Welcome to part one of the Michael Marks diaries! These are reproduced with the kind permission of Michael who travelled in July last year on a tailored Picos self drive holiday. I think this diary captures the essence of our holidays in the Picos. These are effectively unedited excerpts so present a warts and all review of a Pura holiday to the Picos de Europa National Park in northern Spain. Hopefully you will enjoy Michael’s take on the world!
Day One
Landed in Spain this afternoon, picked up our car and followed the north coast road and then south into Picos. Found hotel (Posada San Pelayo) which is very beautiful.
After settling in we walked up to the next village of Lon to find a place for dinner. We were walking so long that we thought we were going the wrong way so walked all the way back to get the car. Of course we discovered the restaurant about 100m further than we had walked.
Ordering was very difficult but had a lovely meal served by Kat from Ecuador.
Had usual ‘car getting stuck in small village’ incident which was quite scary. Hil did well to stay calm throughout.
Day Two
We both slept really well in our lovely bedroom. Breakfast was beautifully served and included fritesia (little pancake things, fried and covered in sugar…yum) as well as really nice bread and coffee.
Then we drove to our first hike, stopping in Potes to buy picnic of ham, bread, cheese, fruit and water. The walk started off steep…and got steeper…eventually after several stops and 2 ½ hours we got to the chapel – our target. Greeted by wonderful views and running water to replenish our supplies.
We sat and enjoyed our picnic with beautiful views and met the only person we had seen on our walk…John from Yorkshire who was looking for work….strangely at the top of a mountain.
Then we came down precisely following our directions. We came to a bit where we weren’t sure and opted for the downhill route. This descent wasn’t very pleasant with difficult steep downhill bits through woodland and lots of flies. We became quite tired but eventually got to a bit we recognised afrom the ascent and realised that we would come to the village where we started & where the car was. Although this was wrong we were very pleased as we were knackered. We’d done the steep shortcut!
Went back to our beautiful hotel and sat in garden where I consumed two huge gin & tonics.
Out to Potes for a meal, we plumped for open air town square meal & we both had some lovely trout just simply fried/grilled. Very yum. Back to hotel and slept like a log.
Day three
Woke very excited about breakfast and yes, the mini pancakes were there again.
Decided to do walk 12, Fuente Dé – Horcados Rojos – got another picnic at Potes – same stuff and drove to Fuente Dé where we got a cable car to the plateau half way up the mountain.
From the top we started walking up and up and up across difficult craggy limestone terrain totally different from the previous day – no woodland, just bare rock. There were more people this time but not too many.
We were sitting down having a rest when I jokingly turned to Hil and said “Busy here ‘innit?” as 2 or 3 people passed by. The man sitting near to us said “Don’t worry, were’ going in a minute.” He and his wife turned out to be Dutch. We exchanged amusing pleasantries for a few minutes. I like the Dutch!
After more climbing and crossing of ice fields (unbelievably) we decided to have our lunch perched on a couple of rocks. No sooner had Hilary made up her beautifully structured ham and tomato sandwich than the big birdies arrived. Hilary went ballistic and I thought for a brief moment that she was going to throw herself off into the blue yonder…..lunch was abandoned at this point.
We carried on upwards for a while but when we had thought we reached the top, we hadn’t. We learned that we had another ¾ of an hour to go. We were tired at this point and still had a long journey back down to the cable car. We decided to call it a day and head back. We had learned from the day before that going down can be just as hard as going up!
On the way down we saw some rock climbers going up what looked to us to be a very scary thing to do. The Dutch couple were also coming down and watched them with us. There followed a tense half hour watching them and discussing the world cup. I told him that the British were only good at sports where we were able to sit down…rowing, cycling and horse riding. I also mentioned that rock climbing probably wasn’t very popular in Holland!
Anyway, none of the rock climbers fell off so we trudged back down and made our way to the hotel where we had more gin & tonics.
Read part two of Michael’s diaries.
Read part three of Michael’s diaries.
Find out more about Pura’s holidays to the Picos de Europa.
Approaching Dead Woman's Pass on the Inca Trail
Clients and porter on the Inca Trail This is some feedback from clients recently returned from our Walk and Beach, Peru Brazil combination holiday. I put it up here because I really like the sentiment, it simply tallies with the thinking behind Pura Aventura holidays.
