Day Thirteen, Return to Indianapolis, June 2nd, 2022
Time to Fly, Andean FlickerWe landed in New York bright and early but knew it would be a long day with customs and with our flight not leaving until 3.30 p.m. Customs was long but doable, my bag was reviewed and searched a couple of times before released to me. I remember Heidi saying that it is a good thing to have a generous layover due to customs. I am happy that we were not in any rush to get anywhere because the customs staff was not in any rush to get us through. It was chaotic and inefficient; in the future I will avoid JFK in New York due to this experience. Once through customs it was just a long wait until our flight. I was hopeful that there would be stores that I would enjoy or even a day spa. No luck there, but we did find some comfortable chairs and set up a little area for us, we then took turns walking the concourse until close to boarding time. Our flight boarded in an out of the way corner of the airport. Fortunately, the area had recently been renovated and there are several lunch options. Around 3:30 we boarded and then proceeded to sit on the tarmac for a little over two hours. This was reported as a weather delay, and the Delta staff made sure we had snacks, drinks, and bathroom privileges during our wait. Finally, we took off toward Indianapolis. My husband was waiting at the airport and a short drive later we dropped Lisa off at her place and then on to home. It was a great adventure.
I would encourage anyone who has the desire to travel to Cusco and the Sacred Valley in Peru to do so. My advice is to use a reputable travel company such as Adventure Life to ensure that your trip is the best possible one. Our main guide, Ayul Acuna was beyond amazing. Ayul made everything seamless. If there was an issue, he resolved it. If you had a question, he knew the answer or found it for you. Ayul and Angela were able to do their jobs well due to competent support staff such as drivers, porters, hotel staff, cooks, government checkpoint and cultural staff, train attendants, and the people that live in Cusco and the communities we visited. Thank you, Adventure Life, for this opportunity.
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
1 month 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
2 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.