A Peek at Peru

Of all the probable destinations for a tourist to visit in South America, Peru is quite possibly the most intriguing of them. Having never been to this continent before, we decided to get our first taste of south America through Peru. Of course, Machu Pichu rated as one of the wonders of the modern world did help us in deciding on Peru among all other South American destinations. As we later discovered and explored Machu Pichu, we realized that it was the Andean mountains and the enamor of Inca civilization that appealed to us more than anything else about Peru.

Before we started to plan our trip, we had heard enough and seen quite a number of pictures of Machu Pichu from friends and acuaintances who had been there before. We had also conversed with some of them who had actually done the Machu Pichu trek, to get a clear picture about what we were up against as we started to plan in great earnest.

Planning for Machu Pichu

Initially we were two families who were eager to do the entire trek for 4 days to reach Machu Pichu. As we planned along, a third family joined us and we soon became a group of 11 with 6 adults and 5 kids. The kids were aged between 11 to 14 years and most of our initial planning involved in making considerations for the kids.

Our first step was to identify a reliable English speaking travel agent that operated out of Peru, with whom we could meet and plan our expedition. Of the many travel agents that we screened, we decided on S A Luxury Expeditions, as they came recommended through a common friend who had used them before.

The trails of Machu Pichu

There are 3 popular treks or hiking trails that are frequented by travelers to Machu Pichu. The most popular of the three is the Inca trail. This is also called the classic Inca trail that has existed since the Inca civilization and was used by the Incas to reach Machu Pichu. This trail leads directly into Aguas Caliente starting from a trail head which is a few miles out of Cusco. There is a daily limit of 200 hikers and 300 porters that are allowed on this trail and no animals (like horses/donkeys) are allowed on this trail. The porters have to carry all the gear and personal luggage. We were reluctant about this trail chiefly because we wanted to have a spare horse or two in case any kid or adult needed one and also had heard some negative feed back about the trail being too smelly (yeah someone even called it the poop trail!) and crowded at all times of the year.

The second trail we considered was Salkantay trail. This trail like the third one, Lares trail, was a trail that takes you away from Aguas Caliente the base town of Machu Pichu. What this meant was that at the end of the 3 day trek we would end up a few hundred miles away from Aguas Caliente in a place called Olliantaytambo. On the penultimate day of the hike we would take a train to Aguas Caliente. We rejected Salkantay trail as the trail that took you at its the highest elevation close to 15,000 feet and this trek was mostly in the wilderness and was also a day longer than the Lares and Inca trails.

The third trail Lares turned out to be the one for us as it was at a slightly lower elevation although there was a pass that was well over 14,000 feet. This trek was 4 days and 3 nights long and included the 4th day in Machu Pichu. This trail took you through typical Andean mountain village settlements and the opportunity to see and interact with the local people intrigued us. After much discussions we (the 3 families) voted on doing the Lares trek.

In order to reach to Machu Pichu one has to typically fly into Lima, Peru and take another flight for about an hour long to Cusco Peru. Since Cusco and the Machu Pichu is bang in the middle of the Andean mountains and at considerable elevations (8000 to 11000 feet), it is recommended that one acclimatize to the thin air (low level of Oxygen in the air) by staying in Cusco for 2 - 3 nights. With kids and all, we decided it would be safer to stay for 3 nights in Cusco.

Cusco

Day 1

Our day 1 of the trip started on a Friday early morning from Lima Peru. We (the 3 families) had also included a relaxing 6 night stay in Costa Rica as part of this trip. Our flight to Cusco was scheduled at 6:00 AM from Lima. The flight was initially delayed by an hour and half and it was closer to 8:00 AM before we were allowed to board the plane. Upon boarding the plane we were told that the airport in Cusco was closed due to bad weather and we could not get back to our Gate as it was already filled with passengers for another flight! Cusco is nestled among a bunch of peaks of the Andean mountain range and landing a plane in bad weather is not easy and can be quite risky too. As the airport in Cusco lacked some of the modern ATC equipment that could guide the pilots to land in any treacherous weather conditions, they frequently take the easy way out and just close the airport!

Having little choice, we waited for about 3 hours in the plane. We could get off the plane and walk about on the tarmac and nobody objected to that! The kids had the most fun as the airline crew were quite relaxed and let them get into the cockpit and play pretend pilots!

First view of Cusco from the air. We had to stay here for 3 nights to acclimatize to the high altitude. Cusco sits at 3,300 m (10,800 ft) above sea level.

It was finally like noon before the plane took off. When we landed in Cusco and got out of the airport with our baggage in hand it was closer to 2:00 PM. We hailed a taxi to our hotel. We had to bargain the fare for our taxi ride as we were told that typically we should not pay more than 10 - 15 soles for the ride. One USD conveted to more like 3 PEN (Peruvian Nuevos Soles)

It was raining in Cusco and apparently it had been raining the past 3 days continuously even though it was in the middle of the dry season! July was supposed to be dry winter weather there however it had been raining and snowing in higher elevation there. As we drove along, we noticed many mountain peaks some covered with snow all around.

