There are quite a few examples of this in the series. For example, how did the kid from the Coal-Mining Town make it all the way to the Circus Town without using a flying squirrel suit and/or a grapple?!
Don't think too much about it. Charles the monkey was not shown having a grapple but could go places without it or even a Flying Squirrel Suit so it is safe to presume that they got their own ways to reach their destination.
He used some Magic Feathers. As to how he got to Circus Town before... hot-air balloon tour? Yeah I don't know.
When you have to find 7 friends you will no doubt pull your hair out looking for the seventh. Only to later learn that it's Baron! The brilliance comes in when you realize that he is "A man's best friend" so there actually was a hint.
There's also some Conservation of Detail at work. The man who gives you the quest tells you that even if you can't find seven friends, to come back and talk to him. The astute player will realize that he wouldn't say that unless it was important somehow, and sure enough you beat the quest by finding six friends and then talking to him.
A bit of a meta-example: The Evil Earth Pig brags about the secret to his power being that he's "78% fat". The brilliance comes in when you realize that his larger body makes it harder to see the Pig Bag when you're trying to throw him in.
