Gallavanting around PeruAfter a good breakfast--toast, cereal, fruit, eggs, bacon, and pineapple juice--Marco picks us up to take us to Sacsayhuaman. We pile into a large van and wind our way up one of Cusco's many hills. The air is crisp and clear, the sky blue, the sun shining brightly. Another perfect day. We settle on the springy grass, away from the other tourists exploring the walls of Sacsayhuaman, and listen to Marco's explanation of Incan worldviews and history. Dualities--light, dark, masculine, feminine, dry, wet, sun, moon--not set against each other, but working with each other, completing each other, like yin and yang. The sacred animals: the condor, lord of the sky; the puma, lord of the earth; the snake, lord of the underworld, the world beneath the earth. The importance of the Milky Way, the river in the sky, how it was a mirror of the Urubamba River, the river on earth, how the walls of Sacsayhuaman, seen from above, look like the Milky Way.
We head over to the walls, which are made of enormous stones fitted together without mortar. I step close to the wall, marveling at how the stones have been cut and fitted so perfectly--I could not stick even a pin between them. They are of all different shapes and sizes, some so huge (larger, in fact, than the stones in the Egyptian pyramids), that I wonder how the Incans could have moved them into place, much less cut them from a quarry miles away and hauled them to this hilltop!
The rest of the day is filled with other marvels: the Temple of the Water, shimmering in the sunlight; examples of pre-Incan architecture, less finished, less precise, than the Incan walls; a sacrificial spot, where the blood from the sacrificed animal runs down a snake-shaped trough in the rock; a tunnel through the rock, so dark that I have to rely only on my sense of touch to guide me, my fingertips feeling the rough walls, my feet moving cautiously along the uneven floor, the darkness pressing against my eyes until I close them to stop myself from trying to see.
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.