A stuck-in-the-mud Land Rover and 2 burst tyres later, my bum hurts. Mountain Biking in the AndesMountains along Volcán Pichincha is somewhat tougher than I thought. We started at 3,200m altitude in the Andes Forrest where the trail starts cobble stoned – not perfect for my bum – did I mention that it hurts? I find out that my cute little hands are not made out for down-hill mountain biking as I can barely touch the brakes with my fingertips. Trust me, going down 1,800m in altitude over a distance of 38km, you want to be able to reach the brakes…
This is the dry season, so I am told. Not sure what rainy season means here. Maybe the preferred mode of transportation will be swimming? The day starts with a full blown rainy downpour and when I look outside I see snow on the mountains. Our mountain biking trail is therefore pretty muddy and hence the Land Rover got stuck. I didn’t know they could get stuck so easily or at all. We get helped out by a dumpster truck – what a great picture... The Land Rover swerves quite a bit on the single file road in the mud and I wasn’t amused on the drive up inside the car as the mountain drops a couple thousand meters to my right…
Today’s ice cream flavours: Guanábana and Naranjilla. Guanábana becomes my favourite fruit!
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.