The original plan for the day had us trekking to a view point, but a combination of an overcast sky and Karen's knee had us modify the plan slightly.
We trekked to the clearing point at the top of the forest and had another experience of Patagonia wind -- although David reminded us that on a truly windy day, we wouldn't be standing there!
It was a peaceful, shortened hike that offered one more day in the beautiful environment.
We returned in time for a late lunch at our new favorite Pizza spot and then spent an hour or so waiting for our driver to take us to the bus stop and the trip back to Calafate.
One minor travel *experience* as part of getting to the bus station. Our driver dropped us off at the bus station and to my surprise there are actually 3 or 4 bus companies that do trips to Calafate and we had no idea which company we were supposed to use. Quickly looking through our paper work, we identified the correct company based upon the departure time. My horrible Spanish skills once again caused a few moments of anxiety as the bus company indicated the bus was completely full. The man was asking for our vouchers and we didn't have any. Finally, I had him show the manifest and noticed that there were spots on the bus for Tom and Karen and then everything went smoothly.
It was roughly 2h commute and a driver meet us at the Calafate bus station and took us to our hotel.
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.