Adventure and Activity

Club Cantamar Diving Lodge, Mexico was excellent. The weather constantly in the low 80s, so just gorgeous, warm and sunny.


The diving was amazing! Some of it, like the Hammerhead dives were a bit too challenging for me, due to the strong currents and very cold cold water (just14/16 degrees at 30+ meters deep), but Nigel did them and was totally blown away by the Giant Mantas/sharks etc. I sat on the boat and watched the Pacific dolphins playing around the bow.
I stuck to the shallower dives, going to 26.4 m at deepest and enjoyed the wreck of the Fang Ming particularly. It has to be said though, that the most memorable dives for me were with the wild sea lions at Los Islotes.

On the last dive I took a photo of a particularly bold and curious female sea lion who kept swimming right up to me nd gnawing playfully on my dive watch. I didn't realise that I hadn't turned off my flash and I accidentally flashed her in the eyes. Apparently they don't appreciate this as she let out an indignant stream of bubbles, barked at me and swam off. About 10 minutes later, she came back, bit me hard to the right buttock before doing a victory roll and disappearing off into the blue!!

Angela and Nigel Vause

When we told people that we were heading off to Iceland we were met with some very puzzled looks. Why, we were asked, were we not spending an August weekend enjoying the summer somewhere in the sun? However, not only is Iceland actually not as cold as its name implies (average max July temp 11C, and winters warmer than New York), but it is also one of the most fascinating countries in the world, with such a wealth of natural wonders, it could be described as the ultimate nature trip.

As there are so many places to see, having only four days to make the most of, it was very difficult to decide which excursions to choose. With the help of Medway Travel who gave us a great selection of tours, we picked the ones we felt would give us the broadest view of the country in the short time we had.

Our first sight of Iceland certainly did not disappoint us - as we flew over the country we could see the huge Vatnajokull glacier spread out beneath us, and then as we came closer to the airport, the landscape changed as miles and miles of eerie lava strewn plains came into view.

We spent our first evening exploring the centre of Reykjavik, which was only a couple of minutes from our comfortable hotel. For such a cosmopolitan city, it has a surprisingly intimate feel, probably as not only is it very small for a capital city, but due to frequent earthquakes (on average once every eight minutes - although they are not big enough to be felt very often) there are no high buildings, The shops were great to browse around - but due to the very high prices, our shopping was more of the window variety!

The high prices extend to all goods, as just about everything is imported. Fortunately we had been warned about the high costs of eating out, and especially about the exorbitant price of alcohol, so it didn't come as too much of a shock! It does make you savour every mouthful though!

A lot of fish is eaten in Iceland, as is lamb, which is extremely tasty since the sheep spend their lives roaming the countryside eating mountain thyme. We tried some of the traditional delicacies too, such as puffin and skyr (a dessert made with skimmed milk), but we would have drawn the line at trying 'rotten shark' had we come across this Icelandic speciality!

On our first full day, we set off for a morning's whale watching trip, which was fantastic. We had a minibus collect us promptly from the hotel and take us to the harbour, where we had time for a short visit to the whale centre, before we set off into the bay. Our guide was excellent and so enthusiastic, and although it was very chilly on the deck, we were able to warm up inside with a drink and sit on the comfortable seats to watch the action from the huge windows. Even though we were told there were no guarantees of sightings, we saw so many minke whales that we stopped counting!

In the evening we went on the 'Golden Circle Tour', driven by a most knowledgeable and interesting guide. This 'must -do' trip for visitors to Reykjavik includes one of the most powerful waterfalls in Iceland, the fissure scarred plain at Pingvellir where the American and European tectonic plates are diverging, and the amazing geyser at Geysir which spouts every seven or eight minutes, so there is no chance for disappointment!

