Re: new lodge in Trinidad
|
View:
New views
2 Messages
—
Rating Filter:
Alert me
|
 |
|
|
|
Re: new lodge in Trinidad
by Jeff Bouton
::
Rate this Message:
Blake,
Not that I want to destroy the conspiracy theory or anything, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Asa Wright is the oldest eco-lodge in the western hemisphere to my knowledge (in operations over 42 years now and counting) and I've thoroughly enjoyed my recent stays there. Even if you do want to "hate a monopoly", I'd suggest that the disgruntled approach is likely more than a bit misguided. For example, do you really suppose they could possibly remain the most successful and prominent lodge in the entire country for nearly half a century if they weren't providing a quality product?!?.... In my experience in consumer relations, I find that it is harder to maintain a repurtation as the BEST in anything, once others are gunning for the spot. I'd suggest that if people weren't wholly satisfied with the levels of accomodations and service provided by the Asa Wright staff over nearly a half century of service, we'd certainly be hearing the greasy wheels especially in today's electronic age. The fact that a better option hasn't come up, I think speaks volumous! In July of this year, I was on a trip to Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge for 8 days with another 3 at Blue Water's Inn in Tobago. With me were some pretty well known world travelling birders to include Pete Dunne & Linda Dunne, Kenn Kaufman & Kim Kaufman, and Bill Thompson III & his wife Julie Zickefoose. At any rate, I know that I'd heard of Asa Wright for my entire birding career and was very impressed when I finally made the trek, so was eager to hear how my travelling companions felt about Asa Wright. This was their first visit to the famed locale and all commented that the area exceeded their expectations! You can see the blog posts for proof of this yourselves, or keep an eye out for upcoming magazine articles as proof of this. At any rate, wanted to throw out my own experience and suggest that once again Asa Wright's dominance is DEFINITELY more than a fluke. This is no flash in the pan operation. If you go expect smooth logistics, incredible food (suggest a diet before you get there ;p ), and VERY enjoyable birding. This was the first time any of us had stayed at Blue Water's Inn and I have to say that I also found this stay incredible. The view is UNBELIEVABLE and the fact that I was able to dive with Octopus and Hawksbill Turtles behind my room, was able to kayak within paddle's reach of Bridled & Sooty Terns, and enjoy seawatching with scope views of these birds along with Brown and Red-footed Boobies and others from the comfort of a beachfront lounge chair with a cold drink... well... "that's all I gotta say about that!" At any rate, for anyone interested in reading or hearing more about this feel free to check my images on my flickr site @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/16435490@N00/ view the Trinidad sets on the right side of the page - one from 2008, and one 2009 set. Also you can read my blog posts on the subject here: http://leicabirding.blogspot.com/ I think I have 4 blogs from the trip here with more to come. At any rate, for the record, I'd certainly reccommend both of these destinations/accomodations to anyone. I found both to be very different, but equally excellent in their own right! I also wrote up a nearly 12 page annotated trip list recounting the species we encountered on this trip if interested feel free to contact me for a copy. As others, all of our logistics and bookings were handled by Caligo Ventures through Asa Wright. Again I don't know if this constitutes "a monopoly" to have one agency handle all of the bookings and logistical arrangements or not, but if it is I'm all for it! I'm far too busy to do all the extra research, and greatly enjoyed the fact that all of the logistics were handled from arrival to departure and everything in between! Best, Jeff Bouton Birder/Naturalist rep Leica Sport Optics, USA Port Charlotte, FL jbouton2@... --- On Thu, 10/29/09, Blake Maybank <maybank@...> wrote: From: Blake Maybank <maybank@...> Subject: Re: [BIRDCHAT] new lodge in Trinidad To: BIRDCHAT@... Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009, 6:50 AM Hi Gail; I hope this finds you both well. At 04:03 AM 27/10/2009, you wrote: > stayed then at the PAX Guest House for a few days. This is because PAX is close to the main road and better for accessing sites such as Nariva Swamp. The PAX guest house seems to have vanished. Pity. > Since we were in Trinidad, there is a new lodge on the north coast where you > can stay and see the Trinidad Piping Guan, the only endemic species. There > are other good birds there as well. Which lodge is this? I am trying to find any and all alternatives to ASA Wright. Just because I hate monopolies. . . Cheers, Blake ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blake Maybank maybank@... 902-852-2077 Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds" http://nsbs.chebucto.org author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia" http://tinyurl.com/birdingns Downloadable Nova Scotia Maps for inside front and back covers: http://tinyurl.com/mr627d White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html |
| Free embeddable forum powered by Nabble | Forum Help |
