We touched down this morning and I am so happy to be on the ground and off the plane. After going through customs, and being super concerned and disappointed customs officials did not give us an entry stamp, we set out to find our luggage. Apparently a lot of flights land in Rome at 10:30 AM as there are 3 courosels of luggage. We finally find our luggage and it is time to get to the hotel to rest. Let the adventure begin.
The taxi driver is great and tries to speak English with us giving us a brief tour of the city. The hotel is similar to bed and breakfast but in an apartment. We have one of the rooms down the hall from the main living room but we do get our own bathroom. Thankful for an eye patch, ear plugs and leftover affects of Dramamine, we rest for about 4 hours.
First order of business when we wake up is to freshen up. The shower feels like the ones you take after a long work out or a 3 day camp trip.
Second order of business, find a city map and make a plan for tomorrow. We head out on foot to the train station to get the schedule for tomorrow. Then the rest of our time is spent exploring the main part of Rome on foot. It is a beautiful city and the locals are out for their Friday night stroll.
We stop at one of the many outdoor cafes to have dinner. Of course we had to try the pizza. While decent, it reminds me of the cheese pizza from school lunches in high school. Not quite what I expected. Kurt ordered a beer to go with his pizza. Except he ordered a litre instead of a pint. He didn’t have much room for the pizza or the beer after drinking about half. And I forgot you have to specify your water with gas or no gas.
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.