We leave the Galapagos today. We travel from Santa Cruz to Baltra, a 20 minute taxi/ferry ride from Puerto Ayora. The electricity in the airport is out, so we wait until it's up before we can depart. Our flight lands in Guayaquil, where our guide picks us up. We have a four hour layover in Guayaquil, which is just enough time to get to know the area. Our tour of Guayaquil takes us to the main cathedral, down the waterfront promenade and up 500 steps to a beautiful lighthouse overlooking the entire city! I'm quite impressed with the cleanliness and modernity of the city and wish we could spend more time here. We're off to Cuenca next. Our flight gets us in late, with just enough time to put our heads down on the pillow and fall asleep.
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.