The following day we had booked a trip to Porsmork ('Thors's Forest'), one of Iceland's most spectacular, but inaccessible wilderness areas, surrounded by three glaciers and only possible to reach by oversized 4 wheel drive vehicles. As we held our breath, our driver managed very skilfully to navigate the many rivers we had to cross, as we made our way up the valley, where we were rewarded with fantastic views of the glaciers, fields of wild flowers and icebergs breaking off into a stunning glacial lagoon. Our group, again of only six, enjoyed several walks where we were shown hidden waterfalls and lava strewn ice hills.

Of course, we couldn't have left without experiencing a dip in the mineral rich waters of the Blue Lagoon. As this was situated just a short distance from the airport, we decided to spend our last morning here before catching our flight home. Bathing in the geothermally heated lagoon surrounded by moss covered lava fields was such as surreal experience we felt as though we could have been on a different planet altogether!

Medway Travel was very thorough and helpful in researching and organising the details of the various excursions; without their help we would have spent precious hours of our break investigating the trips available. However, our visit has merely whetted our appetite to return to, and learn more about, this extraordinary land of fire and ice.

We planned to go away with another family - 4 adults and 4 children. Both the fathers and eldest 2 children were keenly interested in diving and wanted to get their certificates, so we decided to go to the Red Sea, which Medway Travel advised, is one of the best places to dive.

Both children completed the theory for their open water referral dive courses here in the UK over a weekend. This left their open water dives to be completed locally in order to qualify. Not surprisingly, they wanted to do the practical part of the course in a nice sunny environment!

Medway Travel booked us in to the Taba Heights Hyatt Regency, a 5 star hotel set on its own private beach with a reef that can be snorkelled from the beach. We flew to Taba, which was quite an experience, as you feel as if you are landing in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain. It was very, very hot on arrival but our transfer coach was air-conditioned and we were all given an ice-cold bottle of water, which was very welcome. The transfer took approximately 1hr to the resort and the hotel.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we were all given a welcome cocktail, while our bags were unloaded and taken efficiently to our rooms. The rooms were large and air conditioned with fabulous views of the sea and lush immaculately kept landscaped gardens.

We were on a half board basis and the restaurant was buffet-style, with excellent choice and helpful and friendly staff.

We had four pools to choose from and always plenty of sun-beds and shade. At one of the pools there was always something going on (eg aerobics/water volleyball etc), but you could get away and always find a peaceful spot to read if you preferred, as no music was allowed around the pools. The children had great fun exploring it all, between snorkelling every day and enjoyed seeing lots of very colouful, interesting fish, turtles etc.

The elder 2 children along with their dads, went diving every other morning at the dive centre, which was reached by a shuttle bus that called at the hotel every hour, and was only 15 minutes ride away. They soon passed the Padi Open water dive course, and were then very excited to be allowed to dive with their dads.

One afternoon we all went to the Red Sea Waterworld centre and the children went parasailing and enjoyed the donut rides. The dads also went water skiing.

We all had an extremely relaxed and pleasant holiday as those who just wanted to relax - us mums! - could improve their tans in beautiful quiet surroundings, while those who wanted a little more activity, could indulge.

Thank you Medway Travel for your advice and arrangements - we have all decided to go back there next year!

Paula Wilson

Ashford

Thank you Medway Travel for arranging our trip to Madeira, which for a long time we have wanted to visit.

Your advice about staying outside Funchal was so right - you understood our preferences really well. The self-catering villa you arranged for us - set in the grounds of the Villa Alfonso Hotel at Estreito de Camara de Lobos - some thirty minutes drive west of Funchal, had wonderful views, was quiet, well equipped and clean.

The hotel had a swimming pool with a glass sliding roof and huge patio doors, whilst breakfasts were served on a terrace surrounded by flowering shrubs and with an enormous view over the coastline and sea,

We were glad the car you advised us to have was a small one, as the roads are indeed narrow and parking quite "confined", but we found the standard of driving was good.

Most of the holiday was spent exploring the island. Whilst the roads are steep and narrow there are fairly frequent stopping points from which to admire the spectacular scenery. Unless one is in a hurry it is better to avoid using the road tunnels (the terrain is so precipitous that the EU funded tunnel building must be a godsend for the locals!) as you could almost succeed in driving right round the island without seeing anything at all!

