Spencer Jack Uruguay Collecting Trip

[Nerine]

Have a great time and bring back lots of photos!!!!

[PaleoFishGirl]

No one else from OVAS is going, for some strange reason! Not sure why you guys are passing up a trip like this.

I will be sure to take lots of photos and videos.  I am also bringing back fish (fitted my luggage with styros last night) and hopefully shrimp!

[zapisto]

hopefully shrimp!

   

[darkdep]

So am I...next year

[PaleoFishGirl]

OK I'm off, see you in a couple of weeks

[Nerine]

Have fun!
Wish I was going too!!! next time though when my credit cards have more space on them

[PaleoFishGirl]

Yup, I'm back, what an INCREDIBLE trip! You guys really missed out (don't do it again - make sure to sign up for next year!). 

I'm working on a 'trip report' that I'll post with photos when it's ready.  Spencer gets back on the 6th (I almost stayed for the second trip, it was that good) and has most of the photos on his laptop.

No one from OVAS but me... in my group:

Spencer Jack & John Sabo (Winnipeg) - for those who know John, he was one of the highlights of the trip
Howard Paynter & Klaus Gebhardt (Bermuda)
Mike Wiwchar (Edmonton)
Alan Rolling(s?) (Sheffield, UK)

The fish there are amazing and obviously very hardy! I brought home two fish boxes worth (mostly different species of gymnos).  The airlines lost one bag and I didn't get it back until Tuesday evening (fish were bagged Saturday afternoon, I arrived home on Sunday afternoon).  Somehow, all the cichlids were still alive!

Check out Felipe (our guide)'s web site for pictures of the fish and the country in the meantime.  I highly encourage all of you to think about going on the next trip, it doesn't get much better than this.

[zapisto]

hope spencer will bring back some shrimp PFG

[Fishnut]

What was the food like?  I am so afraid of going on trips like that because I have way too many food allergies.  If I were to tell them I'm a vegetarian, as in no fish either, would I starve?

[jetstream]

I heard Spencer was expecting and will bring back lots of fishes from Uruguay with him. Plus his fish farm stocks are all ready to go after he came back from his trip. Would like to participate a collection trip like that instead of fish hunting in the concrete forest. Anyway, what I can do now is get my overdraft protection ready! 

[PaleoFishGirl]

Vegetarians would not do well on this trip - we ate a LOT of meat.  They don't actually eat much fish in Uruguay, which is strange considering how much good sportfishing there is (and how half of the country's border is ocean coastline). 

I heard Spencer was expecting

... 

Spencer plans to bring back his quota of fish and put them in his Florida farm.  The Gymnogeophagus he collected last year are already well established in one of his ponds.  It's hard to bring back 'lots' of fish from Uruguay because shipping is expensive ($8/kilo just to get them to Miami) so we took back whatever we could fit in our luggage - it worked out to one styrofoam fish box per checked bag.

All things considered, it wasn't that expensive of a trip for me.  My AVION miles paid for my flight, which would have been about $2000 (the American guys on the second trip got round trip tickets for $700!!  The trip itself cost $1450USD - it was supposed to be $1150USD but we had people drop out at the last minute so kind of got screwed (I can bet that won't happen again next year).  Once there, I really didn't spend any money, didn't have to.