Doc
Member
just returned from a three day hunt east of Santa Cruz in Bolivia with Bolivian Adventures
and had a great trip, so i thought i would let hunters at THR know.
we booked thru Trek Safaris
we received world class service and a great value for the price paid.
We left out of Miami late on the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and arrived early in the morning Saturday (bolivia is about as far south as england is east). We were met by Carlos Olano from Los Palomas Lodge in the baggage claim area before we cleared out of customs. Carlos saw to getting all of our guns thru without the slightest hitch. We then took light aircraft about 65 miles east to Los Palomas Lodge. Upon arriving at the lodge we were greeted by Jorge Molina who is the proprietor, chief guide and head instructor--some instruction was very welcome, and quite necessary for me in order to shoot those little erratic flyers consistantly. (Jorge was many times over Columbian trap champion and competed at the international level for many years including world championships and Pan-Am games)
The lodge is very comfortable and has all the amenities one could want:
open bar with top shelf libations, plentiful hot showers, satellite TV, current game magazines and even a colorful pet bird who likes beer. The lodge has an assortment of guns to use including Benelli, Beretta, Remington and some others,including double guns. Each night the staff cleaned the shotguns and washed our clothes. We had five hunters in our group and had the lodge to ourselves, though they easily accomodate up to 12 hunters at one time from one group or several. The rooms all have 2 double beds and are intended as double occupancy, though we paid the premium and all had individual rooms.
After our arrival we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. After a siesta, we were off to a dove roost about 20 minutes away and hunted as the birds returned from feeding in the many grain fields. The shooting was awesome! The birds came in from every direction and from every angle in groups: two, three, 6, 20, 50 and even up to 100 at a time at distances from 3 to 45 yards. I shot about 30 boxes of 20 gauge shells and downed about 280 birds. Precisely at 6:00pm the birds quit flying (just as our guides had told us.)
Los Palomas lodge in on it's own farm and Jorge and Carlos also have access to lots of the surrounding farms which means square miles of grain fields to hunt! Jorge and Carlos scout continuously so as to put hunters where the birds are feeding and roosting. They were very accurate, indeed! We had birds, birds and more birds every time and at all times. Each time we went into the field we had a 'bird boy' who spoke excellent english (as did all the staff with whom we came in contact). Our 'bird boys' loaded the guns, counted the boxes shot and birds downed as well as watched out for our hydration and other needs in the field. They were also provided comic relief when required (like for particularly egregious misses...) Each time into the field we shot for about 2-3 hours and each time out i shot about 25-30 boxes of shells and downed about 30% of the birds at which i shot. I took two 20 gauge Benelli montefeltro shotguns, while the rest of my group took the new (?)model 391 Beretta 12 gauge.
Both of the next two days were full shooting days. The schedule was the same and travel time was similar to the field each of those two days. We were awakened for breakfast at 8:00, leave the lodge at 9:00, shoot from 10:00 til 1:00 then steak for lunch cooked over a roaring wood fire served under a tent, on white linen with fine wine in a little expanse hacked out of the adjacent Bolivian jungle followed by siesta in handmade hammocks, then more shooting from the afternoon til about 5:00 and back to the Lodge for showers and delicious dinner including game birds: one night fried dove breast appetizers, once dove breast pate and one night dove kabobs.
The final shooting day we arose early to hunt pigeons as well as doves until lunch around 11:00 back at the lodge. After a shower and packing we took the two cessena's back to Santa Cruz to overnight in anticipation of our early departure back to Miami. Though dinner was on our own, it was excellent and cheap ($8 US) at the hotel (Los Tajibos). The neighborhood was safe and interesting and we took a walk around after dinner to take in some of the local color.
It seems less on the screen than it was in reality. It was a blast and we are already planning for next year.
Doc
and had a great trip, so i thought i would let hunters at THR know.
we booked thru Trek Safaris
we received world class service and a great value for the price paid.
We left out of Miami late on the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and arrived early in the morning Saturday (bolivia is about as far south as england is east). We were met by Carlos Olano from Los Palomas Lodge in the baggage claim area before we cleared out of customs. Carlos saw to getting all of our guns thru without the slightest hitch. We then took light aircraft about 65 miles east to Los Palomas Lodge. Upon arriving at the lodge we were greeted by Jorge Molina who is the proprietor, chief guide and head instructor--some instruction was very welcome, and quite necessary for me in order to shoot those little erratic flyers consistantly. (Jorge was many times over Columbian trap champion and competed at the international level for many years including world championships and Pan-Am games)
The lodge is very comfortable and has all the amenities one could want:
open bar with top shelf libations, plentiful hot showers, satellite TV, current game magazines and even a colorful pet bird who likes beer. The lodge has an assortment of guns to use including Benelli, Beretta, Remington and some others,including double guns. Each night the staff cleaned the shotguns and washed our clothes. We had five hunters in our group and had the lodge to ourselves, though they easily accomodate up to 12 hunters at one time from one group or several. The rooms all have 2 double beds and are intended as double occupancy, though we paid the premium and all had individual rooms.
After our arrival we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. After a siesta, we were off to a dove roost about 20 minutes away and hunted as the birds returned from feeding in the many grain fields. The shooting was awesome! The birds came in from every direction and from every angle in groups: two, three, 6, 20, 50 and even up to 100 at a time at distances from 3 to 45 yards. I shot about 30 boxes of 20 gauge shells and downed about 280 birds. Precisely at 6:00pm the birds quit flying (just as our guides had told us.)
Los Palomas lodge in on it's own farm and Jorge and Carlos also have access to lots of the surrounding farms which means square miles of grain fields to hunt! Jorge and Carlos scout continuously so as to put hunters where the birds are feeding and roosting. They were very accurate, indeed! We had birds, birds and more birds every time and at all times. Each time we went into the field we had a 'bird boy' who spoke excellent english (as did all the staff with whom we came in contact). Our 'bird boys' loaded the guns, counted the boxes shot and birds downed as well as watched out for our hydration and other needs in the field. They were also provided comic relief when required (like for particularly egregious misses...) Each time into the field we shot for about 2-3 hours and each time out i shot about 25-30 boxes of shells and downed about 30% of the birds at which i shot. I took two 20 gauge Benelli montefeltro shotguns, while the rest of my group took the new (?)model 391 Beretta 12 gauge.
Both of the next two days were full shooting days. The schedule was the same and travel time was similar to the field each of those two days. We were awakened for breakfast at 8:00, leave the lodge at 9:00, shoot from 10:00 til 1:00 then steak for lunch cooked over a roaring wood fire served under a tent, on white linen with fine wine in a little expanse hacked out of the adjacent Bolivian jungle followed by siesta in handmade hammocks, then more shooting from the afternoon til about 5:00 and back to the Lodge for showers and delicious dinner including game birds: one night fried dove breast appetizers, once dove breast pate and one night dove kabobs.
The final shooting day we arose early to hunt pigeons as well as doves until lunch around 11:00 back at the lodge. After a shower and packing we took the two cessena's back to Santa Cruz to overnight in anticipation of our early departure back to Miami. Though dinner was on our own, it was excellent and cheap ($8 US) at the hotel (Los Tajibos). The neighborhood was safe and interesting and we took a walk around after dinner to take in some of the local color.
It seems less on the screen than it was in reality. It was a blast and we are already planning for next year.
Doc
