Peru – Adult only 20 – 29 Sept 2016 Trip report

Joined
Aug 13, 2004
Day 0 – Pre day


After booking this trip a year in advance we have researched, discussed and speculated about what our first ABD trip would be like. On top of the excitement of our first ABD we are also going to what is certainly a “Bucket List” item for myself, Machu Picchu. In attendance for this trip will be my wife Brigitte, myself and our 'A' list world traveling companions Heather and David. We were flying in from our home cities and meeting up at the Atlanta Airport where we would be making our final connection to Lima, Peru


Day 0 Departing ATL.jpg


We finally arrived in Lima around 11:30 PM and were promptly met by our ABD escort to the hotel. We had to wait a little while for our party of 10 to all disembark the plane and clear customs. As everyone filtered into our area we got a chance to start meeting everyone before boarding our bus to be driven to our hotel for the next two nights.


Day 1JW Marriott.jpg



After a 45 minute drive we were able to get checked into our room. We had an added personal perk as I travel for work and typically stay at Marriott hotels so Brigitte and I ran up to the concierge lounge and raided the fridges for waters, sodas and fruits. After settling into our very comfortable room we slipped into what felt like a coma around 1:30AM.
 
Day 1 – Meeting our guides and a day on our own


After a much needed sleep we woke up mostly refreshed and headed up to the concierge lounge at the hotel to grab a light snack while we waited for our travel companions to meet us later that morning. Around 9AM we went down to the lobby to meet our ABD guides Zoe and Rudy.

Day 2 Zoe and Rudy.jpg


We got straight down to business with them getting checked in and receiving a general overview of what was to be expected in the first couple of days for our trip. We then got some great info from the for what to do that first day on our own and received our first “gift”. Then it was off to explore Lima.


Directly across the street from the JW Marriott is a little park and an open air mall. Our goal was to find some coffee and check out a retail store known for their alpaca products. On the way we found this cute little statue of Paddington Bear that was given to the city of Lima from the Mayor of London just a month before our arrival. My travel companions and I sat around the statue for a moment and started reminiscing about childhood stories and lost imaginary friends such as this fine bear but it didn’t take long for us to start seeking our real goal, coffee! We were almost lured into a Starbucks that just screamed home and comfort but my wife pulled me before I could even get close to the counter. She pointed out that down on the next level there was a Juan Valdez coffee stand so of course we headed down to get something from a local legend and icon to the Peruvian people. Coffee flowing through our veins we found the store we were seeking and oohed and ahhed over some of the beautiful (but not cheap) offerings from the local alpaca farms. Knowing that we would have many opportunities to buy authentic alpaca items over the trip and we would be back to Lima for our final day we skipped any purchase and started to wander the city.


Our main destination for the day was a lunch reservation that we had made a couple of months in advance, Chez Wong where you are served whatever he acquired fresh at the market that morning. We had seen multiple travel shows that have stopped in and enjoyed Chef Javier Wong’s cooking in the past so we figured why not give it a go. We hired a cab from the Marriott for $24 US and were swept away through a very bustling city before being deposited at an unadorned door in the middle of the rather questionable neighborhood. After just a moment of standing there we were approached by a gentleman that asked if we had reservations. Confirming that we did he unlocked the door and were escorted into a small room with seven mismatched tables and walls adorned with the news clipping, awards and achievements of Chef Wong. After confirming we would all like cervezas we were left alone as other lunch attendees filtered in. We were soon surrounded by a groups of business men, an American looking hipster and a guy that looked like he just wandered in from a blue color job. Not long after Chef Wong appeared from a side door and the magic began. We were served ceviche two ways and a wok fried mango fish dish that was nothing short of transcendent. Lunch for four with a total of eight beers ended up being around s/ 750 or $250 US. Not bad for hands down the best ceviche I have had in my life.

Day 1 Chez Wong.jpg


After that huge meal we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap. Not much exciting happened that night. After waking from our naps we all met back downstairs at the hotel bar for a few drinks with some of our travel companions. The next morning was a 5AM wakeup call so we could get ready and have our luggage out by hotel room door at 5:45, but that will be Day 2.
 
