Around 5 or 5:30 am we arrived in Lima - about 5+ hours later than planned. Of course, one is always pleased to arrive someplace safely rather than quickly, so my Mom and I were relieved and tired. We stopped in at our hotel across from the airport for a 90-minute nap (refreshing!) and then headed back to the airport after breakfast for our 9:20 am flight to Cusco. After successfully boarding and taking off on time, we arrived to Cusco...or rather the air over Cusco. It appeared we brought the bad weather with us from Atlanta! A storm had set in on the valley city, and with mountains all around, it was too precarious to land. The plane circled for 30 minutes waiting for the weather to clear...and after 30 minutes, there was no choice but to return back to Lima. Now what? Our hotel and reservations were back in Cusco! Oh well...back to the hotel Ramada. At the time we were very disappointed, but later in retrospect we realized it was a serendipitous arrangement. We were so tired from lack of sleep (who can sleep on a plane anyway?) that had we tried to make it at the 11,500 feet altitude of Cusco AND with a walking tour, we likely would have fainted and not enjoyed the city anyway! This allowed much needed rest...and preparation for the early rise the next day...
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.