It's hard to belive this could be our last day on the island. Time flies, especially when it is spent with family in a place like this. We set up a half day fishing trip and our local guide, Claude, met us at 730 sharp. We took off from the dock with our first mission - locate the sardines we needed as bait. We chose to hunt red tailed snapper over trolling for barracuda since the latter only allowed two to fish and the action would be better. It wasn't five minutes before we saw pelicans dive bombing the water, a sure sign of baitfish. With some awesome cast net skills, Claude soon had us armed. It was a short ride to the fishing spot where we were joined by several local boats. Julie wasted no time boating the first fish, and it was nonstop for three hours after that. Claude and i baited hooks as fast as we could and fished in between and when the girls took breaks. A group the day before had brought home 30 fish and the girls were determined to beat that number. Well, that wasn't a problem, since we brought home over 90 fish! That will be enough blackened snapper for all the guests, the staff and Claude took home a load for his family too. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, snorkeling and shelling. Julie and i paddled a kayak to a sandbar several miles offshore, something we will feel tomorrow I'm sure. Now it's time to kick back, relax and enjoy our final Belizean night before heading home to the tundra.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
