Our Story

Lima was our starting point. Discovering Peruvian Cevice and Pisco Sours is a great way to shake off the overnight flight. The food scene in Lima is definitely worth exploring.

We took this trip to see Machu Picchu but learned along the way not to be hyper-focused on Machu Picchu as the destination. The journey to get to Machu Picchu is at least as important as getting there. You fly to Lima, then fly to Cusco then drive to the Sacred Valley, then take a train to Aguas Calientes (or almost) then you get out of the train in the middle of the jungle and walk up 3000 steps over 9 miles to arrive, finally, at Machu Picchu.

When I first saw what it took to get to Machu Picchu, I thought it was insane. After taking the trip, I understood how important that trek was. Exploring the Sacred Valley introduced us to the history of the Inca. Visiting the Maras Salt Mines and Inca experimental farms helped us meet many people and understand just a little of the culture. There is a much slower pace of life in this part of the world. I also felt a much stronger appreciation for the natural world and all it provides.

There are a couple of options for hiking the Inca Trail. If you plan enough in advance you can take a four-day hike that culminates in a sunrise view of Machu Pichu. We could only get a one-day permit but that was certainly enough for Kelly. You start the one-day by the train stopping in the middle of nowhere. You leave your smatter traveling companions and start walking. It is an all-day hike. You are climbing steps and “Inca level” parts of the trip are just going up and down small hills. The views are pretty incredible and you can’t help but think that you are walking on the trails that were the primary source of transportation 500 years ago. The best part of this option is that you arrive at the park in the afternoon. You enter through the Sun Gate high above the park. Your first view is the iconic picture of Machu Pichu. You then walk all the way through the park, but it is closed. So there are no other tourists. It is so worth the hike!

We then headed into the Amazon Jungle by flying to Iquitos, Peru. Iquitos is a crazy little corner of the world where we raced through the streets in Tuk Tuk’s, stopped for a snack of deep-fried grubs, and then boarded a wooden ship to spend a couple of nights on the headwaters of the Amazon. Our time on the river was simple. We watched the scenery, took a small boat to fish for piranha, and kind of marveled at where we were.

We took this trip on a G Adventures, National Geographic tour. It was a small group of 12 people. While we do a lot of solo travel, the logistics in this type of adventure are pretty complex, and having someone else manage them is worth it. This group size also let us get to know our traveling companions and we made some friends on the trip.

I love how travel has changed us. Every trip we find ourselves looking at the world in a way that is new to us. Getting outside of “normal” makes it easier to see how others look at the world.

Here is a link to the G Adventures tour that is pretty close to the one we took (they replaced the Amazon cruise with a lodge but the rest is similar)