I learned about the different lodges and had a lot of head knowledge but still had no idea what to expect. During the trek, we stayed at four beautiful lodges in the middle of nowhere. Each lodge welcomed us with the same routine; enjoy a refreshing towel for your face, take off your shoes, take a cup of mint tea or juice. I loved to see the routine change only slightly from lodge to lodge. When we were in higher altitude, the air had more of a cold bite. That’s when we’d get warm towels scented with citronella and hot mint tea. When we descended to the cloud forest, the warm towels were refreshingly cold and had tangy maracuya (passion fruit) or satisfying morada (purple corn) juice. View of Colpa Lodge and last of the rugged Andes. (Franny Friesz)
The staff at each lodge were friendly, welcoming, and unfalteringly accommodating. Always pleasant and wearing big smiles. It was hard to not feel at home. One of my favorite features was the jacuzzi at each lodge. There is nothing better than soaking your tired muscles and bones in a jacuzzi, pisco in hand. Many afternoons, we’d have free to rest, sort through photos, read a book, and enjoy the views around the lodge. Every lodge had wifi as well (usually spotty) which was nice to stay in touch with loved ones, but harder to completely unplug. Enjoying a pisco, the jacuzzi, and the view at Lucma Lodge. (Franny Friesz)
Salkantay was by far my favorite lodge. Each of the 12 rooms had a gorgeous view of the mountain, Salkantay and a partial view of Humantay mountain. The lodge had a big common area and dining area upstairs. This was the only lodge we stayed two nights to give us extra time to acclimate to the 12,700 feet elevation. The trek had a perfect mix of activity and down time at the lodges to fully savor and enjoy the experience.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
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
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
