I'm happiest on a horse. Look at that beautiful El Calafate Lake!El Galpon del Glaciar is not for the faint-hearted. I want to give you all a very raw and realistic expectation of this place. It's rustic and fully equipped with bugs, older smells - estancia smells, smaller beds, and sandy tap water. But, Toby and I embraced this adventurous location and really loved it. The first afternoon we arrived, we scheduled to go horseback riding. They had two guides that joined us along with a sweet french couple. They gave us the flexibility to go at our own pace and expertise of riding. I have the desire to gallop every chance I get, so one of our guides made sure I could take advantage as much as I could. This was Toby's first real horseback ride ever, so he was able to take it easy and enjoy it! Toby had the pleasure of riding a sweet and hungry horse named Princessa and I rode a handsome gelding named, Abba. It was a great introduction to this location just outside of El Calafate. Our room had a smaller/lumpy bed - not the most comfortable, and it had a nostalgic smell of my grandparent's home similar to mothballs. That would maybe be a turn off to some, but we were refreshed by this sheep farm's honesty. They weren't trying to be something other than....a sheep farm! We were out of town, winding down our trip with a realistic accommodation in a rural setting and it was lovely. Our last night in El Galpon and Patagonia was spent lounging in our sitting room that adjoined to our room, watching a huge eagle settle into a tree outside our window while sipping on some of our Chilean wine. Don't expect a luxurious experience if you visit El Galpon. What you can expect is a sweet staff that maybe needs to work on communication because they're running a hotel and a ranch -understandable, a quaint, but comfortable room, the smell of horses and sheep, a great view, and a really relaxing/peaceful Argentinean setting. Enjoy it! We sure did.
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.