“Peru was wonderful…..everything was so well organised, our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable, and as for the Inca Trail itself….an experience that I will never forget.The four days of camping and trekking almost had Mai-Britt giving up (Dead Womans’ Pass almost living up to it’s name) but when we finally reached the Sun Gate we were both nearly in tears. It was a wonderful, emotional moment as you see Machu Pichhu for the first time.How people can just take the train and bus up I have no idea. We did it the right way in my mind, the hard and sweaty way but the right way. We earned it ! We all know what Machu Pichhu looks like, it’s an iconic image, but to see it for real was breathtaking.”The photo above was taken by clients a few years back but shows the tough approach to Dead Woman’s Pass. It also shows one of our porters in the background looking disconcertingly untroubled by the climb.If you see the full remarks below, more light is shed on the work our porters do. I also thought it was worth dropping in a photo of the view of Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate (that’s where you get your first views when coming in on the Inca Trail).It is a quite extraordinary moment and an emotional one for most.
Your first views of Machu Picchu
What can I say about the holiday then…..It was the most amazing holiday experience we have ever had. It was certainly the most adventurous challenge we have given ourselves on a holiday.
Peru was wonderful…..everything was so well organised, our guide was fantastic, very knowledgeable, and as for the Inca Trail itself….an experience that I will never forget.
The four days of camping and trekking almost had Mai-Britt giving up (Dead Womans’ Pass almost living up to it’s name) but when we finally reached the Sun Gate we were both nearly in tears. It was a wonderful, emotional moment as you see Machu Pichhu for the first time. How people can just take the train and bus up I have no idea.
We did it the right way in my mind, the hard and sweaty way but the right way. We earned it ! We all know what Machu Pichhu looks like, it’s an iconic image, but to see it for real was breathtaking.
We have some amazing memories. Listening to the porters laughing was one of the simpler things we appreciated. Given the hard lives they lead in the mountain villages we appreciated their hard work, the help they gave us and they always had a smile on their faces. Priceless !
Rio was a nice stop-off before we headed to Buzios to re-charge our batteries. We wish we’d extended the holiday and had an extra couple of days in Rio, but we can’t complain.
It’s always nice to have a couple of unexpected things happen or things go slightly wrong, it’s adds to the experience, but the local guides and Pura Aventura were quick to fix things and deal with it. There was a strike in Peru that meant we were forced to walk to the airport, as they blocked all the roads. We were always kept informed by our guide and with the help of the hotel we got to the airport with no problem. Another guide was even sent to the hotel to escort us there. Luckily we were picked up by a hotel mini-bus that picked his was past all the rocks and rubble dumped in the roads. Also, we were told we would be transferred by bus to Buzios with other people, which was not what was in our package. Not really an issue but we were meant to have a private transfer. Anyway a couple of phone calls later all was resolved. A small things, but you remember these things.
So a big thank you to Pura Aventura.
We have certainly recommended you to our friends and colleagues, so I hope you benefit in the future with some more bookings.I know it’s a tough financial environment at the moment, but word of mouth counts for a lot when it comes to holiday experiences.We will certainly be back.Like to walk to Machu Picchu? Interested in Pura Aventura’s Peru holidays? Find out more about our Peru and Brazil holiday.
Views from the Arenal Volcano Inn
It’s always lovely to have feedback from clients, it’s even better when it’s so well structured and detailed that it proves genuinely helpful for both us and for future clients. So thank you Jan & Tom for taking time to write the following from their recent Costa Rica holiday. I haven’t changed or edited anything, even the CAPS on our name is not our work, honest.
COSTA RICA UNCOVERED 12 – 30 JULY 2010
Jan and Tom Bown visited Costa Rica on a holiday organised by PURA AVENTURA in July 2010. For first-time visitors to Central America the experience was excellent, thanks to the high degree of knowledge, expertise and professionalism shown by PURA AVENTURA and their local agents. This critique is intended as feedback to PURA AVENTURA that may be of help to future clients.
1. International Flights were with BA (world traveller). Flights were more or less on time and legroom was good. In-flight food was adequate.
