Elaine from Los Altos Hills, CA originally planned a solo Galapagos & Peru trip for March 2022, but had to postpone on medical grounds.
She was finally able to make the trip - in the company of Morriss - in February 2024
Their itinerary included Lima, Cusco and - quite unusually - time at both an Amazon lodge in Southern Peru and on an Amazon cruise in Northern Peru.
Their original visit to Machu Picchu was cancelled, on account of local protests, but luckily they had extra time in their itinerary and were able to rearrange.
Here are her thoughts on the experience:
“It was a great trip. We did quite an assortment.
We are so glad Machu Picchu reopened and [with the local ground agent], we were able to figure it all out.
The upgrade from La Perla [to Zafiro] was obviously amazing.
We saw lots of wildlife in both places and our naturalist guides were all outstanding.
What was your favourite cultural destination in the itinerary?
Larco Museum.
We loved Ollantaytambo. It is definitely a special place.
Who were your guides?
Lucy at Tambopata Research Centre (TRC) and Ever for Sacred Valley.
How did they perform?
Excellent.
Ever was the most amazing guide. We listened to other guides and none had the experience Ever shared with us.
Which was your favourite accommodation and why?
Hotel Pakaritampu in Ollantaytambo. Location, grounds, breakfast
Which was your favourite drink?
Pisco Sour, Cusquena Cerveza
What forms of transport did you use?
Vans were awesome with driver and guide.
Connecting flights were stressful. It was a lot of air travel. I knew it would be, but the connecting flights were sometimes mini nightmares.
Did your itinerary involve any hiking? How would you rate it in terms of difficulty?
TRC. Not difficult just too long
What was the most pointless item in your luggage!?
Converter was never used.
What were your favourite natural encounters?
Watching the macaws at TRC and watching the monkeys at the Amazon
Did you suffer any insect bites?
No. But we used lots of spray and covered up.
Other physical discomforts?
One bout of stomach issues on Zafiro.
We ended up only staying 3 nights at TRC. As much as we enjoyed the treks, we were exhausted from the heat and humidity (especially at night) and decided to spend a night in Puerto Maldonado.
We loved our overnight there [at Copasu Hotel] and were glad we didn’t attempt the extra long travel day we would have had if we had done the departure from TRC the same day as our 3 connecting flights to Iquitos.