The infamous Condor Cross was scheduled for our next day, which meant preparing for an early morning. We packed up and headed to breakfast, greeted by the grounds horses out grazing in the sunrise – again, a sight hard to beat.
Condor! (Karen DiGangi)
On our way through the canyon, we made a few stops along some view points, learning more about the canyon and the upcoming majestic birds we were soon to see. Our guide knew that we were avid outdoors people and suggested the van drop us off a little early to allow some light hiking. We greatly appreciated the added time to stretch our legs (knowing we had a 3-hour return journey to Arequipa that afternoon).
It was from there that we started to see the large dots in the sky swooping around the side of the cliffs: the condors. They tend to stay in the same area for quite a while, swooping up and down, back and forth before finally making the decision to continue. I am not ashamed to say that I am not usually a wildlife person, and even more so do not typically have any interest in birds. But these condors were so large and majestic it was easy to get excited seeing one get closer and swoop overhead. When we reached the tourist point for watching the condors, I was apprehensive, since there were about 200 other people there already. However, it ended up adding this weird sense of community: everyone was there for the same thing, all of us getting visibly excited the closer the birds got.
Should that have been the end of our day, I would’ve been happy! However, our views on the return trip continued to blow me away. We made another photo op stop, but this time decided to take our time, purchasing some local cactus fruit slushies and soaking it in. Little did we know, our next stop would be even better and have the infamous Colca Sour. Unlike the better-known Pisco sours, these Colca sours are made with cactus fruit, and man, were they tasty (even at 10 in the morning)! It was here that we found ourselves overcome by the view. A drink in hand and llamas keeping us company, there was no need to go anywhere.
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
2 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!
Elizabeth
3 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.