ENTHUSIAST ’ S CORNER South America Flight Adventure
This vintage aircraft with the registration HI-594CT was in a real dazzling condition . Eric does not guarantee such flying adventures . But you know that they will take place at some point of every trip . Next day followed a three-day detour to Puerto Rico in the USA . Anyone who wanted could try out a seaplane flight in San Juan at their own expense . Back in Caracas the further itinerary was continuing on to Ecuador and Colombia . But thanks to VIASA we did not land in Quito as planned . Instead , we found ourselves brought to the Sheraton Macuto Hotel . This hotel on the outskirts of Caracas served as accommodation for stranded passengers since weeks . Despite a firm flight confirmation you later found yourself frustrated waiting in front of the display board in the airport . It announced the cancellation of almost all VIASA flights . At that time an everyday scenario in crisis-ridden Venezuela .
Finally arriving in Colombia late evening , we had a well deserved break without changing hotels everyday . Especially because the alarm clock rang at the Sheraton Macuto Resort at three in the evening . VIASA had rescheduled the cancelled flight from day before to early hours of the next morning . The following program included two day trips by plane from Bogotá . The reliable Avianca flew us first to Medellin , and next day to the coastal city Barranquilla .
If you wanted you could finish off the journey with a detour to Villavicencio , the propliner mecca for flights to the Amazon basin . On the way back home from Caracas to London we were lucky again . With the usual four hours delay , our VIASA DC-10 took off for Europe .
However , passengers who wanted to get off in Rome and Paris were unlucky The planned stopovers there were cancelled . Now the unfortunate people had to figure out in London how to reach their destinations .
In the year 1994 , the next Aeroprints tour to South America was scheduled . Because of the good experience on the last trip , it quickly became clear by which airline we would start the adventure this time . A Boeing 767- 200 from Avianca was waiting for our group in Frankfurt . When handing out boarding passes , the staff were surprised regarding the unusual seating reservation . Eric had booked window seats in advance for each of his twenty-five people . Avianca surely never had so many spotters on board at the same time on a long-haul flight .
In any case , Columbia turned out to be the ideal starting point for the onward journey to Ecuador , Peru and Bolivia .
In Bogotá engaged Eric used his excellent contacts to the local aviation scene . A plane from the Colombian Air
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