Part of the boat trip out to Amantani Island for the homestay includes a visit to the Uros Islands – floating villages built on stacks and stacks of reeds. It is an incredible concept, born out of necessity when the Incas from the highlands arrived and sought to subjugate the local people. By moving out onto the lake, the Uros people were able to avoid conquest.
Of course the modern-day Incas – the Quechuas – are not on any sort of colonial conquest kick at this point. So one must ask the question, without such existential danger, why are these folks still out here creating their own islands? Is this all for show?
I got the sense at the Uros Islands that this really was contrived. Maybe there are islands where these folks live and then different islands that they show the tourists? Or maybe these folks live on the mainland, wearing Nikes and using cell phones, and just come out to the floating islands ahead of us each day – like Disney employees arriving early to be in place when the doors open?
But then… there were plenty of other places where I might have had a similar thought, only to be corrected with obvious clues otherwise. There were the gentlemen we met on a distant trail on Taquile Island, wearing the unique hand-sewn hats that locals use to differentiate single men from married men. (A man is only marriage material when he can get good enough to sew his own intricate hat.) There was the community of local Quechua people celebrating a holiday with traditional dancing in the square, decked out in the most amazing combinations of traditional hand-woven wear, punctuated by children dressed as gorillas! In each of these instances, we were in areas that folks had no reasonable expectation for western travelers to come around the corner. And when we did, we were the only westerners for miles. If we were at Disney, we would have been way, way, wayyyy backstage. Yet, everyone was living their life with each other in what appeared to be very traditional ways – nothing contrived about it in the least. So, was I wrong about the Uros as well? I’ll never know.
Uros Islands (Kevin Moore)
Uros Islands (Kevin Moore) Local celebration, Peru (Kevin Moore)
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.