Bariloche view of the lake and Andes mountains from our room
To be able to do a trip like this is a true gift, only available to those of us lucky enough to own and fly airplanes. Time to start dreaming, planning, then just go!
Some songs just make you want to get up and go – and so it was with Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with me” ringing in my ears as we headed off for a memorable three-month swing through the Caribbean, South, and Central America. Our steed for this jaunt – our 1975 Dash 10 Grand Renaissance Commander 690A.
We had flown from our home base in Corvallis, Oregon, to Eagle Creek airport outside Indianapolis. We had the annual inspection completed there prior to the trip. So, we de-parted with a clean, squawk-free aircraft.
The following was our route; stops are shown in ICAO code.
KSEF – MKBS 2.4HRS Out over the blue Caribbean Sea, then transit across the green and verdant island of Cuba, no problem if you have the overflight permit.
Ian Fleming International Airport is beautifully located on the north coast of Jamaica. It is a non-commercial airport, with all the facilities of a major international airport but without the size, costs and inconvenience. We were the only aircraft. We were picked up and whisked to the fabulous “Goldeneye” resort; once home of Ian Fleming, author of all the James Bond books, hence the name.
Originally, we were going to stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but with Hurricane Fiona causing flooding, etc., we opted to bypass the storm to the south and go to Martinique.
MKBS – TFFF 3.6HRS Flew across the Caribbean’s blue waters with islands sprinkled here and there and the odd puffy cumulus cloud poking up toward our cruise altitude of 27,000 feet, but never quite making it. This makes for a wonderfully relaxing flight. Martinique airport is large but very easy, as it has a separate General Aviation terminal. It is a French Island, very well kept, very French. Rented a small car and saw the entire island in a leisurely couple of days.
TFFF – SYCJ 2.2HRS Another easy, almost cloudless flight to our first sight of South America. Low, flat, jungled with wide and lazy rivers snaking their way to the sea. We land at Georgetown, Guyana. We have come specifically to see Kaieteur Falls.
An hour flight in an old well well-used Cessna 206 to get to Kaieteur Falls. Initially, the country is flat and cut through with large rivers, and farms giving way to jungle stretching as far as you could see. Legal and illegal gold mines mar the otherwise pristine landscape. Soon, the hills and valleys start to appear, then the plateau that gave birth to the falls grows ever closer. Here are the pristine jungles seeming to go forever, and in their midst the magnificent Kaieteur Falls. We do a very low pass before a bumpy landing on the short dirt runway. This is a national park, the rangers come out to greet us, and a young woman is introduced as our guide. A short ten-minute walk and we burst through the dense bush right on the edge of the falls. We were the only visitors to this mesmerizing and beautiful spot. A rare and treasured gift. The weather was wonderful, clear and not even oppressively hot. Then, in a few minutes, the clouds built and a torrential downpour started, drenching us to the bone, but it was warm, so no harm, just nature on full display. Back at the runway, we waited for the worst to pass, then another hour flight back to the capital.
Suggest using Ogle airport rather than the main airport. It is more General Aviation oriented and much closer to the city, about a 20-minute drive. From the main airport, it can take up to 2.5 hrs. due to very bad traffic.
SYCJ – SBEG 2.2HRS A beautiful flight over endless jungle. Approaching Manaus, there are huge lakes, apparently a paradise for fishing, and reachable by float plane; maybe next time! Manaus is a large, sprawling city amidst the jungle, sitting on the great Amazon River. Very easy arrival in Brazil, the ground handler whisked us through the formalities. The next day, we hired a speedboat and were taken on a wonderful tour of the river. We swam with pink river dolphins and saw the convergence of the Amazon and Negro rivers, a sharp line dividing the combining rivers into brown on one half and black on the other.
SBEG – SBCY 3.1HRS The jungle slowly cedes its dominance to open bush country and then cattle farms. Cuiaba is a very large, modern city. We were met by our lodge guide and sped off for the couple hours’ drive to the Pantanal. This is a huge area that floods during the wet season, but now, during the dry weather, it is more accessible. Spent three wonderful days walking, horseback riding, and lastly boating on the large rivers that bisect this natural world. Famous for its Jaguars, it lived up to its reputation. We saw five of these magnificent creatures up close from our high-speed launch.
