adventures all day long on our trip into the Sacred Valley
the crazy hoatzinGot to sleep in til 6:30 - WOW! Left for our next adventure with a new group of people - 3 school teachers. First stopped at a llama farm/weaving cooperative, where we saw lots of varieties of llamas, alpacas, and even vicunas with super-long necks. Then went to Pisac Ruins - amazing terraces and buildings with slanted walls, dating to the 12th century. Built by the Quechan people (later incorrectly called the Incas). Brian wasn't freaked out by the paths right next to the cliffs, which made it so much more fun. Then to Pisac Market where I bought 2 bags. Never have been any good at bargaining! Then to lunch at a buffet restaurant --- it was so tasty to have cold stuff again.
Then to Moray, which is a very old agricultural center with circular terraces where they experimented with growing even Amazonian crops at 11,000'. The terraces were in an incredible depression next to very high mountains, all snow-covered and with glaciers (over 20,000' tall --- the tallest mountains we've ever seen; even taller than DeNali!). Gorgeous setting. Then to a salt mine which turned out to be hundreds and hundreds of salt pans. Since Incan times, families have harvested salt here --- each family has about 50 pans to take care of. Water from the mountain is diverted into the pans and after 7-10 days, salt is collected. So incredibly much work! 100 pounds of salt yields $6US. And 2 kg. of potatoes yields 1.5 soles, which is about 45 cents US.
On the way, we saw people plowing fields with oxen and donkeys carrying very heavy loads. There is nothing mechanized here. The experimental station was really interesting. They even made hybrids and produced over 3,000 varieties of potatoes alone (all between the 12th and 16th centuries). Enjoyed happy hour looking out our hotel window at all kinds of ancient ruins on the surrounding mountains.
Had dinner at Hearts Cafe in Ollantaytambo --- all profits go to a non-profit organization for children and orphans of the Sacred Valley. Lots of mothers die in child birth in the indigenous Quechan villages, because the people do not believe in white man medicine.
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
4 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.