This was sadly our last day in Argentina. At breakfast we met the friendly Montana veterinarians on their way to the glacier. They were a threesome on the Adventure Life - End of the World tour. After enjoying the nice breakfast buffet, we saddled up for a beautiful 45 minute, South American style horseback ride to the lake and back. We were led by Frederick, with 3 of the dogs out in front. The horses are rather tame and slow. During the ride, we saw pink flamingos swimming in the ice cold lake. After the ride we packed up for home. A taxi picked us up at 11:30 am for the start of our 22 hour return trip. Our internal flight landed in the Buenos Aires domestic airport on time. Four hours was plenty of time to get to the international airport for our overnight flight home. The taxi ride was 45 minutes, with a strange stop close to the airport. The taxi driver pulled off the highway into a gas station, opened the hood and ushered us out of the vehicle. At the time, we didn’t understand why the hood was opened and why we had to exit the vehicle. It turned out the taxi needed a fill up of compressed natural gas, via a connection under the hood. (We later learned most Buenos Aires taxis run on alternative fuel. We’re still not sure why we had to get out of the vehicle.) We got through all the steps at the international airport, including American Airlines security, by far the most thorough security check we encountered in Argentina. Our 10 hour flight to JFK left on time, at 8:15 pm. Don't cry for us Argentina; the truth is we'll be back.
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.