Author Archives: Serene

We had an early start at the hotel in Quito.  Our bags had to be out by 4:30 to allow for Galapagos bag inspections.  They were looking for anything fresh or with seeds that might invade the Galapagos ecosystem. The … Continue reading →

Our Ecuador guide, William, picked us up at the hotel to begin our Quito adventure.   On the way, he gave us some general information. The US dollar has been the national currency of Ecuador for 24 years.  They do … Continue reading →

The morning of September 24, the day we were to depart the Delfin III, I woke up feeling hungry and went to the lounge for a cookie before breakfast.  During breakfast, I started feeling gastric-intestinal discomfort and headed to the … Continue reading →

We opted to skip the first activity of the day – another jungle walk in the Amazon and stay on the Delfin III for the morning.  We were guaranteed to get hot, muggy and tired in the heat and not … Continue reading →

We had a 5:30 AM alarm 6:30 breakfast and then we were fitted with rubber boots.   Then we embarked on a fifteen minute skiff ride to meet a local shaman. Karola is a Shaman.  She was selected at age … Continue reading →

The day, that would end on the Amazon, started early in Cusco with a 3:30 alarm, a 4:30 breakfast and a 5:15 departure to the airport.  Enrique had gone to the airport the night before to get boarding passes and … Continue reading →

The central courtyard of our hotel had a few women selling their items and one of them brought this adorable baby alpaca!  It made us all smile. We learned this morning that one of our younger, and fit, men had … Continue reading →

Returning to our hotel near Machu Picchu,  we had the opportunity to watch demonstrations on how to make pisco sours and ceviche. Pisco is the national drink of Peru.  It is a type of brandy and must be made in … Continue reading →

I sent this text to numerous friends and family on the morning of September 18.  Of course, September 18 was also the day we went to the Inca Fortress and village that I wrote about last time – but the … Continue reading →

We had arrived at our resort in the Sacred Valley after dark so didn’t have a chance to see how nice the grounds were.  This was the second time we’ve stayed at a very, very nice resort in a seemingly … Continue reading →