Holiday review by Mr. Eric Stelfox

Name: Mr. Eric Stelfox

Date of trip: 19/01/2017

Number of people: 2

On the Grace we spotted a large pod (over 100) of false killer whales/other dolphins and the captain changed course so that we could follow them. After a short while Rafa said he was going in the water with them and asked if any one wanted to join him. I jumped at the chance and after a short zodiac ride Rafa and myself were in the water with them. Whilst we were enthralled with them, they totally ignored us! All of the other passengers on the Grace were Americans. On four separate occasions over dinner we were quizzed about the queen's relationship with Prince Charles and our view of her possible abdication. They are totally besotted by it and know much more about it than we do.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Tribes Overall:

The Galapagos trip was to celebrate our ruby wedding and was everything we had imagined and more.

Tribes Service:

The suggestion of celebrating our ruby wedding on the Grace was inspired.
On a negative note we felt that the description of some of the activities in Costa Rica were slightly exaggerated.

Guides:

All of the guides were very good but special mention must be made of Rafa on the Grace who was exceptional.

Social & Environmental Responsibility:

All of the hotels went out of their way to point out their environmental policies and there was a tendency to re-use plastic water bottles but as you say difficult to tell.

Patio Andaluz

Ecuador

'Quirky' 2 storey room. Excellent restaurant.

Classic old style yacht and just perfect for celebrating our ruby wedding.
On the downside we did a couple of all night sailings which were noisy and the food was not up to the standard we have experienced on, albeit slightly, larger boats.

Grand Hotel

Ecuador

Large city centre hotel with very friendly staff. Ideally located for the Malecon (a must see) and the Cathedral, Excellent restaurant with possibly the oldest guitar trio in the world.

Finca Rosa Blanca

Near San Jose

We loved this hotel. The only pity was that we were only there for such short period of time. Beautiful room and the restaurant has great views over San Jose and fantastic food.
(On the negative side wake up call and porter never materialised.)

Nayara Gardens

Arenal

Lovely hotel and grounds. Room was fantastic. We thought the restaurant and wine bar (there is no bar as such) were on the expensive side.

Parador Resort and Spa

Manuel Antonio

Another fantastic room with a large wrap around balcony. Restaurant is excellent (although 2 out of 3 bills were initially wrong). Probably saw more wild life here than in the Manual Antonio national park, sloth and toucans in trees no more than 10 yards from our balcony.
The Mangrove river trip is a must do.