2. Arrival in Costa Rica Costa Rica Trails provided in-country support. Met on arrival by a smartly-presented English speaker, we were whisked away to our hotel (Buena Vista) in a clean and roomy vehicle. We were given a comprehensive and detailed arrival pack-up that included a very detailed itinerary, local contact numbers, vouchers for the whole trip and plenty of useful information and maps. This company could not be faulted; they inspired confidence and were extremely efficient throughout.
3. Tortuguero Early on day 1 we were picked up and taken to another hotel where we met another couple and changed vehicles. We then drove to another hotel where we picked up a third couple and were then taken into San Jose where we transferred to a 52-seater coach that was nearly full. At this point we were starting to feel uncomfortable, having signed up to a private tour with an individual itinerary. It subsequently transpired that this (long bus journey and boat trip) was the only way to get to the Tortuguero hotels (other than flying in). While it all worked out well, we feel that you should make these arrangements clear to your clients prior to departure. The Pachira Lodge Hotel was a little Spartan, certainly the least impressive of the 7 hotels that we stayed in. However, it provided just what was needed in the unusual Tortuguero environment.
4. Sarapiqui Having picked up a 4-wheel drive hire vehicle en route, we arrived at the Sueno Azul Hotel after a short drive. The whole experience here was delightful. The hotel is in a beautiful setting, the room was large and comfortable and the staff were welcoming (including the owner who greeted us at dinner). The food was particularly good. Notwithstanding the poor roads on the approach, we really enjoyed our stay.
5. Bosque de Paz We were quite unprepared for Bosque de Paz! Met by the owner on arrival, we spent 2 wonderful nights in this most extraordinary private wildlife sanctuary. Once again the food was superb and the staff could not have been more helpful. This hotel is a little gem and provides a greatly superior cloud forest experience to the one that we had during a trip through Monteverde.
6. Arenal After Bosque de Paz we expected the next hotel to be a little disappointing. The Arenal Volcano Inn was anything but. The suite-style room was roomy and luxurious, complete with Jacuzzi. There can be few hotel rooms in the world where one can lie on the bed and watch a live volcano doing it’s stuff! Although the dining room was open to the general public and was very busy, we found both the food and service to be of a high standard.
7. Alajuela En route from Arenal to the Osa Peninsula we spent our second night at the Buena Vista hotel. This is an ideal location for arrival/departures/transfers, offering a friendly, helpful and flexible staff and some excellent food. The rooms are perfectly functional for a short stay.
8. Internal Flights Our internal flights (to/from the Osa Peninsula) were provided by Sansa and Nature Air. The difference between these 2 carriers is quite marked and we would recommend that you use Nature Air whenever possible, not least because of the great views from their large cabin windows
9. Corcovado This was truly the highlight of our holiday: the Casa Corcovado Lodge has to be seen to be believed. We loved everything about this place, from the spacious suite to the friendly staff, from the extraordinary wildlife to the first-class cuisine this was a wonderful experience that will live long in the memory. Above all we were impressed by the efforts of the staff in planning, preparing and delivering your activities for each day. Each guest was then debriefed on their experience and the next day’s details were confirmed at dinner. If we have one small beef, it is that the excursions were over-priced. However, we cannot recommend this hotel too highly.
10. Manuel Antonio Once again, we were pleasantly surprised by the variety and the quality of the accommodation provided. The Hotel Costa Verde is a more traditional type of hotel, but with large rooms and a fine hillside location. We found this a great place to relax after a hectic tour. Located between the beach and the town, we found it easy to get around. The choice of food and the quality were both excellent.
Thanks to the comprehensive information that you provided prior to departure, we were prepared for the weather that we encountered. Of 19 days away, there were only 2 days when we had no rain. The worst weather was in Manuel Antonio where the downpour was torrential and was accompanied by thunder and lightning throughout the night. None of our plans had to be changed because of the weather.
The wildlife was the real magnet for us. Despite going on a number of jungle expeditions, we encountered the most wildlife (and certainly the closest encounters) on various hotel lawns! This was a delight.
We really appreciate the level of attention to detail provided by PURA AVENTURA and its agents. All transfers were smooth and efficient and everything worked very well. The quality and variety of accommodation that you provided was excellent; each hotel was quite different and each provided a unique local flavour and experience.
Thank you – we will certainly recommend you to others.
Find out more about our Costa Rica holidays