SBCY – SBFI 2.3HRS Mainly open country, large ranches becoming more frequent the closer we got to Iguazu. Another easy and quick transit through the airport and off to the magnificent Belmond hotel, a pink beauty, the only hotel inside the boundary of the Iguazu Falls National Park.
The spectacular Iguazu Falls will take your breath away. They seem to go on forever, with each turn on the rim side path giving you yet another stunning panorama. The park opens at 9 AM and closes at 5 PM; outside these times, the falls are only available to guests of the Belmond. I spent many hours as the only person alongside this wonderful, awe-inspiring spectacle, a rare gift in this overcrowded world.
We took a high-speed, large RIB boat equipped with three 300 HP engines to right under and into the cascading torrent at the base of the major falls, a thrilling but very, very wet outing. Should not be missed!
We visited the Argentine side of the falls but found it more like an amusement park.
On departure, with ATC’s blessing, we circled over the falls; they simply asked us to let them know when we wanted to continue our flight
SBFI – SADF 2.5HRS Almost following the mighty Rio De La Plata, farming dominates the landscape. Beautifully manicured fields stretch to the horizon, off into Uruguay and Paraguay. The great city of Buenos Aires comes sweeping into view, a huge sprawling mass. We got radar vectors into our General Aviation airport. The airport is full of executive jets, turboprops, and myriad general aviation types. Very fast and easy entry into our fifth country, Argentina. The city has a very European vibe, wide avenues, great restaurants and nightlife. We even managed to get a Polo lesson at a nearby estancia! We also ate at a famous steak restaurant where the portions are huge, and they cut the steak with a spoon to demonstrate the tenderness.
SADF – SAZS 3.2HRS The countryside gets sparser and drier the further west and south we go. Then, in the distance, the thin white line on the horizon slowly rears up into the mighty Andes mountains. Passing the beautiful, deep blue Lago Manuel Huapi, we landed on a sparkling, clear day at the San Carlos De Bariloche airport. We were the only private aircraft there. The handler who was meant to meet us never appeared, but it was an easy task to get through the small airport. This was where we had our only real concern with the aircraft. The right engine had what appeared to be a serious oil leak. Oil was all over the lower cowling, and when I removed the side panels, I could see pools of oil in the channel running under the engine. I cleaned the engine and the surrounding area as well as I could. Then did a five-minute engine run, from this I could tell it was a seep, not a major leak, which would spray oil everywhere. After multiple phone conversations with the engineers at maintenance back in Indiana, I decided to forgo a couple of hours’ flight further south to probably the most remote of our planned stops. Instead, after our visit, we proceeded directly to Santiago and regrouped there.
Bariloche and the surrounding mountains and lakes are a scenic delight, we spent several days driving around in our rental car appreciating the scenery, along with the great roads and great hikes.
SAZS – SCEL 2.2HRS We crossed over the Andes mountains and were awestruck at the views of the craggy snow-covered peaks. Easy arrival with radar vectors onto the unneeded ILS as it was another CAVOK day. Wonderful FBO, modern, all marble and glass. Immigration and customs done right in the FBO.
We checked on the oil leak, and it seemed less, if anything, hardly noticeable on the dip stick, although oil stains can be easily seen on the cowling, but very little oil makes a big mess. We kept a close eye on it as we proceeded. Santiago is a great city with the Andes mountains providing a grandiose backdrop. Here we rented a car and drove south to the Chilean wine country, then further south to the land of lakes and volcanoes. Beautiful scenery, wonderful hotels and restaurants, great smooth roads, so well sign-posted almost impossible to get lost.
SCEL – SCCF 2.5HRS This was one of the most spectacular flights I have ever done. The air was silken, and the visibility beyond was perfect as we flew along the spine of the Andes mountains. Ever-changing topography from snowcapped peaks jutting into the high teen thousands, to steep valleys, bottomed by rushing aqua blue rivers, multi colored hills disappearing into the hazy blue distance. As we approached Calama, the land was high, dry and harsh but with an ethereal beauty.
We landed here to visit San Pedro De Atacama and then take a four-day tour into Bolivia. Both are truly spectacular places of high, remote mountains, rugged scenery and virtually uninhabited desolation. The huge salt flats in Bolivia are truly a wonder to behold. We even stayed at a hotel built almost entirely of salt. We also stayed at the world’s highest altitude hotel. The “Tayka del Desierto” at 15,091feet. Breathtaking not only for its altitude, but also for its isolation and stunning views.
