At the airport our plane is delayed 3 hours. Ugh. Finally we get to the Park Chateau Unique Hotel in Buenos Aires, which a friend had recommended. It was discounted by Expedia from $105 to $74, but the extra person charge is $66! It’s in Recoleta, a beautiful somewhat residential district, kind of like the upper East Side of NYC. It is hot, but not as beastly as we feared after translating a weather article in La Nacion on the plane – yesterday it was a record-breaking 40 degrees centigrade! I don’t even know what that is in Farenheit, and we have Patagonia gear like wool clogs.
Our spacious room is very chic, with a white leather chaise and egg-shaped lights. By 7 we’re out cruising the stores until they close at 9. We end up at a kind of diner/cafe where they bring us so much food with our drinks that we wonder why we’ve bothered to order dinner. We struggle to do justice to our meals, especially Caitlin’s: a giant calzone with mozzarella, ricotta, egg, lemon and walnuts. We stagger out, grateful for the walk to the hotel. On CNN, Larry King is interviewing Dolly Parton – apparently nothing has happened in the 2 weeks we’ve been gone!
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.