Since we weren't scheduled to leave Iguazu until noon, we walked into town and took a look at all the souvenir stores. The daily downpour drove us into a store for long enough that we bought a Yerba Mate gourd and drinking straw as a souvenir for our son Chris.
Off to the airport and on to Buenos Aires where we changed planes. We stopped for a cup of coffee and ran into friends from our church -- how surprising! It turns out that Rich was planning on attending Steve's conference also, and he and his wife Susan were headed to Iguazu Falls for the weekend. Such a small world -- and we decided to get together in Buenos Aires the next week.
We arrived in Salta, in far northwest Argentina, and discovered that our baggage had only been checked to Buenos Aires. A quick check to confirm that our bags would be delivered the next day, a cash payment to cover incidental expenses, and we headed off into the city with our guide, Gustavo.
Hotel del Virrey, a small hotel in the city center, was our home for two nights. We enjoyed walking a few blocks to the main area of restaurants, and had a great late night dinner (steak again!)
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.