A dawn balloon ride over the high desert of the Atacama was another of the highlights of this amazing area.
SCCF – SCDA 0.8HRS A very quick flight down to the Pacific Ocean at Iquique, famous for its huge dunes and cliffs rising abruptly only a mile or less from the pounding ocean surf. We stopped here to go paragliding as it is famous for the soaring conditions, the constant sea breeze creating a never-ending ridge soaring paradise. I flew over the city, then further south along the huge dunes, soaring until sunset.
SCDA – SPZO 2.2HRS The approach, landing and departure at Cusco at 10,850 feet, nested amongst towering peaks, with a runway in the middle of the city, is truly spectacular. The weather for both was brilliant VFR. You need good climb performance on departure, even in our rocket ship, we had to slow from our normal 160 knot climb to 130 to make the altitude restrictions. Rather than go more directly, we routed over La Paz, Bolivia, and Lake Titicaca, well worth the extra few miles to see the magnificent scenery of these unique places. We had visited Cusco previously and made the stop mainly to see a good friend, so we only spent the night. We stayed at the Hotel Monasterio, a wonderful, not-to-be-missed experience.
SPZO – SPQT 2.7HRS Scattered low-level stratus clouds appeared as we passed from the high Andes and its plateau to over the mighty Amazon jungle. Another VFR arrival put us into Iquitos on the Amazon River, a great place to experience the surrounding jungle. We landed on an unusually cold day – the locals told me they had never experienced cold like this. It only lasted a day until we were back to the normal hot and humid atmosphere. A guide from the river lodge where we were booked met us in the terminal. After an hour or so drive, we arrived at the river where our outboard-equipped launch awaited. It was a wonderful, scenic ride up the river, a good two hours to our remote lodge. Set right on the banks of this great, wide river, it has all the amenities you could ask for, as a bonus, almost no bugs. We spent a couple of days on amazing scenic river trips, fishing for piranha, and jungle treks where the guide picked up and showed us various snakes, spiders and frogs with poison on their backs. We saw great flocks of white egrets rising in unison as we cruised the river. Another amazing experience among so many on this great continent.
SPQT – SKCG 3.1HRS Cartagena, Colombia one of the oldest Spanish colonial cities, they are preserving the history alongside the very new city. Hotel Casa San Agustin in the old city, converted from an old colonial mansion, is exquisitely beautiful. We hired a driver for a city tour and spent an interesting day both in the car and walking. The Signature FBO is very good, and everything is done there for both arrival and departure. It is on the opposite side of the runway to the normal passenger terminal, so very fast and easy. We were delayed about an hour on departure. Very heavy rain was flooding the airport, but once it stopped, departures began soon after, as things drained and dried quickly. Soon we passed the weather and again settled into another flight in the clear skies
SKCG – MPPA 1.3 HRS The Panama Canal views coming into land are wonderful. We hired a speedboat for a canal tour and spent a very interesting half day seeing the sights and dodging the ocean-going ships plying the waters. Incredible city, amazing what questionable money can build. We were the only private aircraft on this General Aviation field, so very easy and also inexpensive.
MPPA – MRLB 1.7HRS Liberia, Costa Rica. This is on the dry side of the country. It was the first time we saw multiple US corporate jets on the trip. Playground of the wealthy, I guess. We hired a car and spent a couple of days exploring, from the mountainside coffee plantations to the jungles. I had spent many days flight testing Boeings coming out of the large maintenance facility at the airport of the capital city, San Jose. Also, I had been here on previous vacations, so we did not do too much exploring, but this is a country of infinite possibilities.
MRLB – MNMG 0.7HRS A quick scenic flight to visit Granada, Nicaragua, on the shores of the huge Lake Nicaragua. We stayed on the lake shore and visited Ometepe Island using the regular scheduled ferry. While walking around Granada’s cobblestoned streets, eating the wonderful food, and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of this old city, we wondered why it has such a bad reputation. Famous for its cigars, we visited one of the factories to learn about the manufacturing process. Almost everything was done manually. I even got to cut and roll my own. Funnily, our binoculars were confiscated on arrival and had to be reclaimed on departure, after paying a fee of $20 or so. President’s orders, apparently.
