Jonas and Julia were on our Active Galapagos trip earlier in February, which includes an 8 day cruise on the 14 passenger Samba.  Jonas just sent us this note yesterday - we've copy-pasted it below - unadulterated.  This is the kind of thing that really makes our day - it's the caffeine in our coffee, the bubbles in our champagne....  the booby of our blue feet? (ok - maybe we're overdoing it in the metaphor department...).    Thank you Jonas and Julia.

Hello Heather,

my wife and I are back from our fantastic trip from the Galapagos and Ecuador and we had a wonderful time!

Jonas in Julia (no, this is not Galapagos, but Greenland)

The Galapagos cruise on the Samba was for sure our highlight. We are very very happy to have chosen the Samba and are already thinking about coming back to also sail the south east route. The reason why we choose the Samba and what made this trip so great was that is was about doing and seeing as much as possible.

Coming to the Galapagos we don't care about having cocktails on deck in the sun. We want to see and experience the wildlife and nature and that is what we got. As you already pointed out on your website the key to this is finding the right guide and crew and we totally agree. So because we are planning on coming back and to help you keep the Samba as amazing as it is I just wanted to give you some feedback of the guys.

In conclusion I can already say it is all positive. Jimmy Patino did a perfect job. Julia and I had many guides throughout all of our travels and he was one of the best if not the best. He did a great job. He knows very much and if he didn't know something he grabbed a book and tried to find out. His energy is unlimited and contagious.

Every morning he was in a good mood and energetic. This excitement was transferred to the group and we always started the days keen to go on adventures. His energy didn't fade away during the day and we all finished the days with happy faces and excitement for what will happen the next day. I genuinely admire his energy. Even during downtime during the sailings he was up making postcards or editing small videos from the day. He could have slept or relaxed on deck.

Jimmy Patinño:  A "real" naturalist guide doesn't need shoes to walk on sharp lava fields apparently!

His job is hard, he is doing so many activities and has to take care of all the guest, i would be drained if I did his job. I think everyone on board appreciated that and we would have granted him some downtime. But through his on motivation he did edit those videos, made the post cards and so on. He really did a great job.

When it comes to guiding qualities he is fantastic as well. He has a very good feel for the group and can read people very well. He knew when we just wanted to sit there watch the wildlife awake during sunrise and enjoy. He kept quiet and gave us time to absorb during those moments. However he also knew without being told when the group was eager for some information and then he explained to us whatever we wanted to know. This great feel for the group was constant through the cruise.

Never have we felt rushed and he was super flexible and gave us much time when he saw that something interested us even if that meant he had to adjust his plan. We had other guides before that stuck to their plan and rushed us away from unexpected sightings we wanted to inspect. Not Jimmy, he read the group and lead us though the cruise and a very dynamic and skilful way. That is a great quality.

Also he was very funny and kept joking around, we felt as a group of friends instead of with a strict guide, yet he always made sure the national park rules are respected. He managed his responsibilities and job as a tour guide to keep us happy in a very balanced way as it should be. Here's another example of what makes him great. I once randomly asked about the el nino effects on the Galapagos and I got a whole speech with videos and pictures about it during sailing. That was great and he immediately realized that the whole group was interested in that topic and the spontaneous lecture was well received. After our cruise my wife said she wants to come back and if we do so she wants to pick a week when Jimmy is the guide if if this means changing our schedule and I agree with her. This says it all i guess.

The rest of the crew also did a wonderful job. All of them were very polite, funny, in a good mood, organised, punctual and so on. I don't have a single complaint about the crew. They all seemed to enjoy their jobs very much and were great at spotting wildlife from the pangas, help us with our gear, gave us snorkel advise and so on. Captain Jose Caicedo was great. When we spotted things during sailing we went there. Our convenience and safety seemed his priorities and it made the cruise very enjoyable. When we come on the Samba again and we sail with the exact same crew we would be delighted!

Regards,

Jonas and Julia