Our Peruvian Adventure

Well, we made it. Wes and I had a wonderful adventure in Peru along with my parents and his parents. I could write a small novel about it, but I will try to keep it short and just hit the highlights.
We left for Peru via Los Angeles on an all day flight that ended in Lima at around midnight. Luckily our hotel was right next to the airport and we could just walk across the street. After falling into bed we got up early and went back to the airport for a two hour flight to a city called Puerto Maldonado. We were picked up and traveled by and open air van (I don't know how else to describe it) to the river where we met our guide Lucy (the greatest guide ever) and climbed into a wooden boat with what seemed like a lawn mower engine and traveled down the river, Madre de Dios, to our lodge in the jungle called Corto Maltes. Each couple had their own little thatched roofed bungalow where our beds had mosquito netting surrounding them. We only had electricity for a few hours a day with limited hot water (our hut never got any) and no use of a hair dryer (a little hard on the ladies). We got up very early each morning, were fed well and had an amazing two days in the jungle. We saw many exotic plants and birds and enjoyed every minute.
Next we took an hour flight to Cusco and after getting settled in our hotel, we were off to see the sites with our tour guide Miguel. After about a half an hour at our first stop, I began to feel a little uneasy. So, when we finished there, I had them take me back to the hotel and they finished off the rest of the day. I was sad to miss some of the sites, but it was good for me to stay behind because I was quite sick. Luckily the next morning I was feeling much better, just a little weak.
We got up early and took a train to Aguas Callientes. The train was definitely built for petite Peruvians. It was a long five hour train ride, but we finally made it to our destination. We checked into our hotel and then caught the bus for a twenty minute ride up up up to the whole reason we came to Peru...to see Machu Picchu. Words can not describe this place...all I can say is that it was amazing. These people we extremely intelligent and their attention to detail was incredible. Every view was breathtaking. After a few hours of wandering around the ruins, we headed back down the mountain and went to dinner. Midway through dinner, I started feeling sick again and unfortunately missed the next day's trip back up to Machu Picchu. The rest of our crew had a tour guide who did a wonderful job of showing them so many of the details about Machu Picchu. I am sorry that I missed it, but luckily I at least got to see it and Wes has shared many of the details with me. Wes climbed up Wayna Picchu which is a steep climb from Machu Picchu on small slippery rock steps. He was the only one brave enough to do it and got to see more ruins and a greater view of Machu Picchu.
When everyone got back from Machu Picchu, we headed back to Cusco via the train. This time we had better seats and it was much more comfortable, plus I was starting to feel better. On our way back to our hotel, our driver took us on a senic drive to see some incredible views of the countryside. Wes was so happy to have the chance to take some amazing pictures. Wes also was a big hit with the kids there. He brought them candy and also showed them how to give five or I guess I should say cinco.
We spent the next few days in Cusco taking day trips to see other ruins. We traveled to Pisaq, Ollantaytamo, and Chinchero which were amazing. Our tour guide, Miguel again, told us that there are many more ruins all over the place. It was just unbelievable. We enjoyed the sites and also did a little shopping along the way. We were excited to stop at a local pottery shop where we were given a demonstration on how they make their pottery and then purchased a few things there. We also had the opportunity to visit a village up in the highlands that was very poor. The people were so nice and we were able to see some great work done by “Hope Projects”. This is a charity that gives 100% of the money to these very needy communities. We were able to see a preschool, green house, secondary classroom and full bathroom that was funded by this great program. I would highly suggest everyone look into the opportunity to contribute to this program. www.simonssays.org
Our last morning we took a flight back to Lima and spent the day there. We were able to attend the Mormon temple, visited the Gold Museum and then get some ice cream at a beautiful mall area right on the water. We took a taxi and almost died on our way back to the airport and caught a midnight flight back to the states.
I know that I am missing a ton of stuff...it was an amazing trip and every minute was full of excitement. I did get sick twice, but I still would do it all over again. I would highly recommend a trip to Peru to everyone!
It was also great to get home and see the kids...I missed them terribly but knew that they were being well taken care of by my sister. Thank you so much Shari for staying with my kids!!! It made me have a great trip knowing that they were in your hands.
We are now getting back in the swing of things and look forward to planning our next big adventure.