Kayaking at Llachon - Lake TiticacaWake early pack our stuff into our day packs, check our extra luggage into the hotel storage and eat a nice little breakfast. Our guide arrives and we head out on some TukTuks to the pier. We stop right before the pier to buy some snacks and gifts for our home stay families (FYI buy a little more than you think). We get on our boat and are off to Llachon for kayaking! We arrive at the beach and I keep hearing a little voice repeating ''Ok, ok!'' I finally see a tiny little boy (3-4 yrs) in woolen ants, sweater, and wool hood waving at us to come to him. ''Ok, ok!'' He drags the paddles to us and starts telling us what to do in baby Spanish. We get all of the gear on (booties, waterproof shirts, life jackets, and kayak skirt) and we are OFF! It was so nice to cruise on the water and see the coast up close, it was so quiet. We stopped to look at a trout farm, paddled through reeds and chased ducks, Afterwards we were met at the docks by a little girl who lead us up to her house for lunch. It was a lovely little house, halfway up the hill overlooking the lake - we dined outside on steamed trout. Back to the boat and on to Ticonata Island where we would stay for the night. When we arrived it was quite, no one greeted us. We wandered around the grounds, we spotted a rowboat, coming across the water - our caretakers for the night, Lucian and his wife Ana. We walked down to the cliff side to while they rowed ashore. Once they arrived they told us the island was quiet because an important community member had passed away. We were shown our cozy cabin and our guide asked if we could go fish. After a rousing bout of skipping stones, we boarded the boat and dropped some fishing nets. Lucian, told us about some caves where they found mummies. Once on shore we went mummy hunting! We found the cave, but no mummies - they have all been moved to a museum on the island. On to the museum! We walked around the island, picking up some horrible burrs on the way, but munched on some Lima beans on the way. We meet Lucian at the museum to see the mummies, al were females and one infant. They were preserved in straw woven bags with ceramic/ clay plates and bowls as offerings for their next life. Then we hiked to the top of the island. We circumnavigated the island! Then headed down for a yummy dinner of rice, potato, tomato, fried cheese, and soup and a game of cards.
From the planning stage straight through the trip itself, Adventure life was on top of it all. Questions were answered completely, accommodations were better than expected. All fees and transportation was addressed. This is a very professional organization, you can book with confidence.
Eric Biddinger
4 weeks ago
Our 19 day personalized trip to Peru was amazing and memorable. The itinerary Adventure Life assembled provided us with a wonderful sampling of the country and culture - Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Amazon rainforest, Paracas, and the Nazca Lines. Our guides were exceptional- informative, friendly, helpful, and service-centric. It was a trip of a lifetime.
Gino
2 months ago
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
2 months 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
3 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!
