Planes, Trains and Automobiles (plus boats, buses and on foot)
My trip started on Nov 27th which happened to be Thanksgiving day this year.
Right after i got my share of turkey at my parent's place, I had to drive my sister and her family to the airport (they were flying to florida).
Unfortunately, I was flying from a different airport. So i drove back, parked my car and used the following modes of transportation to get to my first destination.
1. Bus (to get to train station)
2. Train (to get to the city, NYC)
3. Subway
4. AirTrain (to get to the airport, JFK)
5. Plane ( to get to Lima)
6. Plane (to fly to Puerto Maldonado. with a 40 min stop at Cusco. I had to go to a local terminal and do another check-in to get on this plane)
7. Car (to get to the office in Puerto Maldonado and then to the boat)
8. Boat (on the Madre de Dios river)
9. Walk for 3km (2miles).. (the initial/easy part of the trail is shown in the picture. it gets much worse later.. the trail was very muddy so it was a challenging 3km.. took us about 2hours.. it's rainy season after all.. but worth it...)
10. Boat (accross Sandoval lake)
11. Walk to the Lodge
Total trip time...~17 hours
Experience.. priceless :)
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.