Gallavanting around PeruToday is a free day, but we still have Marco's guide service, so we visit a few more places in this beautiful city. We go the Qorikancha--an ancient Incan temple that was ransacked by the conquistadores--as well as to the local market, with its pigs' feet (and heads!), and meats and fruits and vegetables of all kinds. We buy a couple of large round loaves of sweet bread and thick slabs of cheese. We stop by the shaman's shop, where dried llama fetuses dangle above our heads. Marco takes us to a bookstore so I can buy a Peruvian cookbook, and the rest of the afternoon we have to ourselves. Brenda, Diane, and I sit in the Plaza de Armas to eat our bread and cheese and watch the people.
This evening is Brenda V.'s birthday celebration. We all head over to Marco's wife's restaurant, A Mi Manera, for a sumptuous dinner. I've eaten so much meat on this trip, and tonight is no exception! I order an alpaca steak and dig in. A local band comes in to play "Happy Birthday" to Brenda, and a chocolate cake is brought out for us all to enjoy. This is our last evening together. Bill, Beverly, and Brenda V. are flying to the Amazon tomorrow. Brenda D. and Diane are flying home. And I am taking the bus out to Puno and Lake Titicaca. We say goodbye to Marco (surreptitiously slipping him generous tips), who has become a good friend in these past days, and opened up Peru to us in a way that none of us expected.
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.