Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and the views were gone.
At 6 am on Monday morning we left and it was a beautiful clear day and en route to the City we saw Volcano Fuega shoot a huge, like two thousand feet in the air a smoke plume which was pretty amazing to see. Took us exactly three hours to get to the Stephans house in the City where his mother made us a delicious breakfast and I fixed my chain guard for the tenth time. I said my fond farewells to my Guatemalan friends and Cisco drove me out of the city and headed for Samuc Champay which was a seven hour drive north. I arrive at 6 pm and probably had the best full day ride so far except for the amount of wrecks I saw and the mini bus in front of me hitting a dog which I had to avoid.
Took me two and a half hours from Cobain to Samuc Champay which is only 67 km cause the road is dirt and rough for 20 km and then I took a wrong turn and was totally out of my league on the road.It was brutal and almost lost the bike four times but made it out unscathed but hot and tired to Utopia Hostel where they don't serve meat, how unhealthy is that........
A lot of dred locks, dope smoking and granola but just in an absolutely stunning area on the river in the jungle.
Was probably the most dramatic scenery I saw today from Lake Atitlan to Samuc and the dirt road was a huge challenge for me, nothing I have ever encountered before .
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.