MNMG – MHRO 1.2HRS Gorgeous flight over Honduras’ coffee and tobacco-covered hills, interspersed with pristine forests. Approaching the coast, steep-sided mountains gave way to the blue Caribbean Sea and the gorgeous island of Roatan. Another very easy and quick transit through the airport, immigration and customs. Stayed at the beautiful Ibagari resort and made several great scuba dives in the warm, clear waters, teeming with a huge variety of marine life. Nice to be on the ocean after months ashore. A fitting and relaxing end to our foreign flying adventure.
MHRO – KBRO 3.4HRS Flew over the Yucatan peninsula with its rich history and storied Mayan ruins. Then out over the gulf and into our first real IFR approach of the trip; 400 overcast, rain, and heavy gusts. Brownsville is a very nice place to return to the U.S., with friendly customs officers who are both quick and efficient. We refueled at the local FBO and were off to New Mexico.
KBRO – KABQ 3.0HRS Flew across the long, empty, and mostly flat Texas country. Then, approaching Albuquerque, the mountains shrug off the flats and rise like a battlement guarding the city. But at our 28,000-foot cruising altitude, it is hardly intimidating. Coming back to the US makes you realize how flying here truly is incredibly easy and efficient. The FBO gave us a ride to the hotel, and we tucked into a delicious Mexican dinner.
KABQ – KCMA 2.6HRS Another sparkling day of smooth air put us into Camarillo airport, home of one of the best airport restaurants anywhere, the “Waypoint” cafe. We visited friends for a couple of days. Then headed home to Corvallis, Oregon.
KCMA – KCVO 3.1HRS We eased down, into the lovely Willamette Valley, spreading its green fields, bounded by the lazily winding Willamette River. Then a couple of chirps of the tires and another great trip was in the logbook.
You probably don’t need Sinatra to get you dreaming of similar escapes. With your aircraft and a small taste for adventure, a flight like this is just waiting for you!!
We used the following companies to assist with the trip:
VAMOS Expeditions out of Lima, Peru, for all hotel and tour reservations. It is wise to have one company do this because if you are delayed, one call is all you need, not multiple conversations with downstream hotels. Also, they have extensive experience and provide invaluable guidance on hotels, tours, etc.
For clearances and ground handling:
Argentina – Aerowise
Brazil – Athena
Chile and Peru – AviaSur
Others -Skyplan of Canada.
I have travelled worldwide not using handlers, but on holiday, and especially with passengers, it is very worthwhile.
Costs are pretty outrageous in Brazil. One landing ended up costing $3,500, but this included all enroute and approach navigation fees for the entire Brazilian route. Generally, it was between $500 and $1,200 per stop, including: landing, parking, customs, immigration, handling, and navigation fees.
Fuel was almost exclusively through World Fuel. Except in the U.S., where I used CAA and Everest.
I used a GPU at every stop – not needed, but for me, just insurance.
ATC was excellent and easy to understand everywhere. We filed IFR for each leg, it was easy and a very similar operation to the U.S. Most of the time in radar contact. Usually trued at 285 kts at 480 lbs. per hr. at FL260, 270 and 280.
The weather for the entire trip was basically VFR with just a couple of exceptions:
SKCG – rain, low clouds (+/- 1,000 feet) on arrival and departure.
SADF – Very windy on departure – up to 35 to 40 kts, that big tail is a nuisance!
KBRO – Rain, low clouds and gusty Enroute, we would occasionally divert around build-ups. Generally departed between 9 and 10 AM to avoid the afternoon buildups common in the tropics.
Stayed at each stop between 2 and 8 days.
Cost? Well, I don’t really want to know. So worthwhile regardless, and how many people get to do this?
My wife has an Instagram account, @airsafari.sa, with lots of videos and photos, not only of this trip but also flying around southern Africa.
I would be happy to share information on all aspects of planning and doing a trip like this. Just email me at: twoflyers@outlook.com
If you have an interest in my previous flying life, 40 years of flight testing and worldwide aircraft delivery, check out my book “World Beneath My Wings” available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
To be able to do a trip like this is a true gift, only available to those of us lucky enough to own and fly airplanes. Time to start dreaming, planning, then just go!
Blue skies and tail winds!
