spikes that you peel. After eating the grapelike portion, you are left with a large hard seed.

We make it to Rio Savegre and get into our life vests, followed by our very impressive safety presentation. Then it’s onto the rafts for our white water rafting experience! Amazing!

The rapids were Class II and III, which was perfect for our group. An exhilarating run through a rapid is followed by a “high five” with our paddles and then we’re treated to calmer waters, perfect for a swim. Getting out of the raft is perfectly easy. Floating feet first down the river, is pretty, peaceful and calm, although occasionally my rear end bounces on the rocks. But no harm done!

Getting back into the raft, however, is a maneuver I perform looking like Shamu at Sea World, sliding up onto the platform to greet the crowd. Not a pretty sight for sure! The guide grabs the “lapels” of my life vest and hauls me into the raft and I slide along the inflated “seat” on the floor of the raft. Just not graceful at all.

About halfway through the trip, we stop for an energy-boosting snack of sweet, tasty pineapple (so fresh and juicy) and water or fruit juice. We eat at a gorgeous waterfall, sitting on surprisingly comfortable boulders. Our river guides were great fun, telling us interesting facts about what we were seeing, splashing us with their paddles, trying to help us catch the small fish in a cup when we stop. And, all the while, we felt very safe knowing we had an expert guide in the raft with us and another one in a kayak close by in case anyone got in trouble.

The adventure comes to an end all too soon and we clamber aboard the bus, returning to Silencio for lunch, which was excellent. Pork or chicken, black beans, rice, a corn and green vegetable mixture and slaw, as well as blackberry juice to drink, which was a new treat for me. I wish I could find blackberry juice in Florida – it’s delicious!

Juices in Costa Rica are common and fantastic—papaya, raspberry, blackberry, pineapple (nothing like what we get in grocery stores at home), guava, and orange. My favorites are blackberry and raspberry. My least favorite are guava and papaya.

We get back to the hotel around 4:00 p.m. after a ride that included about a 20 minute wait at a one lane bridge under construction. That night, our whole group goes to El Avion for dinner watching the sun set over the Pacific from their cliff-side dining room. It was exquisite.

Then Mike, Kaley, Torrey and I (Lisa was still recovering) went over to the Tutu Bar in our hotel for a drink and some music.