The entire Jaguar trip was really fun — learning our way around Cusco, visiting Sacsayhuaman and the Sacred Valley, and seeing a bit of Amazonia. But the highlight for my husband and me was hiking the Inca trail. We had heard from friends that it was an adventure not to be missed, and we were not disappointed. It’s incredibly beautiful and a wonderful learning experience. And is always the case on guided group trips, your fellow travelers, as well as the guide, are a big factor in how much fun you have. We were lucky on both counts. Our guide on the trail, Wilson, was the best! He was incredibly knowledgeable about Inca history and culture, as well as the flora, and brought humor to every occasion. And our fellow hikers were great. Because we saw and learned so much much about the Inca civilization on the trail, arriving at Machu Picchu didn’t feel so much like the high point of the hike but rather one more beautiful and interesting stop. The weather cooperated with just a few spritzes of rain, although we heard that a group that hiked the trail a week before us had rain for 3 days! We had no problems with altitude sickness, and it probably helped that we arrived 1-1/2 days ahead of the official trip start. We were in reasonably good shape and found the trail challenging but definitely within our ability. Mostly it takes perseverance. We enjoyed visiting the Amazon region and seeing creatures that we’ve never seen in person before. But it was very hot (not surprisingly) and despite drinking lots of water, I suffered from heat exhaustion the first day. We were pretty inexperienced in traveling to non-English speaking countries, but it didn’t take long before we felt right at home. With our smattering of Spanish (and I’m talking single words, not phrases or sentences), we were able to get around just fine, as most of the locals we encountered spoke at least enough English for us to communicate. And when they didn’t, I used my trusty Lonely Planet Spanish phrase book. We felt totally safe in Cusco and Lima, following basic common sense rules. This was our second Active Adventures trip, and as before, they were totally organized and professional and managed to keep things moving along smoothly, even when our original guide for the overall trip fell ill a few days in and had to be replaced with another guide. The food was delicious (even on the trail). We actually connected 3 Active Adventures trips for our South America visit, and will definitely travel with them again, perhaps to Patagonia next time.

| June 2800