We walked several lavas - the water courses built over the last 200 - 300 years to irrigate the drier most fertile parts of the island using water from the mountains. These cling precariously to the contours and the paths beside them are often the only way to get into the remoter areas. Funchal is a clean, green and attractive town and has several well-known sub-tropical gardens. Whilst these are worth a visit we were surprised they were not as well kept as those in England owned by the National Trust.

We do not put much store by haute cuisine whilst on holiday, but we did have some good meals, one of which was at the Churchill - a small hotel down by our local harbour. Winston Churchill is reputed to have spent a holiday there from which he painted a number of landscapes.

We were surprised and a bit disappointed by how densely populated the south coast area is, now that the roads have opened up parts which, until the tunnels were built, would have been tedious for the locals to reach from Funchal.

We are glad to have been, and are now planning our next exploration!

Kathy and James Groves, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

When we decided to explore Morocco, we frankly did not know where to begin. So I write to say how pleased we are with the advice you gave us and the arrangements you made, as they provided us with a really exciting trip and the most amazingly varied scenery and experiences.

In (not so brief) summary, Marrakech was well worth the two days at the start and the further two days at the end of our 12 day holiday, that you recommended. We enjoyed the Palaces, souks, gardens, fabulous restaurants, friendly people and our small riad hotel, which was a delightful oases of calm right in the heart of the busy city.

We then went off into the mountains to a luxurious hotel in beautiful and extensive gardens – the roses were quite breathtaking – and enjoyed chilling out in splendour and acclimatising to the sun by their superb pools, after walking in the local mountains.

Then on, over the fantastic, Tizi-n-Test pass (7,000 feet) to a bijoux four bedroomed hotel on a mountainside with its breakfast terrace overlooking a village and its green oasis. The roads were excellent but we were glad of our 4 x 4 as we approached the desert next day beyond Zagora. There we hired a guide and went right into the desert seeing a wonderful sunset from the top of a sand dune. The Kasbah Hotel was quite an experience, and dinner in the gardens surrounded by flowering bougainvilleas and date palms all around us, was so romantic! A vocal cuckoo in the palms made the whole ambience quite unforgettable!

We then headed across to Tinerhir and, with the help of a map, hand drawn for us by a kind village shopkeeper, we took the 4 x 4 off on to a 30 kilometre rough track as a short cut across the mountains to avoid several more hours of semi desert driving. This was really exciting, crossing dry wadis and climbing a high pass – we never saw a vehicle for the 2.5 hours it took us - and the scenery was breathtaking and so different from Europe! On arrival we found that our hotel was another traditional three story kasbah built of pise (basically mud and straw) but very comfortable, with quite adequate en-suite bathrooms (it took a long warm shower to get rid of all the dust from that day's drive!).

The Todra and Daddes Gorges were really awe-inspiring and we enjoyed a long mountain walk on tracks used by colourful nomad mule trains, which passed us every now and again. The rivers around here were still flowing and the oases were green and colourful in welcome contrast to the surrounding arid mountains. Further down, however, the river had already dried up (late April) and sadly, the oasis were dying. We were told that this was due to climate change, causing the locals great hardship.

Our next major adventure was another “off highway” trip of some 50 kms, for which this time, we had a local guide to help with the directions. We were really glad he came with us, as the track was very rough and mountainous (in places, low first was necessary in our 4 x 4) going through isolated villages and over another 7,000 foot pass. Apart from meeting two small “convoys” of safari tour land cruisers coming in the opposite direction (which certainly exercised our guide's experience and caused us some nervous moments!), we thankfully had the track to ourselves during the whole of the three hour drive. However, a peaceful picnic lunch by a small mountain stream, in a meadow full of wild orchids, calmed our nerves before we set off again for Telouet where the track reverted to metal road. There, our guide gave us a tour of a deserted Palace (again built of pise) with the most ornately decorated public rooms.

