Then there was Galapagos! This has been my dream destination for as long as I can remember and they exceeded all my expectations. To snorkel with penguins, turtles and seals, to stand watching a seal feed her pup, to watch blue-footed boobies courting, to be in a small boat 10m from an orca and its calf, to kayak amongst bobbing turtles heads, to watch giant tortoises graze and bathe, sharks, cormorants, iguanas, frigate birds…I could go on forever. It was out of this world.

If we were to go again (and we will), I would go on La Pinta. It was the most amazing expedition vessel with the most amazing crew, who all contributed to making our trip the most memorable ever. The guides were excellent, even to the point where we would have our own guide as P was slower at walking. They ensured he didn’t miss out on anything. The food was wonderful, and the cabin staff so helpful- I cannot fault any of it.

Finch Bay was wonderful and I must thank you for advising us to take a few days r and r after the cruise. We were absolutely knackered and a couple of days sharing a swimming pool with herons and pintail ducks was just what was needed.

I am also so glad we had a whistle-stop tour of Mindo before leaving and would definitely spend longer there on our next Ecuador trip. The cloud forest, hummingbirds and butterflies were beautiful. 

Helene, I cannot thank you, Sarah, and anyone else who helped with any part of our adventure enough – it was a trip of a lifetime!

Visiting the Galapagos was very special indeed and I hope we get to go again one day.

We really rated our guide in Ecuador, Raul Miranda – he was bright, informative, sensitive, responsive and fun, – we thoroughly enjoyed our time with him and recommend him highly – do please pass this on…

One thought that occurred to us that could have been done differently was on the return leg back from the Galapagos – it would have made sense (and saved two flights and time) if we’d go off at Guayaquil and stayed the night there and picked up the return flight to Amsterdam the following day.

Also and don’t want to make a big deal about this but our guide for the day on Santa Cruz – Mario didn’t speak English very well – it was fine and we all got by but we had high expectations after Raul.

We all took a range of great photographs so will enter into your competition. We’ve got a real taste for South America and are keen to explore more…

Huge thanks for all your help and advice.

The Peruvian Amazon was very interesting indeed. The guides kept us busy with several walks and boat rides each day to explore the flora and fauna. The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu exceeded expectations, which were already high.

A real highlight was walking down the mountain to Pisac Village past the Incan ruins – the view was astonishing.  The salt pans of Salinas were fascinating, and catching our first glimpse of Machu Picchu in the morning sunlight with a few wisps of clouds was magical.

When we thought it couldn’t get any better, we reached the Galapagos. The hotel was wonderful – luxurious with excellent food, including for our vegetarian daughter.  The days were packed with two activities in the morning and two in the afternoon – snorkelling, hiking and dinghy trips. We saw just about every possible animal. The guides were so knowledgeable and friendly. I had wanted to see a marine turtle and ended up swimming with countless turtles. We visited 6 islands in 5 days.  The captain even took a different route so that he could sail us past the erupting Sierra Negra volcano on Isabella.

All accommodation was excellent, as were the guides and drivers.

We didn’t want to come home!

The problem at the airport was only due to the fact Javier shot off claiming he was going to sort the luggage, then came back and suggested we carried it all inside (when we suggested we would get trolleys) then ran off again coming back empty handed after which the airport guy then got involved, until we told Javier to go, and sorted it ourselves which was a lot easier!

All other assistance and guides were fabulous and Ivan deserves a special mention for being informative, friendly, welcoming and cool enough for the “boys” to comment on how great he was too.

There was a  taxi arranged by the hotel Gangotena to take us to dinner which should have been $25, the taxi driver charged us $35 (Alfonso at the hotel kindly refunded the $10) and the 2 taxis we ordered to bring us back came to $4 each so a rather inflated option through the hotel.

These were the only blips in an otherwise idyllic holiday and will not feature in our memories of the wonderful 2 weeks.

For information, we bought both walking boots and water filter bottles, but there was always ample water provided, and containers provided in both La Selva and La Pinta and welly boots were provided and worn (to protect against snake and insect bites to the legs) in La Selva and other walks on Galapagos were easy and trainers or comfortable shoes would be fine.

In short, a holiday of a lifetime and one none of us will forget in a hurry.

Thank you for your assistance and attention to detail.

The Finch Bay is a lovely laid back hotel and so relaxing, so we are enjoying three whole days here – I’m so glad we added this on.

The Hacienda Cusin was hilarious although the odd Faulty Towers moment such as if you plugged in the kettle and the heater at the same time, it fused. However, generally it was splendid and one night I mentioned to the reception that I really would have loved a bath (we didn’t have one in our room) and the next thing we knew, I was shepherded to the owner’s suite for a bath there!

It rained torrentially for one of the days so we hunkered down with a log fire and watched captain Phillips and the Book Thief. Luckily the next day was gorgeous and we had a hike up a mountain and a lovely dance group from the University came and did a show of traditional dancing In the garden. The costumes were gorgeous so that was an added bonus.

Everything has been brilliantly smooth so thank you so much.