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Day 2 – Cusco and Center for Traditional Textiles


Our alarm went off way to early this morning but we knew we had to get ready and get to the airport to fly to Cusco. We managed to get ready, re-pack and get our bags outside of our hotel room door by 5:45 AM that morning. We then joined our ABD group downstairs in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. With the best advice in mind from Zoe and Rudy we had a light breakfast with plenty of water before boarding our bus and heading back to the Lima airport. After just a short flight we arrived at the Cusco airport where we all regrouped and were guided by the familiar orange “Paddle of Power”.


We boarded our new busses and headed up into the Andean Mountains to the Center for Traditional Textiles. After a few minutes of wandering around to stretch our legs we were guided into a beautiful walled area in the Center for lunch.


Day 2 Table setting lunch Texitle Center.jpg



After enjoying a delicious selection of traditional Peruvian foods we really started getting to know some of our travel companions. We went around and introduced ourselves and listed to what everyone was most interested in hearing. Of note we had two couples there with over 10 ABD trips under their belts. We also had five birthday celebrations and a couple of anniversary trips as well. This being an adult only trip there was certainly some off colored stories exchanged that our ABD guides pointed out made the adult trips very different that the family trips. Almost everyone on our trip has such a warm generous spirit and we are very much looking forward to getting to know each and every one of them, including the one not so warm family.


After lunch we were treated to an explanation of the processes for creating the various alpaca items that were created by the woman at this location. A few of us were also allowed to dye some of the wool that would be used to create some gorgeous items. Of course with anything Disney there is always a gift shop at the end of the show and we were soon turned loose to enjoy shopping before departing onto a photo op location and then on to our hotel for the next four days.


Day 2 Texile center exhibit.jpg Day 2 texitle center vendor.jpg


On our bus ride to Sol y Luna hotel we stopped off for a quick photo op looking at the Sacred Valley. After just enough time to snap some shots we were quickly back on our way to the hotel to get settled in. The Sol y Luna Resort and Spa is a tranquil arrangements of small casitas where we all had our own private “house”.


Day 2 Sacred Valley.jpg


Dat 2 Casa 10.jpg


That evening we met up with our adventure group and enjoyed dinner and a show. Our dinner was cooked in an underground fire pit and included a selection of Peruvian meats such as lamb, chicken, alpaca and what I was most looking forward to cuy. After another long day we were eager to head back to our rooms and settle in for another much needed sleep.

Day 2 Sol Y Luna Dinner fire pit.jpg
Day 2 Sol Y Luna dinner Cuy.jpg


And yes this is our ADB Guide Zoe, uhmmm posing, with some of our dinner, the head of one of the deliciously prepared cuy.


Day 2 Zoe and Cuy.jpg
 
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Great trip report! This trip is creeping up towards the top of my wish list. Just so nervous about the altitude.

You had Zoe! Such a wonderful Guide!

Looking forward to more!

Sayhello
 
Great trip report! This trip is creeping up towards the top of my wish list. Just so nervous about the altitude.

You had Zoe! Such a wonderful Guide!

Looking forward to more!

Sayhello

First and foremost I can't say enough wonderful things about Zoe. What an amazing guide and ABD will be getting a direct report of her performance on our trip. Don't expect to see her much in the future however. She is getting married this time next month and is going to be dropping down to part time ABD tours so will not be around as much.

Regarding the altitude I'll say that personally it hit me pretty hard for the first day we were here but I've been fine ever since. We hit up our GP Dr. before we left and did get altitude sickness pills and while tempted to use them I toughed it out and for a 40 something, overweight and out of shape guy I'm personally holding up pretty good. Our direct travel group no one other than myself has been effected at all. Of the larger group we have one individual that has been hit pretty hard but ABD and the hotels have oxygen on hand as needed. So far she has still been able to enjoy almost everything offered. Of course YMMV (your mileage may vary).


