A responsible traveler should have at least a basic understanding of the local language and for Spanish that is more than just saying *un momento por favor*. We were not responsible travelers :(
Why does that matter? Well, if you are getting in a cab headed to the airport for a very early morning flight (and you wanted to get as much sleep as possible and thus didn't leave a time cushion) in a city with two airports, it would be good to be able to direct the driver to the correct airport. About 10 minutes into what should have been a 10 minute taxi ride, I look up and see signs to EZE -- that was very bad since we wanted AEP. My butchered Spanish coupled with the boarding pass got my point across and we were soon headed in the right direction, but by this time is was already 4:45 and LAN flights have a 40 minute baggage cutoff. We were getting nervous.
We checked our bags at 5:03am -- a full 2 minutes to spare. No reason to be nervous :)
Since we were flying LAN, it was a one-stop flight to FTE (we stopped in USH for about 20-30 minutes).
We landed on-time at FTE, collected our bags and meet our driver. We had roughly a two-hour drive from Calafate to Chalten. The drive itself was unremarkable -- there are some nice views along the way. The most memorable item was the lack of gasoline for the car -- as we pulled into Chalten our driver mentioned that he was happy we made it. There was an on-going strike and no gas was available in Chalten and when it was available it was limited to one fill-up per family.
We toured Chalten for about an hour and that let our driver find another car that would take us to our hotel.
We were staying in a beautiful hotel (Hosteria El Pilar) that was at the trail head. Very warm and friendly hosts -- my favorite aspect was the big square fireplace in the common room.
We took a short hike to get our legs stretched before dinner - about an hour each way to a wonderful viewing point that overlooked a glacier. At this point in our trip, I was amazed at the views of the glaciers (this beautiful view would be regulated to the second page of my *top views* in a few days, but for now it was awesome). While hiking we heard and then eventually found a woodpecker busy at work. Very fun bird to watch for a few minutes.
We had a leisurely start time of 9:30am tomorrow, which is when we would be meeting our trekking guide.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
3 days ago
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
4 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.