Subject: [Tweeters] Problems with Focus on Nature Tours
Date: Mar 9 13:17:36 2011
From: Marcia - birdingtour.review at gmail.com


Unfortunately we didn't know about the previous warnings about the tour
company "Focus on Nature Tours, Inc." (FONT) run by Armas Hill of
Wilmington, Delaware.

Here is a summary of some of the difficulties we experienced on the FONT
Costa Rica birding trip January 30 - February 15, 2011.

- Trip leader, Armas Hill, failed to meet up with group until the morning
of the third day;
- Day 4: Armas routed the group via rough back-roads with which he was
unfamiliar; upon arriving at the destination city, group had to wait while
he went searching for accommodations - he was apparently denied credit card
authorization at the first two hotels to which we were taken;
- Day 6: all-day river trip was cancelled when Armas could not pay for
the tickets;
- Day 7: Armas was unable to pay the hotel bill for previous three
nights or the driver from day 4; he was detained by the hotel, police were
called; group left for next destination without Armas who said he would
rejoin us when money was deposited to his account; had to find our own
accommodations;
- Day 9: Armas arrived early afternoon saying he received payment for a
future trip, so he now had the finances to continue;
- Days 9 - 16: trip resumed however the itinerary and accommodations kept
changing from pretrip documentation; it was difficult to keep contacts at
home up-to-date on whereabouts; we refused a scheduled overnight trip into
Panama when Armas divulged it was illegal to take his rental car across the
border.

Apparently the State of Delaware, Department of Justice has a file on Armas
Hill and his company and I will be adding to the complaints.

Marcia Farquhar
Victoria, B.C.
birdingtour.review at gmail.com
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