Tom
 


First and foremost I can't say enough wonderful things about Zoe. What an amazing guide and ABD will be getting a direct report of her performance on our trip. Don't expect to see her much in the future however. She is getting married this time next month and is going to be dropping down to part time ABD tours so will not be around as much.

Regarding the altitude I'll say that personally it hit me pretty hard for the first day we were here but I've been fine ever since. We hit up our GP Dr. before we left and did get altitude sickness pills and while tempted to use them I toughed it out and for a 40 something, overweight and out of shape guy I'm personally holding up pretty good. Our direct travel group no one other than myself has been effected at all. Of the larger group we have one individual that has been hit pretty hard but ABD and the hotels have oxygen on hand as needed. So far she has still been able to enjoy almost everything offered. Of course YMMV (your mileage may vary).


Tom
Yep, I knew Zoe was getting married, but I hadn't heard if she was cutting back or not. It's definitely ABD's (and our!) loss! :) Please tell her "Hi!" from Tobi!

Good to know the altitude wasn't *so* bad. The one woman who was hit hard, do you know about how old she is? I'm unfortunately no spring chicken any more, so this stuff hits me harder than it used to. Did it hit you when you arrived in Peru, or when you got to Cusco? (ie, after the ABD started)?

Sayhello
 
Yep, I knew Zoe was getting married, but I hadn't heard if she was cutting back or not. It's definitely ABD's (and our!) loss! :) Please tell her "Hi!" from Tobi!

Good to know the altitude wasn't *so* bad. The one woman who was hit hard, do you know about how old she is? I'm unfortunately no spring chicken any more, so this stuff hits me harder than it used to. Did it hit you when you arrived in Peru, or when you got to Cusco? (ie, after the ABD started)?

Sayhello

I'll give you my old person experience, Tobi. :) It didn't hit me at all when we in Lima. When we got off the plane in Cusco, the difference in the oxygen level was obvious to me, but I felt okay. I think the textile center is the highest point on the trip, and I felt a little loopy there and felt the need to sit for awhile after lunch. Of course, that was after eating too much and having a glass of wine. From that point on, I was fine, even with all the climbing at the various ruins. When we returned to the higher altitude in Cusco later in the trip, I no longer noticed any difference in the oxygen level. I was 52 at the time and there were people older than me who also seemed fine. I exercise quite a bit, so I'm in reasonably good shape. Not sure if that makes a lot of difference. One older lady and one of the kids got pretty sick later in the trip, but that was after the rafting trip and more likely attributable to being exposed to the filthy water or maybe something they ate.
 
Thank you so much! It's always a pleasure to read trip reports and I've never read one for this adventure. Appreciate your taking the time to share :)
 
Really enjoying the report so far! Been really curious about this trip. It's on my list, but I think I want to hike the inca trail.
 
I'll give you my old person experience, Tobi. :) It didn't hit me at all when we in Lima. When we got off the plane in Cusco, the difference in the oxygen level was obvious to me, but I felt okay. I think the textile center is the highest point on the trip, and I felt a little loopy there and felt the need to sit for awhile after lunch. Of course, that was after eating too much and having a glass of wine. From that point on, I was fine, even with all the climbing at the various ruins. When we returned to the higher altitude in Cusco later in the trip, I no longer noticed any difference in the oxygen level. I was 52 at the time and there were people older than me who also seemed fine. I exercise quite a bit, so I'm in reasonably good shape. Not sure if that makes a lot of difference. One older lady and one of the kids got pretty sick later in the trip, but that was after the rafting trip and more likely attributable to being exposed to the filthy water or maybe something they ate.
Thanks! :D This definitely helps. I'd hate to psych myself out of this trip. :)

Sayhello
 
Day 3 – Ollantaytambo City and Ruins


What can I say but this was another amazing day with ABD. This morning we were heading white water rafting (Class II and III so nothing crazy) followed by lunch and a guided tour of the Ollantaytambo ruins. Since I had just broken my fifth metacarpal and had surgery four weeks prior to our departure we decided to skip the water portion of this day’s adventures since I couldn’t wear a supportive shoe in the water. While everyone headed off for the day my wife and I decided to sleep in and head into town to do a little sightseeing and check out the local market. Once we had our fill of sleep and a light breakfast we checked in with the front desk and they arranged for a car to take us into town. After the short ride our driver dropped us off at the town square and gave us directions for a couple of things to see and where the market was located. After letting us know that he would be waiting there at the square for us my wife and I set off into town. After wandering into a couple of local shops we found the market and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the local cultural all by ourselves.


