After breakfast we bid farewell to the cloud forest and continued on to the Rio Toachi for some whitewater action. We drove down a mountain with nice views, through tropical fruit farms, and into the middle of nowhere.
The river was mostly fast moving and surrounded by forest and farms. I'd say it was a Class 3 river. Lots of fun whitewater, but nothing too crazy. We stopped during our trip to have lunch on the river and check out a waterfall. The water wasn't too cold, so we went for a swim as well.
Afterwards, we returned to Quito. En route, we drove through many small towns and were stopped by police at one point. Don't worry though... we're not the "Locked Up Abroad" types. We stopped at a giant waterfall and drove by a tribal face carved into a cliff called "El Podar Brutal". The drive up the windy road back to Quito was quite spectacular. There were countless views of the giant, cloud shrouded mountains.
After unwinding back at the Hotel Eugenia, we roamed around Quito a bit and landed at a small restaurant, where we feasted on bloody steak that was still mooing and ice cream. Afterwards had a beer at an Irish-ish pub. A busy day so called it an early night.
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.