La Boca DistrictThis is the day that amiga Alberta flies back home. We have said our goodbyes the night before, and Bert is gone before Kathy and I arise at 8 am to enjoy yet another day of sunlight and cool breezes. Kathy and I will fly back to Buenos Aires for an extended 3-day stay to relax and tour BA further on our own. Lucky us! For now we stroll the grounds of the Estancia and come across a hidden vegetable garden and an old horse stall. We have breakfast and lunch in the restaurant at the ranch, where the food is very good. While the evening before at dinner we had listened to CD's of Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and American jazz of the 40's, now today we hear Nora Jones and Eric Clapton as we enjoy our meals. At 1:15 pm our taxi arrives to drive us to the airport in El Calafate and we make limited conversation with our Spanish speaking Bolivian driver. He describes seeing an eagle eating a hare, and some 9,000 year old hand paintings on the rocks nearby. In turn we teach him the "ingles" for "alto y baja" (high and low) and he seems pleased. Our flight goes well and we cab to our hotel in the Recoleta district to get ready for more city trekking starting tomorrow.
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.
