August 2003 Travel Newsletter

Fall Travel Programs Starting Soon
We are fast approaching the end of the summer and the start of our fall travel program schedule.  We are currently booking all of the shows.  So, if you are interested in presenting a show about a recent adventure or the fun vacation you just completed, let us know.  We will try to accommodate you with the available program slots remaining.
Latest Security News
The Associated Press recently reported that the Department of Homeland Security is asking airport security screeners to pay special attention to electronic devices passing through airport security.  This includes PDAs, cameras, flash devices and laptop computers.  If you are traveling with any electronic devices, you should expect to have to remove them from their case and possibly turn them on before being allowed through security.  (This was already being done with laptop computers.)
The Best Airlines?
Everyone has their opinion of the best airline, usually depending upon their past experiences.  Once a year, Travel + Leisure magazine publishes a list of the best-rated airlines, using 200,000 reader evaluations.  You may disagree, but maybe you can use it to select the airline you use for your next trip.  This year’s list appears in Travel + Leisure’s August 2003 issue and lists the following top ten domestic airlines and top ten international airlines:
Top 10 Domestic Airlines
  1) Midwest Airlines
  2) JetBlue Airways
  3) Alaska Airlines
  4) Hawaiian Airlines
  5) Southwest Airlines
  6) Aloha Airlines
  7) Continental Airlines
  8) American Airlines
  9) Frontier Airlines
  10) AirTran Airways
 Top 10 International Airlines
  1) Singapore Airlines
  2) Cathay Pacific Airways
  3) Virgin Atlantic Airways
  4) Thai Airways International
  5) Japan Airlines
  6) Qantas Airways
  7) Air New Zealand
  8) Icelandair
  9) Malaysia Airlines
  10) Swiss International Air Lines

New Product Spotlight - Back To School
Changes In Latitude has several new daypacks and courier-style, shoulder bags in stock.  They can organize and hold all you need for getting back to school and classes, the commute to work, or an afternoon of wandering around New Orleans or London.

    -   Jettison EXP – daypack that expands by over 20% and has side pockets for water bottle(s)
    -   Local – daypack with extra padding, side water bottle pockets and organizer pockets
    -   Transfer – courier-style shoulder bag with lots of pockets and large main compartment
    -   Data Transfer – courier-style shoulder bag with computer “nest” and organizer pockets

Stop by our store or visit the New Products page of our website to see other new luggage and travel accessories recently added to our inventory, all in our continuing effort to help make your travels more convenient and enjoyable.
Healthy Travel: Ear Safety
It is easy to forget about our ears and take them for granted, but they are very sensitive and can be adversely affected by travel in two different ways.  First, rapid air pressure changes during the takeoffs and landings of air travel can damage your ears.  Second, the loud noise of jet engines, or even a diesel bus engine, over a lengthy journey can also cause damage to your ears.  A very small, easily packed item can make a big difference in protecting your ears and increasing your overall travel comfort: ear plugs.  There are ear plugs designed to protect your ears from either of these threats.

Pre-molded rubber ear plugs or foam plugs are mostly designed to reduce the amount of noise that reaches your inner ear.  The pre-molded rubber ear plugs are available in different shapes and sizes, so not all varieties will be comfortable for your ear.  The foam ear plugs are designed to be compressed into a thin cylinder and then inserted into your ears where they re-expand to fill your ear canal and block out noise.  The Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) assigned to ear plugs is a measure of their noise reduction capability.  A higher NRR number indicates more sound is blocked out.  Noise reducing ear plugs can also help you sleep better in an unusual or noisy environment while traveling.

Pressure reducing ear plugs are usually made of pre-molded rubber, often containing a small membrane.  They regulate the rate of air movement into your ear, allowing your ear time to adjust for the changes in air pressure due to takeoffs and landings, and eliminating the resulting pain experienced by many travelers.  Due to the way they work, pressure reducing ear plugs can only be used for a few flights before they lose their effectiveness and will need to be replaced.

As with any health related products, the instructions for any brand and style of ear plugs should be read and followed closely for safe and optimum use.
Suggested Reading
“Kon-Tiki” by Thor Heyerdahl, 1950, published by Pocket Books.  This book is considered by most to be one of adventure travel’s classics.  Thor Heyerdahl, along with five equally adventurous Norwegians and a parrot, set off for the South Pacific from Peru, on a balsa wood raft.  Their intent was to prove that Peruvians could have colonized the Polynesian islands.  Although questions remain about Polynesian history, their journey is a true adventure about men and survival on the sea.
Just For Fun
Control Tower: "Frontier 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7."
Frontier 702: "Tower, Frontier 702 switching to Departure ... by the way, after we lifted off, we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway."
Control Tower: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7; did you copy the report from Frontier?"
Continental 635: "Continental 635, cleared for takeoff roger; and yes, we copied Eastern and we've already notified our caterers."
Newsletter Subscriptions
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"It is impossible to take a train or airplane without having a fantasy of oneself as a great hero
setting off in search of an enchanted princess or the Water of Life.”
    - W. H. Auden
Happy Travels!
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www.cil.com		 Changes In Latitude    2525 Arapahoe    Boulder, CO 80302    USA
phone: 303-786-8406     fax: (303) 786-8408
e-mail: adventure@cil.com
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