After our last night in the jungle, we take the canoe to Puerto Maldonado, the bus back to Rainforest Expeditions, and then we're off to the airport for an easy, quick flight to Cusco.
We step off the plane in Cusco and I'm pretty sure I collapse a lung. No, it's just the altitude (around 11,000 feet). We find our guide, Santiago, who takes one look at our pale skin and says, please tell me you have sunscreen! Not exactly the most traditional greeting we've ever heard.
After our mandated rest at the hotel, we grab some water (another hot button for Santiago), slather up in sunscreen, and set off to explore Cusco.
The Plaza de Armas is the perfect welcome to the city. Lots of people, gorgeous colonial architecture, and dozens of these beautifully decorated crosses. Today is the Day of the Cross and local families have been given the honor of decorating crosses all over the city. Each one is unique. The Incas called Cusco the spiritual center of the Andes and we certainly feel it tonight.
We start up a hill just off the Plaza and our lungs feel every step. Now we understand why we were encouraged to spend a couple of days here to acclimate.
Back down to the Plaza de Armas, we watch as the sun sets, turning the sky orange and purple. Staggeringly beautiful. As we take in the beauty of where we are, the sadness of leaving the jungle begins to dissipate.
We have dinner at this funky place called the Fallen Angel. It's during dinner that we start to see Santiago's sense of humor. We're going to like this guy! He's smart and knows his country's history and culture, but he is also wicked funny and only slightly less obsessed with Paul McCartney and the Beatles than I am with the St. Louis Cardinals.
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
1 month ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
2 months ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
3 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.