Day 3 OLLANTAYTAMBO church.jpg

Day 3 market corn.jpg

Day 3 market potato.jpg


After an hour or so we headed back to the square where our driver took us back to Sol y Luna. We wandered the beautiful grounds and stopped to watch the horses for a bit before heading back to the lobby of the hotel. Our wonderful guides arranged for transportation to meet up with the rest of the group for lunch and our afternoon activities. Lunch was setup for us at Casa Huacatay and was yet another amazing spread of different Peruvian foods.

Day 3 Lunch.jpg

Once everyone had eaten their fill Zoe and Rudy gave us the rundown on what to expect for the afternoon at the ruins. After another short bus ride we arrived outside the ruins. At first glance I think most of us were a bit fearful of the climb but Rudy led us up and “allowed” us to stop frequently to provide a much needed break as well as provide extremely interesting information about the history of the area. After a couple of more climbs followed by some breaks we made it to the top and had some amazing photo opportunities. At this point our group split up and some of us continued along a short hike on the Inca Trail and the remaining members of our group headed back down to do a little shopping. Once we finished the remainder of the hike we met back up at the buses and headed back to the resort. After changing we found the most tranquil spot by the pool, ordered a bottle of Prosecco and soaked up the atmosphere. This evening was a dinner at your leisure in the resort restaurant and a much needed sleep.

Day 3 OLLANTAYTAMBO ruins.jpg

Day 3 OLLANTAYTAMBO ruins archway.jpg

Day 3 Inca Trail.jpg


Ahhhhh!


Day 3 Relaxing at Sol y Luna.jpg
 
Oh, this is bringing back so many good memories! This was our first ABD, almost 9 years ago. And Rudy was one of our guides! Looks like so far you are still following the same great itinerary. Still one of my favorite trips of all time! Can't wait to read the rest!
 
What an adventure this is starting out to be. I think seeing Machu Picchu would be amazing. Thanks for doing this trip report.
 
Enjoying the trip report and looking forward to more! Thank you for sharing. Oh, you're so lucky to have Zoe! Please tell Zoe that Terrie and Wally say Hi :wave2: and send our love to her!
 
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I had your room last year at Sol Y Luna! But watch out for the woman-eating plants in the garden. I tripped over a bush, sliced my leg open and had to get 12 stitches. I miss the Ollytambo ruins but did almost everything else (had to miss the salt pans walk) Would you be so kind to say hello to Rudy from me (Lori). He will most definitely remember me (I sure hope that he only has one guest that bled all over the garden at Sol Y Luna!) Worse of all, it took a full year to heal--just in time for my ABD China in 2 weeks!
 
Day 4 – Sacred Valley


After long day 3 we again got an early start this morning. Today was another busy morning but a promising afternoon on our own. We got up and headed to breakfast where we met up with our group before heading to the buses. We headed straight out to Moray in the morning where we discovered through the magic of Disney (or maybe excellent planning) that we were the first big tour group to arrive. We had the entire place to ourselves and this made it all the more magical. After getting a historical overview of the area we started our hike down into the ruins. The planning and architecture of the people is just staggering and while we couldn’t go into the basin of the large ruins we were able to go onto one of the smaller ones. Now it sounded like this smaller basin was just opened to tourist exploration so not sure if it will be that way for long but it was yet another bit of magic added to the trip.


