We woke early for the bumpy transfer to our canopy tour near Cotopaxi National Park. We opted for the 5 cable zipline that required a bit of extra hiking. Mom struggled on the walk at such high elevation, but we stopped along the way and snacked on blueberries. Jorge, our guide, told us that they make a special soup of the blueberries to eat with doll shaped bread on the Day of the Dead.
Thankfully, we made it to the zipline just in time to beat the rain as they can't run the cables if it gets too wet.
I was so proud of my mom for powering up the hill. Jorge rode tandem with her and everyone had a great time! Five year old Matthew was so light that he briefly got stuck in the middle of one cable, dangling high over the river. However, he wasn't worried in the slightest and just waited patiently for the guide to come out to him.
We headed on to Hacienda Porvenir for lunch. It has rained a bit in the interim and was too muddy to enjoy much of a walk that afternoon so Jorge suggested that we go to the kitchen where we could make the special bread of the Day of the Dead celebrations. The kids charmed the kitchen staff by using the colors to make all kinds of animals and dolls that they cooked for us and served with our dinner.
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.