EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Sometimes clichés really do say it best, and expect the unexpected does the job when trying to describe our Peru experience. When we booked our vacation with Escaped to Latin America we harbored the usual, reasonable expectations:  that our flights would be reserved properly—they were; the hotel staff wouldn’t be surprised to see us when we showed up—they weren’t; we would enjoy learning about a country we’d never visited before—we did; and the memory card on the camera would be chock full of amazing photos—it was. Having our expectations met is certainly notable but in the end, it was what we weren’t expecting that made our trip unforgettable.

 We didn’t expect our driver, Eduardo, to stay with us until we were safely checked in to our hotel, or wait in line with us the next day at the airport until he was satisfied we were properly checked in for our flight to Cusco and had waved us through security with paternal concern.

 We didn’t expect a personal meeting with Freddy, our Inca Trail guide, the night before our trek. He came to see us at our hotel, got to know each of us, made sure we were physically and mentally prepared for the trek, and patiently answered all of our questions.

 We didn’t expect to have Freddy anda bevy of porters all to ourselves, anticipating and attending to our every need for the entire trek; we didn’t expect every meal to be a multi-course extravaganza that was so delicious we asked our cook, Dimitri, if he would come home with us and be our personal chef (he politely declined); and we certainly didn’t expect to wake up every morning and have a steaming cup of coca tea handed to us before we got out of our sleeping bags.

 From the planning stages with Zara who catered to our every request and patiently customized our trip exactly the way we wanted it; the many tour guides like Philippe and Silvia who engagingly shared Peru’s cultural and historical delights with us; our nightly chats with Freddy, when we played cards, learned new ‘Quechuan words, and exchanged cultural anecdotes; to our exit team that handled last minute travel glitches with calm professionalism; our escape to Peru far exceeded our expectations.

 We thoroughly enjoyed the culture and people of Peru and anticipate more opportunities to travel in Latin America. When we do start planning that next adventure, the first item on our ‘to do’ list will be contact Escaped to Latin America; and we will definitely be expecting the unexpected.

Stories from the Escape Artists - The Hall Family's Inca Adventures

Altitude and children in Cusco!  A heady mix…

“It’s not altitude its attitude,” my youngest says, as he runs up the narrow streets with me out of breath lagging behind.  Both Him and his sister have been quite taken with the people and culture of the Andes. Their sheer excitement for adventure has made the trip varied and memorable for us all, particularly our stay at Machu Picchu.

It is as magical and captivating as I imagined, although my mental image never featured the steep terracing around the site with no barriers! Nonetheless the children were smart and cautious with a little encouragement from the grown ups.

On the second day at the site the children wanted desperately to walk to the Sun Gate steps, the entrance to the city from the Inca Trail. My son with boundless energy at 7 years led the way, followed closely by his 9-year-old sister. Towards the top of the trail many people passed us surprised to see the children let alone on this high path that clings to the mountain. It was only a matter of time when we realized why, the last section being precariously narrow with steep steps and a handrail!

“Stick to the wall and slow down!” I shouted, ever the voice of parental control.  Meanwhile under my breath it was a different story.  A constant muttering of, “Easy girl, you can do it” calmed my jangling nerves until we reached the top.

Our reward was a spectacular view and a gratifying sense of achievement, the children mesmerized whilst sitting on the edge of the high terrace and asking a million questions about this ancient city and civilization.  If only they took this much interest in history classes at school…

Travelling with a family can be a challenge at times, but the benefits that I know the kids will get from our experiences make the effort worthwhile.  I have to say that things would have been much harder without the assistance of Escaped to Latin America – they took care of all the logistics, leaving us to enjoy our vacation.