I had just returned from the Dominican Republic, where I had unsuccessfully applied for a pilot position on the 727, and was sitting in a Miami hotel weighing my options. I called a friend in the aviation business who told me that a Bolivian airline had an immediate need for a 707 co-pilot and suggested that I call their Miami office without delay.

Maria answered the phone and asked me if I was qualified on 707 with an FAA license. I answered yes and that I had an FAA airline transport pilot license, but without a type 707 rating. He did not ask any questions about recent experience on the plane, but he told me to be at the airport by 5.30. pm where I would meet the captain and flight engineer at the National Airlines gate for Houston. He added that a ticket would be waiting for me. She explained that we would spend the night at the Holiday Inn airport and early the next morning we would fly the cargo ship 707 to Bolivia via Panama.

The captain, although not in uniform, was easily identifiable by his black mustache on the handlebars. An hour and a half later we arrived in Houston, checked into the Holiday Inn, and then walked into the bar for a few rounds of beer. This was not a good idea as we had set up wake up calls for 4:00 am with a planned departure before sunrise.

The next morning, the flight engineer pre-checked the aircraft in the dark and then returned to the cockpit to configure his panel for engine start. The plane had been refueled the night before. All 4 engines were started and the captain brought the aircraft to the active runway. The Houston airport was shrouded in fog and we were only able to meet the minimum take-off visibility requirement. Two minutes later we were climbing through the lower strata into a clear night sky. After the equipment and flaps had retracted, we turned left over the Gulf of Mexico and headed for Cozumel just off the Yucatan peninsula, climbing to our initial flight level of 290 (29,000 feet).

When we leveled off, the sun came out and I experienced that sinking feeling that one feels after an all night flight or not having enough sleep. The flight engineer returned to the galley to make much-needed coffee and to warm up the crew’s food. In Cozumel we reported our position and were authorized directly to Panama. We flew over the northeastern tip of Honduras and Nicuragua, and next to San José, we requested the descent. During the last stages of the descent while maneuvering for an approach to runway 03R in Panama, we had a spectacular view of the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic Ocean through the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. At forty-eight miles in length, it has been described as one of the seven wonders of the world.

In Panama we refuel and acquire some additional containers. The aircraft was close to its maximum gross take-off weight for the prevailing conditions. A flight plan was presented to Santa Cruz, Bolivia with an estimated time en route of 4 hours and 35 minutes. During that time we would fly over Colombia, eastern Peru, and the northwestern corner of Brazil.

It was a long takeoff given the high gross takeoff weight and a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. Runway 03R was 10,000 feet long and we used most of it to fly. With the landing gear raised and the flaps retracted, we turned right over the Pacific Ocean toward the Columbia coast.

In FL290, the aircraft was in level flight crossing the Colombian coast southwest of Medellín. We continue to fly through western Colombia to the border with Peru at the point where it meets Ecuador. Above Iquitos, which is situated on the upper reaches of the Amazon River, we had burned enough fuel and had enough light to request a change in level to 330.

From Iquitos we continue through the northwest corner of Brazil to the Bolivian border at Rio Branco. Flying over Bolivia, we requested a descent authorization in Trinidad, about 120 nautical miles north of Santa Cruz. Twenty minutes later we circled to land on runway 34, which was 11,480 feet long and could accommodate 747s.

The terrain in Bolivia is a bit unusual. The Santa Cruz airport, which is located in the east of the country near the border with Paraguay, is 1,300 feet AMSL (above mean sea level). The Cochabamba airport in central Bolivia is 8,400 feet AMSL, while La Paz airport, which is located in the west near the Peruvian border, measures 13,200 feet AMSL and is the highest international airport in the world.

In Santa Cruz we boarded a 727 passenger flight to Cochabamba. Upon arrival, while walking down the ramp, I felt short of breath and had to consciously reduce my breathing rate to avoid hyperventilation. I had experienced similar symptoms when I first went to work in Yemen, which was 7,200 feet above sea level.

We walked to the airline operations office to chat. As I was considered a temporary employee, they took me to the accounts department where they gave me a handful of Bolivian pesos for the day’s work. The inflation rate was very high but it had not reached the hyperinflation that would come a few years later, when hypothetically the price of a meal could change before ordering dessert.

They took me to a boarding house to get some rest. In the evening someone came and invited me to dinner. After dinner we went to a disco which was the last place I wanted to go. I could feel myself sagging with fatigue, beer, and altitude. Sitting quietly in a dark corner of the disco, he hoped to avoid any physical activity. Suddenly an attractive and well-built young woman appeared. He said something in Spanish that I didn’t understand, then jerked me to my feet and dragged me onto the dance floor. The tempo was upbeat in the Latin American style. I must confess that 15 minutes of this almost finished me. I smiled at the girl and said “thank you,” then headed for the door out of breath and on the threshold of hyperventilating.

I didn’t go back inside, but found my way to the guest house, collapsed on the bed, and slept for 10 hours. The next day they took me to a steakhouse in a garden overlooking the mountains that surround Cochabamba. There I had the best steak I have ever eaten with salad and Bolivian potatoes. Dessert was a kind of exotic ice cream with fresh fruit salad and whipped cream. The trip to South America would have been worth it for that food alone.

Late in the afternoon, the airline put me on the general statement as an auxiliary flight crew on a 727 passenger flight from Santa Cruz to Miami via Panama. From there, I would return on my own to Chiang Mai, where I lived.

I was glad that the airline did not offer me a contract because it would have involved flying to La Paz on a regular basis. I had a bit of a hard time adjusting to 8,400 feet in Cochabamba. I doubt it could have coped very well with the layovers in La Paz at 13,200 feet. One of the American pilots who flew there regularly said he had a portable oxygen bottle by his bed at night. Outside his window, the children were playing soccer.

The opportunity to work on my passage to South America, fly over the Amazon rainforests and briefly experience Bolivian culture, came from being in the right place at the right time – a rare stroke of good luck!