Wildlife of the Galapagos archipelago (Faye Xuan)As per usual, we arrived approximately 1 hour before our international flight. Maybe I am getting older, but I actually felt a slight panic. At 5AM, YVR seemed unusually busy. After a smooth security screening and customs, we were in less than 40 minutes with time to grab a Timmy's treat before boarding.
English was already the second language at our stop over in SFO. Everything was done in Spanish and not all was repeated in English. Our flight landed in Lima shortly after midnight. We hired a taxi who didn't seem to be from Lima and didn't have a cell phone. After what seemed to be hours of driving around in circles, we checked into our hotel at 2AM in time for a 4 hour nap before our flight to Cuzco.
When we finally arrived in Cuzco by midday, I was so tired that all I wanted to do was dive my head into a soft pillow. But I am a tough traveller, I can't waste a beautiful day. Not too mention, I was also too excited to start exploring a new city. Besides, a cup of cocoa tea will keep me fueled.
On the way to Plaza de Armas, the city center square, cute little girls in traditional indigenous outfits holding baby sheep or llama were eager to approach us for a picture in exchange for one or two soles. This is very common. If you take a picture with them, expect to have to pay them.
The Armas square were packed with tourists and locals for a Sunday stroll. Surrounding the square, stood the La Catedral and La Compania and countless cafes and restaurants with intricately carved wooden balcony. Even Macdonald's was subtly hidden under the stone arches.
We decided to take it easy since we were still adjusting to the 3400m altitude. The slight incline would make my leg muscle ache and breathless. We ended up having lunch on a balcony and people watched for a few hours. The restaurant also had a terrace. on the way up there, we passed by the kitchen and caught our first glimpse of the Peruvian delicacy: Cuy! Aka the Guinea pig all nicely roasted and ready to be served.
After lunch was more walking very slowly around the city. When we arrived at Plaza San Francisco, there was a parade of men, women and children carrying fresh flowers and pictures of some sort of saint. We naturally became very curious and started following the crowd. turned out it was a celebration of the virgin for the children. The crowd were heading towards the temple to lay flowers. However, when we saw it turn uphill, we quit the pursuit. We went back to the Plaza San Francisco to find locals hanging out playing carnival games and watching street performers. We even found a guy who had a strange sense for fashion: gold dress with balloons stuffed inside it as his boobs and butt. Later we found out they were candyman and the outfit made them stood out and helped to attract business.
At this point, I was barely able to keep my eyes open, so we headed back to our hotel for a much needed 10 hour sleep.
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http://rubyroads.blogspot.com/2011/08/skipped-over-lima-straight-to-cusco-day.html
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
2 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 week ago
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.