Day 4 Moray.jpg Day 4 Moray floating stairs.jpg


After our time was up in Moray we boarded our busses and headed toward or next destination, The Salt Pans of Maras. When we first rounded the mountain bend and we got our first glimpse of the valley below us everyone on the bus gave one of those collective sighs. Below us stretched thousands of individual pools for collecting salt. Once we finally made our way down to the unloading point we all got a little bit of time to shop before heading out onto the salt pans. We had a very adventurous hike along sections of the salt pans no more than 10 inches wide affording some fantastic views. After we made it through our hike we continued on down through a hiking trail leading back down to the valley floor. Where we met up with our bus to return to Sol y Luna for lunch.

day 4 Salt Pans of Maras.jpg

Day 4 Salt Pans hiking.jpg


This afternoon was an own your own time. Our incredible ABD guides had organized a trip into town to go through the Urubamba market and arranged a gallery viewing of a local ceramic artist with pieces of his work in prominent locations around the world. We decided to skip this little jaunt into town and opted for the hot tub and a nap instead. After recharging our depleted batteries we met back up with everyone for a Pisco Sour making class and cooking demonstrations by our hotel’s chef. Finally we were able to make our own pizzas which was fired in these beautiful stone pizza ovens. After this is it was off to bed because our biggest day of the trip was coming up tomorrow, Machu Picchu!

Day 4 pizza making.jpg

Day 4 pizza making oven.jpg
 
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Day 5 – Machu Picchu


Personally for me today was the BIG DAY, Machu Picchu. The buzz around breakfast was a little subdued as most of us was feeling the burn from three days of breathtaking hikes. However, the undercurrent running through the group was still tangible. We boarded our now very familiar busses this morning to head to the train station for our trip to Machu Picchu. When we arrived we were herded through the throngs of eager hikers and visitors from around the world to visit this Wonder of the Modern World. After waiting for our turn for what was likely the most gut wrenching portion of our tour we boarded the buses to ascend to the entrance to Machu Picchu. These drivers swooped around turns, hugging perilous drops into the valley below and the entire time avoiding hikers, workers and other buses. Needless to say I was extremely happy to put my feet back on firm packed earth. With our entrance tickets in hand we queued up to enter a truly breath taking vista. I’m no poet or artist so I’ll not even try to put into words what emotions are invoked when you see this place for the first time, I’ll just leave this photo here...


Day 5 Machu Picchu from Gate House.jpg


After our initial jaw dropping entrance into this mystical place we were giving a guided tour of the main areas. The history, majesty and skill of the builders are explained to us removing just a touch of the mysteries of this location but if you take a few breaths and allow this place to fill you the awesomeness that is Machu Picchu returns. After we made our first pass through the ruins we were brought back out of the area for lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge. Once we had our bellies full it was time for the group to split up. We had a small group of very fit individuals who decided to take on the task of heading all the way to the Sun Gate on their own. This is not a hike to be taken lightly as it requires a fast pace to get all the way there and back again in the allotted time we had to us. Another group of us decided to take on the challenge of the Moon Gate while the larger group went to the much closer Guard House, this is the location of the iconic images you see on post cards.


Rudy lead our small group out to the moon gate and while this wasn’t an extremely difficult hike it did challenge us to get there and back in time. With Rudy at the lead we headed up the Incan Trail stopping along the trail for some well-timed “photo” breaks, or as I called them gasping for breath breaks. Once we were mostly recovered we continued our trek. After reaching the Moon Gate we were afforded one of those views of Machu Picchu that will leave you speechless.

Day 5 Machu Picchu from Moon Gate.jpg


With just enough time for some photos and to catch our breath we headed back down the trail. We had just enough time to stop at the Guard House for some photos before heading down to meet everyone in the line for the bus. And for the record the group that went to the Sun Gate ended up beating our Moon Gate hike back to the bus line, like I said they were very fit.


Day 5 Machu Picchu B&T.jpg


And how could I come all this way and not grab a photo with my Captain Hook tattoo at this iconic spot.


Day 5 Machu Picchu and The Captain.jpg


After our return trip on the harrowing buses followed by the rhythmic train ride we made it back to Sol y Luna for a dinner at your leisure. After dinner and a glass of wine we all turned in for a well-earned sleep.
 

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