Describe the aspects of your itinerary that you thought worked really well.
PeruRail to Puno went as planned. Excellent trip. The day on the Lake was also nice. A good blend of exercise, food and culture, as well as the calm scenery. Travel on the Amazon - well organised. The river boat (Delphin III) was excellent, especially the air conditioned bar area and associated talks (top deck). All meals were great, with very active staff (and kitchen). Pleasure to eat and my wife's no seafood request was well catered for.
Describe the aspects of your itinerary that you thought needs improving
Generally the Amazon cruise for 4 nights was very good. At this price point, we did not expect young people (4-6 year olds) to be on the tour. There were 3 on board with 2 of them being very 'active'. I can't say that they couldn't be included, but is was not expected. On the day where we went further up river (lunch in the ranger station), we had a swim with the dolphins. We now realise that the river dolphins behaviour is so much different to genral dolphin activity. They were difficult to see as they didn't follow the bow of the skiff, nor breach the surface very much. The swimming is a lot much difficult than usual, being in fresh water and moving. We had a person struggle in the water, he called for assistance (in Spanish), but the skiff took too long to response. He put his arm up vertical to show assistance was required.Myself and another Australian male stayed close to the person, even handling him and providing support. Our Guide did not respond soon enough, or seemed to understand the depth of the situation. Others on the skiff (including his wife), could see it. The man was very distressed, even discarding his float (which is not a good sign). The swim with dolphins is a major drawcard. It needs to be undertaken. People's eyes need to be on people in the water. We moved away from the skiff, so that we could attract all around access for the dolphins, but people on the skiff need to keep close watch. Another point was that when dolphins were spotted by passengers, the skiff did not go to them or slow to observe them. We seemed to be on a timetable and wildlife timetable which didn't match what was in front of us. I spoke to our Guide personally after we got off the skiff. There was a basic drinks package - 2 nights the bar ran out of a type of beer, which turned up the following night. We were not drinking a large amount and we generally finished by 8.00 pm. On the 4th night, there were no Pisco Sours Classic after about 7.00 pm. They said they ran out!! I went to the bar each evening - there was no heavy drinking, nor poor behaviour from anyone (passengers or crew). Not sure why drinks were curtailed, or did we need to buy more bar drinks? On the last morning , to the airport, we were supposed to visit the manatee centre, to look at the animals. Instead we went to an aquarium (fish tanks). I asked where the mammal centre was - the Guide said up the road. I asked if we were going and he said no, we were looking at fish. The itinerary had said manatee centre, but there was no change of plan, just a get off the bus here - at the fish. We thought that the recommended tips for Cruise Director and Crew were too high. I know that we determine the tip. I can not recall, the amount (USD300 each for 4 nights) was a bit steep. We did provide a tip.
Were you satisfied with the efforts taken to minimize environmental impacts during your trip?
