The sounds at Pook's are wonderful! Birds, bugs, and in the distance, howler monkeys! We had a terrific breakfast. There was more than enough food.
Francisco, our guide, took us to the zoo. The Belize Zoo only has orphaned or abandoned animals, and it seems like they really care about the animals there. We saw many animals of Belize that we would never have seen in the wild such as the puma, jaguar and tapir. Franciso has the best eyes for spotting wildlife that I have ever seen!!
After the zoo, we drove to the Jaguar Paw Reserve for our cave tubing experience! First, we ate lunch at a restaurant in the Reserve. The food was delicious! To start our adventure, we hiked about 30 minutes in the jungle, on our way to the put-in. (There are shorter tube rides that require a shorter hike.) Hiking in the jungle was nice and cool and shady. Joe and I had one guide each, but my guide, Jerome, was the one who told us about the history of the area and the Mayan people. The float through the cave was very relaxing. The water level was a bit low, so our guides helped paddle us with their arms to keep us moving. The cave tubing is a relaxing way to spend the afternoon and keep cool!
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.