On Friday morning, Brenda and I met the rest of the Exodus tour group at breakfast. They were all from the UK: Laurence and his son, Alex, Alasdair, Ciaran, Alasdair G., Alex H., Steve, and Fiona. It was a lively and talkative bunch and I knew we were all going to get along just grand. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Peru’
Day 3 – Sacred Valley Tour
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Brenda and I were amped up to do the Sacred Valley Tour. We had both heard fascinating things about this region. The night before, we secured a private tour with Glacial Travel who put together a custom itinerary.
The plan was to start out in Cusco, stopping at Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary, Awana Kancha (Palace of the Weaver), Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and then Chinchero.
For a reasonable fee, we got an awesome English speaking guide, Daniel (see his picture above!), and our own driver, Maestro. The concierge attendent at our hotel, Joseph, also came along as he was training to become a tour guide.
Brenda and I at Pisac Ruins
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Day 2 – Lima to Cusco
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Note: We had dinner at Cafe Punchay (I typed Pachay by accident, in the video!). Oops.
We got up rather early and had breakfast at the hotel. It was mediocre. At 8am we went across the street to the airport and hit the atm/money exchange for some soles. We waited for 3 hours for our plane. It was really late.
When we boarded, we realized we were in the business class and we were the only ones. It was amazing. We had the entire front section of the plane to ourselves. Neato. They made us check our bags, so it was a little odd we thought, considering all the space. Oh well. One nice thing about business class was the service. We were pampered and we got a nice brunch to boot!
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Day 1 – Denver to Lima, Peru
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
I don’t know if it was the lovely October fall temps, the magic of Eldorado Canyon, a wonderful day of climbing, or a combination of all elements; when Brenda confided a recent contemplation of a trip to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu the intrigue was all too contagious. It had been a desire of hers for quite some time to visit this spiritual and historic place. Hearing her talk about the idea sparked my imagination – Peru!
I asked if she wouldn’t mind having company. If she was going to join a tour, than it was possible she’d be paired up with a smoker and that would really be awful. Since, I’m definitely not a smoker, I thought I would plant the seed. I pointed out, “You know, the devil that you know…”. However, I suspected we would have a ***blast***, just like we do when we climb.
We discussed details and did our homework regarding pricing. By the end of that week, plans were in place. Plane tickets and tour fees were paid for a trip in December. I couldn’t believe I was going to go with Peru…and with Brenda! What a thrill to make such “last minute” plans. Whoop whoop!
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