Amazon & Cusco Adventure

Peru | Nov 1 - Nov 9, 2022

Very clean and comfortable place in the jungle. We never saw a single bug in our riverside bungalow! The hammocks were the best to relax in. The food was amazing! So were the drinks. I think more excursions could be offered, as we did virtually all of them. We wanted to do the fishing trip for piranha however they needed more people to go so we were able to to. I will say that the bungalows are very loud so there is no sleeping in, as the birds chirp very loudly and the bungalows are very close together and also close to the river with loud boats going by at times. I love the bird sounds though! We didn't get to see all the wildlife we wanted to, but we saw lots of monkeys!

A nice cheap place to rest your head. We didn't spend too much time here. The floor boards were very squeaky when you walked around and the floor was slanted. There was also no shampoo or conditioner in the shower. The bed was comfortable though and the room was tidy. Service was quick as well checking in and out. It was nice and close to the Plaza De Armas.

Very cute hostel in the heart of Ollanta. Just a 5 minute walk to the town center. Very clean and staff were so nice. I loved how our room had a balcony overlooking the creek and mountains, and we could eat breakfast in the beautiful garden area. No shampoo or conditioner in shower though.

Great location but too many stairs! It was a bit hard to find since it was down a back alley. It was like a maze of stairs getting up to the 6th floor, also no one spoke much English. The room was beautiful though and the shower was amazing and hot with shampoo. They held onto our bags after check out while we were at Machu Picchu.

We arrived and got a huge sandwich snack, then went on the twilight River excursion to look for caimans. We saw about 5 or 7 white caiman! Very cool for the first night. We also still had time for dinner when we got back.

We had 3 excursions today. We started early with a boat ride to Lake Sandoval. We saw so many monkeys on the way to the canoe. Then we canoed around the lake and saw caiman, parrots, bats and monkeys. We can back and had lunch and rested in our hammocks. Then we did the canopy walkway which was very cool climbing up high and walking across the bridges. You got the see a different view of the jungle, but we didn't really see any wildlife. We had dinner after that, then did the night walk into the jungle. We love tarantulas and got to see about 5 of them come out of their dens! We also saw some lizards, possum, rat, other bugs. It was a long day but very cool!

We did two excursions today. We started with Gamitana Creak in the morning. We saw monkeys, turtles, caiman, birds and piranha. I loved the canoe trip. We came back for lunch, and afterwards did the Hacienda Conception tour. This was more educational about plants. It was very buggy and mosquito filled even with bug spray. We saw monkeys and some birds but not too much else. We came back for happy hour and dinner.

We woke up at 3:30am and paid extra to see the parrot Clay Lick. We saw hundreds of macaws and parrots and had a great breakfast on the boat. When we got back we were ready to check out and pay, and we boated back to PEM airport. I believe I was infected with a small parasite at some point this day, perhaps I talked too much and swallowed river water. Later that evening I got sick and had a fever. Luckily I had antibiotics with me.

I wasn't able to explore, as I got sick with a fever and couldn't walk around much or eat. I went to bed nice and early!

Flor was our guide and she was amazing! She took her time since I wasn't feeling well, and made sure I stayed hydrated and ate some soup. She was extremely knowledgeable and passionate when speaking about her ancestors and the temples we visited. I learned so much more than the first time I came to Cusco 6 years ago. She also took us to a shop just outside of the main city area with great deals for alpaca clothing shopping. She was able to be flexible with the plan and stop for us if needed. It was an amazing day!

We had Flor as our guide again and the same driver, and both were excellent. Very flexible with the plan and stopped where we needed. Very patient with us as we shopped at the market in Pisac. When we were about to start the hike up the temple in Ollantaytambo, I spotted my host family from 6 years ago in the market and Flor let us stop to catch up. Also turns out my host mother is her Aunt! It was a very wonderful feeling to have family here. Then we continued our tours and had a great time. Flor took some great photos of my husband and I, thank you For!

No issues on our trip to the airport and flying back to Lima.

I've taken the train to Aguas Calientes before, but it wasn't like this! We were on the train with only about 6 other people and it was so comfortable. The views were breathtaking on the way, and they even had us all go to the observation deck for drinks at the bar, dancing and a live band. We also got to go outside on the back deck of the train to watch the tracks roll on by and get some fresh air. Also gave us great snacks.

We met our tour guide at 7am for our 8am tour of Machu Picchu. Richard was very cool and knowledgeable. A little preachy at times but he gave us good information. This was my second time to Machu Picchu and I get a bit of a different story from each tour guide I have! The clouds covered the city at first, and the clouds are always my favorite part! Then they disperse and show you the hidden city and it's amazing! It wasn't too crowded either.

Lima was awesome! Kimberly met us in Miraflores and took us around for drinks and food. Food was amazing and we were so stuffed by the end of the night we couldn't finish! It was so nice to have everything prepaid for and we could just get up and leave when we needed, and Kimberly had already paid. She was so fun to eat and talk with! A walk at the end of the night down the streets was my favorite part. I want to come back and see more of this city!