Born to be wild

Splendid work from the top LBC technical team today brought you a live two-hour show from Adventure Travel Live – full of experts whose expertise was on top during a very lively programme. For a show that was all about expanding frontiers, there was a remarkable amount of news on obstructions to travel: in the shape of mudslides near Machu Picchu and kidnappings in Mauretania.

Charlie Hopkinson of the overland specialist Dragoman brought us the latest on trucking through Africa: his company has halted trips across the west of the Sahara, and is focusing instead on the eastern side of Africa. And Laura Rendell-Dunn of Journey Latin America told us that, despite the shut-down of Machu Picchu, she was confident that the location would be up and running soon. The big problem is that there are only two ways in to Machu Picchu: on foot, along the Inca Trail, which is currently closed; and on the train, along tracks that have been ripped up by mudslides. Laura said she thought there would be access by road and/or helicopter before long.

In the rest of the programme, the heckles started early – correcting my mispronunciation of “management machismo” (the ch should be in “ch”, not the Italian “k”); suggesting that the “grey market” for theme park tickets in Orlando was worth investigating (the scanners used by re-sellers are not reliable) and for promoting other Canary Islands ahead of Gran Canaria.

It’s going to be a fascinating week in travel, with the BA cabin crew ballot continuing, a High Court case on Tuesday involving new rosters, American Airlines dispensing with cash (plastic only for on-board purchases) and, no doubt, more profits for Ryanair. And I hope it’s a fulfilling and profitable week for you.

Happy Travels
Simon