After making the most of our first day in Ushuaia by touring the brewery, we crammed a tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park into the morning of our embarkation day - we were not wasting a moment!
We were picked up at our hotel to join a group of about 15 people for a tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park. There were Portuguese folks on the tour, who again, were very excited about my name, and again, when I explained it was my husband's name, began speaking to Ben in Portuguese (...No...es mi hermano).
While about 10 of the others took the train into the park (I do not recommend doing that),
the rest of us had the chance to park and walk through the areas they would pass in the train.
It was a cold, wet day and the damp chill was hard to shake, but the scenery was beautiful.
We strolled through the park while our guide told us about the history of the area. We waited for the rest of the group to arrive by train and then set out exploring other areas of the park.
We visited the "Post Office at the End of the World" and did some little hikes to beaver dams and lakes.
We stopped at one lake where you could see Chile on the other side - so close!
At each stop, our guide told us more about the history, geography and culture of the area, so we ended up getting a really great story about Argentina in the end.
Our final stop was where the highway that runs all the way down Latin America ends. It is "the End of the World". Here, our guide pulled out a bottle of Leguine, a local liqueor, and we all took shots to toast our morning!
The scenery at "the End of the World" was beautiful and a perfect place to enjoy a nice local drink!
It was just enough to lull all of us into peaceful naps for the warm and cozy ride back to Ushuaia.
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.