At the Pisac MarketWe had this morning for some sightseeing, but the Coca Museum was closed for a Peruvian national holiday commemorating a 19th century naval battle with Chile ! (Wasn't on my radar at all.) I did get to light a candle in the Puno Basilique, upgraded by Pope Paul in 1963. At some point, there is a parade around the square, this time of the children's soccer teams, complete with soccer moms! Aren't they cute !
We found excellent empanadas for lunch, which was a good thing because dinner was a long way off. While waiting for our driver, we helped the hotel owner string cans for his about to be married nephew's car!! What a personal sharing! So Eduardo is still working on my Lima arrangements, when he needs to be getting to his cousin's wedding!!
On the way to the airport in Juliaca, about an hour away, we enjoyed beautiful views of the lake and some farewell pictures. Eduardo calls the driver to give me the name of our transfer agent and hotel in Lima. No problems at the airport, though there was no place to eat. We sat for a long time, as the plane was late, though there was live musical entertainment at the departure gate! I've never seen that before!
We flew over beautiful high mountain scenery to a stopover at Arequipa, then 1-1/2 hrs to Lima. No problem finding our transfer, but Miraflores is a long way from the airport. We're told we need to be at the airport 3 hrs in advance tomorrow, so 9:45 pick-up won't leave much time in the morning. Maybe we should have saved time by staying at the airport hotel, though then again, we will be able to see the Pacific!
Eduardo calls the driver to tell him about the crazy cash payment situation at the hotel: they couldn't take our credit card because the Internet wasn't working because of the holiday !!?? Our driver was able to work it out. Again the staff was very friendly. The MiraforesColon Hotel was 4 star hotel, a little fancier than we'd had, but not nearly as charming as the others we had stayed in. It didn't matter, though. We were just feeling very fortunate that Eduardo was able to make these arrangements for us.
It was late, and there weren't restaurants close by, so we just ate there. Unfortunately we were behind a large, loud tour group. As noted earlier, food is cooked to order, and we sat there a long time. The poor waiter was very apologetic, though it wasn't his fault. When we finally got our meal, the chicken was very good.
Long day, exhausted by the concern and logistics of itinerary change .... the bed linens were exceptionally pretty and it was all very comfortable.
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
3 weeks 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.