Arrived safely after 10ish hours from NYC. Wandered the city a bit before settling at hotel(rooms not yet ready when first arrived). Took the funicular up Cerro San Cristibal for view of the city. Not much smog.. Nice clear day!
Wandered through some cool shops and lunch at Mexican restaurant.
Dinner at hotel then orientation.
We found that our habitat family had twins earlier this year - one with cystic fibrosis. Sadly the healthier one passed away a couple of months ago and the cystic fibrosis one is in hospital with infection.
We were warned that UV indices will be in the range of 12 to 14. Yikes!
Early to bed...tired and big day ahead.
Day 1 of build started with 45 minute drive to Curacavi. We are in a rural area surrounded by small mountains covered with scrubby vegetation and many 12 foot cacti.
We were treated to cheese sandwiches and tea before starting on our first project of building trusses. We then continued on - working on the floor so by the end of the day we had gone from pilings to framework then subfloor covering ..ready for walls! The addition that we are building is about 20 by 20 feet.
Were fed well throughout the day including semolina dessert for lunch for which I asked the recipe from Miriam our smiling and hardworking cook. At lunch, the men were served first..not used to that! The servings were massive but the food disappeared nonetheless.
One thing that I have to deal with in my "infection control" little mind is that there are no serving spoons. Everyone just digs in...multiple times! I learned to take what I thought I could eat right off the bat..and don't go back!
We also had fabulous ice cream bars in the middle of a hot afternoon! What a treat!Long day on site. Got back to hotel about 730. Supper served to us by lady who Habitat had helped when her son had leukemia. He died just days after they had finished the build.
Too tired for any nightlife that night.
Adventure Life has been an extraordinary travel resource for us over the years and today was no exception. Our River Cruise booking was handled by Jess (who has been our personal trip planner for several years) the same day as our inquiry. Suggestions were given for cabin choice and pre-trip options (that were not shown on the cruise line's website) like airport transfers and prepaid gratuities. Trip insurance recommendations followed and we were assigned a travel co-ordinator till the end of the tour. All we have to do is show up! Great service from friendly folks.
APtravelwell
1 day ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
1 day ago
Although there was a lot of paper work, I received help and guidance when I needed it.
Donna Kirby
2 days ago
Our travel was flawless! The rider pickup (airport, hotel, ship) was seamless. Jane's recommendation for Emerald Cruise Sakara was everything I wanted but the experience was soooo much more. Adventure Life took care of each and every detail and this was the easiest of all my travels.
Anne Petty
3 days ago
Follow up was effective any questions were answered in a timely manner