The Peruvian flag is very distinctive.Strike day, so we stay in Cusco until early evening, a great opportunity to visit the archeological sites close by. Today we learned that the Incas knew all about geometry and knew how to use it. We had heard that the Incas did not use wheels and made some assumptions, but we were wrong. We learned all this at Sacsayhuaman, which is pronounced kind of like something Bloody Mary sang in South Pacific. It is an amazing place, and Marco explained just how amazing it was for the Incas to build it. Indeed they did not use wheeled vehicles on the narrow, mountainous roads, but they did use cylinders to build, often making geometric shapes (kind of like tinker toys) of the rocks, but instead of wooden dowels they used silver! All this was completed before rolling just the right stone, often chiseled to fit, into place with ramps. We look at the these mammoth stones in wonder, there is no mortar and yet after hundreds of years, earthquakes, rain and wind, not even a slip of paper could penetrate.
After dinner, we board our trusty bus for Ollantaytambo, but, due to the barriers in the road placed by the strikers, Marco decides it would be better to stay in Urubamba for the evening at a lovely hotel with restaurant where we gather and share stories of other adventures. The friendships made are definitely not part of the program, but the community of travelers is one of the many highlights of traveling with a small group.
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.