Date: 27-11-2014

First guests for Iris Cottage, Ukraine

Written by: Paul Goriup, regarding partner: Iris cottage

Thanks to the Bird Fair, and despite the negative image of Ukraine, we hosted Helen and Robert Goodsell for two weeks in September at our accommodations in the Danube delta at Reni (Iris Cottage) and Vylkove (Juncus Apartment).

Our guests wrote: “Salix Tours could not have been more helpful in delivering what we asked for and more during our two week stay in Ukraine… In Vilkovo with its old town of peace and canals we were accommodated in a comfortable apartment with a view across the town roofs - every evening a friend of Salix provided a cooked meal of local food that could not have been bettered by the best restaurant in Odessa.

The guided days included a walk in the border zone beside the Danube (8 different raptors, Pygmy Cormorants, Squacco Heron and Ferruginous Duck were the highlights). In  Vilkovo we were taken down the delta to the Black Sea in one of the local boats (Pelicans, Cormorants and Hobbies were our personal birding highlights). The real highlights were Paul and Natasha.  Paul for his bird knowledge, his insight into environmental policy, and for his dedication to actually investing in practical reed bed management; add in Natasha's care and attention to detail and we couldn’t have been looked after better.”

More information about Salix Tours can be found on our Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/bl79n2m