"Thought you might like to hear how things are going on our South American adventure. Our quick stop in Buenos Aires was interesting and the location of our hotel was excellent. Next we flew to Iguazu. Despite the cloud and mist the view we saw when opening the door to our room was spectacular. You know what they say, location, location, location! We were visited by a little cheeky monkey who climbed the 3 floors checking for unattended food on balconies. He was so agile and found a pretzel next door. The room had a warning about not leaving doors open but I didn't think too much about it. On to Lima where we had a new travel experience - utilised the Traveller's Assistance insurance. John woke with a sore, swollen left eye. The long and the short of it, they arranged for a GP within 60 minutes. There was a knock on the door and we were greeted by 3 people - a hotel staff member to translate, a paramedic and doctor. The doc was straight out of the movies - tall, dark, handsome and in a white coat. They were extremely thorough but it seemed odd getting instructions from the porter. It has cleared totally now.Walked down to the water front in the up market area of Miraflores where our hotel was located and had an afternoon city tour. It was a pleasant surprise as I didn't have any expectations as most people don't have anything favourable to say about Lima. It is really clean and well maintained. The downtown area apparently isn't safe but we were looked after.Moved on to our luxury Amazon cruise on the Aqua Expeditions. Our cabin was a pleasant 22 degrees but outside was unbelievably hot and humid. The boat, food and staff were excellent. English was the spoken language despite there being 15 people in total. The three guides grew up in the area and are passionate about their job, tourism and the environment. They were all different personalities but seemed to complement each other. To make the most of our time in the jungle we took advantage of every excursion offered. My thrill came when we went piranha fishing. Armed with a thin pole, a few metres of line, small hook and meat we dangled near the banks/reeds and shade.I can't imagine a better place if you were a bird lover.On another skiff adventure up one of the little tributaries we saw lots of different monkeys - squirrel, red howler, capuchin, Michael Jackson (it has white hands). Just imagine skimming along the water in the pitch black. The guide was busy looking for caiman and scanned the banks and sky with a very weak beam torch. At one stage the driver requested he sit down as he could see even less because his poncho was billowing in the wind. It was a bit nerve wracking but they grew up in the area and no doubt know the waterways like the back of their hand (or at least I would like to think so). On our drive back to Iquitos I had the experience of a lifetime.On our arrival at Chiclayo we dropped off our luggage and went for a city tour. That didn't take very long as there isn't much to see. The guide, Maria, indicated she was happy to wait around while we took pictures but personally I didn't find much of interest. The reason we came so far north was for our trip tomorrow to the Lord of Saipan tombs. The culture in this area dates back thousands of years and these tombs were found untouched so there are wonderful treasures"
John and Sandra, September 2010
John and Sandra, September 2010
Janet, Sep 2023
5/5
Yes, a fabulous trip! I have been straight back to work (unfortunately) but had on my list to get in touch with you to let you know that the arrangements went superbly. No problem at all with flights, transfers, hotels or tours – everything went very smoothly and on time,...
Barb & Ian; Feb 2023
5/5
It was a fantastic tour and a marvellous experience. Thank you for putting it all together for us and for providing the pre-departure and ongoing support. We were very impressed with the incredibly smooth co-ordination, pickups and punctuality of all the drivers and guides. The initial hiccup with our late...