This is a country of demonstrations, This morning we saw 2. We thought they were using guns at first but the loud "pops" turned out to be fireworks. The tourist bus drivers were pissed off that they had such low wages. It seems that the govt does not have good control on inflation even to the point the it raided and emptied the Social Security funds of the retirees. Next we saw some street Tango--pretty cool! And old man and a hot young babe were dancing very sensually and risqué.
Saw some slums, the immigrant areas (Italians, Spanish, Jews, Pollacks, Germans) and the huge soccer stadium. Saw Evita's stuff and San Martin (liberator of Argentina). Visited the rich and famous areas as well!
Had a fabulous Torrontes (Argentinean white grape) last night with dinner at a local eatery. So flowery and delectable like honeysuckle but not sweet. If the winos in the US every catch on to this grape they will make mucho. Ah, life is good!!!
Took the hydrofoil from BA to Colonia to spend the day here. It crosses the river Platt (the second widest river in South America) that is very shallow, brown and muddy. The locals say it is not polluted but who knows as this region of the world is not known for its environmental sensitivity. The hydrofoil ride took about one hour as Colonia is about 80 miles across the river. The sky was dark and it looks like rain, but we are troopers and a little rain actually feels good.
This is a very old town but has become a weekend retreat for locals from BA and Montevideo. The old part of town is just that, “old” and we cannot believe the number of dogs that are wandering around the town. We had a very pleasant walk around the town and then found a nice little restaurant to have lunch
This was a good thing as the sky opened up and we had a massive thunder – lightning rainstorm for a couple of hours. It was a small restaurant with excellent food and they let us and a couple of other tables hang out during the rain. We finally caught a break in the rain and walked back to the ferry dock. This was an interesting side trip but $120 a pop was not worth the money!
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
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.