Then, back to Marrakech and our lovely riad hotel over the Tiz-n-Tickka pass with snow still visible on the mountains, quite close by.

As you can see we were all thrilled by the adventures and the experiences we had, and I would highly recommend this trip, its itinerary and your advice, to any of your clients looking for an adventurous and scenic holiday, not too far from home.

Caroline McBride - Purley

I must write to say how much my wife and I enjoyed our recent holiday in the Lebanon.

We had a great flight to Beirut with MEA in Front Class, and spent a few days in Beirut looking around the renovated areas of the city (superbly rebuilt since the war), the remains of the old Roman city and the bustling commercial centre. We also took a one-day trip to Baalbek in the Bekaar Valley where we were completely stunned by the fabulous remains of the massive Roman temples.

We then went via Byblos - well worth a visit and said to have been the oldest inhabited city in the world (over 10,000 years) - to the Kadishe Valley at the head of which is one of the last remaining groves of the famous Cedars of Lebanon.

The Chbat Hotel in Becharre is a clean and unsophisticated walkers hotel, still kept by the family who opened it 50 years ago. Its swimming pool, terrace overlooking the famous Kadishe gorge and its restaurant were more than a match for our needs.

We spent several days there exploring the mountains - huge rolling hills, the summits of which were over 9 thousand feet above sea level and only 20 miles from the coast! - and the gorge itself which is some 400 metres below the valley floor and has its own microclimate and vegetation.

In the mountains we came across large flocks of goats with their attendant herdsmen and dogs, saw across the watershed huge views of the Bekaar Valley, explored caves and underground rivers and of course experienced the majesty and timelessness of the giant cedars. The scenery was breathtaking in all directions and away from the villages, it was so peaceful that one could easily imagine the traders of millennia ago using this valley as part of their trading route to Damascus and beyond.

Thank you Medway Travel for arranging this unusual and memorable trip for us. Of course, as we have come to expect, all the arrangements you made went like clockwork!

Tony Moyles, Tenterden, Kent

I have just returned from a visit to this marvellous facility courtesy of Wildlife Worldwide and had to write to say what a fascinating and informative visit it was. Having never experienced staying in a Rain Forest before it was with some trepidation that I arrived at Iguazu airport ready for my experience.

After a two hour journey through the forest (this would normally be done by boat when water levels in the Iguazu River allow) I arrived at the Lodge to find a very warm welcome and was immediately taken to my cabin.

All cabins are double or triple occupancy (single occupancy is available on application) and have 24hour hot and cold water and showers. Electricity is available only between the hours of 6.30 to 7.30 in the morning and 6 and 11pm.

Walking down to your cabin you are immediately struck by the beauty of the flora, masses of striking butterflies and irds (tucans, parrots and hummingbirds).

After an excellent lunch, my first afternoon was a walk through the forest with one of the very knowledgeable guides who explained the layering of the forest in between pointing out the various flora and fauna that we encountered. Dinner in the evening was again an excellent experience.

The second day took the form of a float downstream from the lodge in an indian canoe to see the forest from the water. We encountered monkeys, kingfishers and eagles on route finally entering the Iguazu river (some 1.5km wide) and landing at one of the lodges' ports to take a steady walk back through the forest on a different trail, again encountering monkeys and many species of birds.

On my last day we walked down towards the swamp to see the Capybaras rebreeding station. The Capybaras is the biggest rodent in the world and can weigh up to 80 kilos. Although this mammal is not a threatened species, its population in the area has been decreased substantially due to hunting pressure. Finally I planted a Palmito tree as an aid to regenerating the forest.

The accommodation was very comfortable and staff very friendly. The food is prepared by local people and is exceptional - in fact better than many four star hotels.

I would recommend this facility to anyone looking for something a little different, someone interested in environmental issues, bird watchers, or plant enthusiasts. Special Interest groups can be accommodated and activities are flexible and can be organized to suit the requirements for the group.

This would certainly make an excellent add on to a visit to Buenos Aires. (See my reports on Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls )

Stephen Cresswell, Medway Travel