Inside Ritas houseThis morning we had breakfast with our family then headed to the dock for the next leg of our trip. A 30 minute boat ride away was Taqulie island. It was another hour long hike uphill to the town plaza. During which I decided that the lazy girl who lives inside of me should get a vacation she enjoys sometime too:) Taquile island's population is about 2,000, with about 500 separate families, our guide alluded that the gene pool on the island is getting small and inter marriage is an issue but didn't go much further than that. We were lucky enough to arrive during the Festival de San Santiago which runs from July 25th to August 5th. During the festival each day the townspeople gather in the plaza and watch a group of musicians preform and dance a different cultural dance each day. Today's dance was "Secures" which is the name of an instrument similar to the Sampo. Around the edges of the plaza are a couple of dozen vendors selling their crafts, mostly traditional clothing.
After enjoying the music for awhile we hiked to the other side of the island and had lunch on the rooftop of a local restaurant. Needless to say the view was fantastic. Our boat had driven around to this side of the island and we climbed down 511 stone handmade stairs (a girl in our group counted). It was easier on the heart & lungs going downhill but tougher on the knees and by the time we got to the boat I was was ready to sit. After the 3 hour ride back to Puno we checked out the local "strip mall" where we spotted a restaurant which we returned to after showering at the hotel. The hot running water was very welcome!
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.