Most Inspirational Moment
I think visiting the devils cauldron waterfall and going behind the cascade of water, the absolute power of nature is breathtaking. Snorkelling and coming face to face with a playfull sea lion or turtle was pretty amazing
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had two leaders one on the mainland who was, I feel, not really up to the job. She was knowledgeable and passionate about her country but organisation and timekeeping was sadly lacking meaning we were mostly late to our destinations cutting any “free” time we had to look about where we were staying. Changes to hotel were not communicated to us prior to arrival, we were disappointed arriving in Banos to find we were staying at a different hotel that did not offer the same facilities as hotel on the trip notes. At the airport she was unaware of current import rules applicable to Galápagos which could have been a disaster for some of the group who had no WiFi connection to allow them to complete customs declaration. In the Galápagos we had Wilson who is a Galápagos guide and was the complete opposite. Kept trip moving to schedule and listened to the needs of the group tweeting the irony where necessary to make the most of out time on the islands. There was a lot of snorkel stops on which Wilson always joined us in the water along with another colleague to ensure none of us encountered any problems whilst in the water.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Pack for every weather situation. I found a cape was more use than a waterproof jacket especially on the Amazon. Accommodation was in the main basic with the exception of papallacta and Santa Cruz, I do note however the price of this trip has increased considerably so perhaps the standard of accommodation will also improve. I felt the standard of accommodation offered on this trip fell well below the usual exodus “classic” rating. There are plenty of good and reasonably priced restaurants around hotels (except Amazon) most of the hotels we stayed in did not offer evening dining facilities. In Galápagos most of us hired shortie wetsuits which I was grateful for as water was quite cold!