Second day on Ruta 40: the road was the same, as yesterday, but now mostly hard-surfaced and we were running faster. Th landscape changed only in late afternoon, about a hundred kilometers before Bariloche: many beautiful lakes, pine forests, and flowers. The road passed close to big mountains that looked like Switzerland, not so much Patagonia.
At about 8 pm we came to Bariloche and reached our hotel. Our backpacks were dusty after Ruta 40, and we were tired. The hotel seemed for us as paradise after two days inside a bus. It was placed above downtown and had an excellent view of the lake.
In the evening we watched the stars. It was a first our starry night in the southern hemisphere. It was all so unusual with the stars big and bright. We saw many new constellations in the sky, like the Southern Cross or Carina. Orion was straight in front of our eyes and even the stars of Pleiades were to be seen, but there was some strangeness in the sky. Pleiades were on the left from Orion, not on the right, as at home. Orion was turned over, as well as other constellations we recognized. The reason was understandable. All the stars were set as usual. There were no any changes in the Universe, but we were standing with our heads down.
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.