We woke the next day, had breakfast, and headed towards another lodge on the mainland coast called La Escapada where we would meet our driver. On the way, we stopped at Dolphin Bay (along with a number of other boats) where we saw many different dolphins jumping out of the water, and even on jumping backwards onto his back in line. This was not Sea World, and they were not being fed or trained to perform, they just liked to play.
We met our driver and begun the three hour long windy mountain drive to Boquete. The countryside was beautiful, however the ride left us feeling slightly out of sorts, so when we arrived, our plan was just to rest the entire afternoon. We arrived to Isla Verde, which is a beautifully landscaped property with many different small buildings in a residential neighborhood walking distance from the main street in town. We settled in and took a brief nap, watched some TV, then set out to explore the downtown area and find dinner. We found a place called Java Juice that had fantastic burgers and milkshakes for very inexpensive. After this we returned for a night of watching movies and plenty of sleep.
The next morning we spent leisurely, enjoying some breakfast we had purchased previously at the supermarket. Then we met Franklin who had come to pick us up for some horseback riding we had arranged for that day. We drove maybe 20 minutes to a farm set near a hillside. Here we saddled up and set off on a two hour journey up through the mountainside. Since I didn’t feel as though I would break my horse (many horses offered to tourists for riding in Latin America are underfed and emaciated) I was able to enjoy not feeling guilty for making the horse work. The views from the top were absolutely stunning, even on an overcast day! Our guide, Franklin’s relative, only spoke Spanish, but shared with us about different birds, animals, and plants in the areas, as well as shared about how the area was changing so much wit the huge influx of retirees wanting to buy open land. After our horse ride, we returned to town, wandered around a bit more to eat and get some other essentials and then returned again for a relaxing evening.
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
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.