Today was undoubtedly my favorite day of the cruise. We awoke in James Bay to Martin’s timely wakeup call and beautiful blue skies outside our cabin windows. The crew assembled us on the outer deck to dress for snorkeling and we set out, encountering not only fish but also sea lions, sharks AND sea turtles! Absolutely incredible.
We returned to the yacht for a short rest before our afternoon land excursion, although there was to be no rest that day. I got together with the other 20-somethings on the boat and we spent the break launching ourselves off of the top deck into the chilly water below. The skippers were very helpful in this activity and motored around the collect us from where we jumped in, allowing us to avoid swimming too far without a wetsuit on.
That afternoon we visited Espumilla Beach and Buccaneer Cove. The wildlife here was truly in abundance, and it seemed we spotted a new animal with each step. This is also the home of the furry sea lion, which we found in the caves jumping wildly and splashing wildly in the water. They were putting on quite the show! This part of Santiago is also full of the ancient-looking iguanas, crabs and of course, more sea lions. I could have spent hours here!
The crew treated us to a pina colada farewell party that night, and realizing our trip was coming to an end was a sad moment indeed. Snorkeling, hiking, exciting dinner conversations with the other 14 passengers, delicious food, luxury cabins and a positive staff; the Petrel proved to live up to its reputation!
Our cruise sadly came to an end the following morning. I exchanged contact info with my shipmates and planned to meet a few for dinner back in Quito. 5 days aboard the Petrel was not nearly enough time to explore these magical islands… but then again, 15 wouldn’t feel like enough either!
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.