Ninos Hotel

Outdoor patio at our quaint little hotel called the Ninos Hotel in Cusco.

We had booked our 3 nights of stay at Ninos (children in Spanish) Hotel. This hotel was recommended by another friend who had been to Cusco. This was a quaint little hotel that one would typically find as a Hacienda in a typical Spanish town. We all instantly fell in love with the decor, the rooms and the always ever helpful staff at the hotel. The hotel is run by a German lady who uses all the profits in running an Orphanage adjacent to the hotel. There was a daily tour to the Orphanage run every week day. Some of us got to par take in the tour and liked it immensely.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the confines of the hotel. The hotel had a small kitchen and a restaurant. Although we had our lunch and dinner the first day there we realized that we had run out of Vegetarian options in the menu to eat there again. Also the portion sizes were ninos in size :)

Day 2

We woke up to a wet Saturday morning on day 2. Although the rains were not hard and not even as incessant as it was the previous day, there were drizzles on and off and it was damp and wet all around. We decided to explore Cusco by foot. Armed with a map to the tourist center of the town called Plaza de Armes we headed out into the cold wet morning with umbrellas in hand.

Plaza de Armes

Plaza De Armas and La Cathedral.

After a quick stop for breakfast on the way we found ourselves in the middle of the most touristy location of Cusco. There were plenty of shops to buy the local wear especially alpaca wear and other arts and crafts (trinkets) there. There are also many tourist operators that sell you tickets for the City tour. After shopping in a few of the stores and buying ourselves some alpaca wear we purchased tickets for the 3 of us for a partial city tour for the same afternoon. We were informed that a guide would pick us up from the hotel and walk us to the closest bus stop where we would board the bus.

Raghu and I in alpaca caps and sweaters.

City tour of Cusco

A half city tour consists of visiting four primary Inca ruins. I have described each one in detail below. We purchased half a city tour for 70 soles( 2.7 soles= 1USD) per adult that included entrances to 3 of the four ruins mentioned below. We also had to pay another 45 Soles for the bus ride and the tour guide. We were asked to board the bus at a location close to our hotel at 1:30 PM in the afternoon.

A full city tour would include entrance tickets to Moray and a few other things. Since we were not planning on making a trip to Moray the next day we opted for the half city tour.

We were boarded onto comfortable buses. There were many such buses but since our Spanish was weak we were on a tour that was bi-lingual with the guide frequently stopping to summarize his complete Spanish narration into English.

CoriCancha

Left : The courtyard within Corichancha (Temple of the Sun).

Right : Cool thing in the garden of Corikancha. The puma, at the top, represents the Inca people’s connection to the Earth and land. The snake, on the left, symbolizes their connection to the underground world (some Incan temples, such as the temple of the moon, were built around natural caves). The condor, at the bottom, represents their connection to the heavens.

Our first stop was Coricancha which means Golden courtyard in Quechuan. This was originally a temple complex built by the Incas to worship the Sun God. Even though Sun was the primary God that the Incas worshiped they had temples built for other Gods as well in CoriCancha. When the Spanish conquered Peru, most of CoriCancha was looted and destroyed by them. From Spanish writings of that time, it has been learned that there was great opulence in CoriCancha. The Spanish went ahead and built a Church for Santo Domingo at the same location after destroying the Inca temple.

The entire Inca temple complex was completely forgotten until a devastating earth quake struck that region in 1950. After the earth quake most of the Spanish construction came crumbling down and it uncovered walled structures built out of large stones and rocks that were unaffected by the earthquake. These structures were built by the Incas and further excavations at the site revealed the entire original temple complex as we can see today.

It was our first introduction to the inter-locking stone architecture of the Incas. They had mastered a technique where they used only stone to inter lock with another stone (rock) with out the use of any mortar to hold them together. Walls and structures built in this style has withstood many earth quakes and these structures stand tall even today 500- 700 years later!

SacsayHuaman

Even though this is pronounced as Sexy-Woman, there is hardly anything sexy or even feminine about this place. This was a huge fortress built on surrounding steep hill that overlooks Cusco. It also was a ritual place as it contained a Sun temple in the complex.

What struck us most about his place was the huge boulders that was used at the bottom of the wall structures. These stones were moved from their quarry a couple of miles up the steep hill and it is not an easy task to accomplish this, even in this day and age!

Ruins at Sacsayhauman. Each stone is held together without mud or mortar and has withstood numerous earthquakes.

We also got to soak in some of the breathtaking scenery looking down into the metropolis of Cusco from here. The Christo Blanco (White Christ) overlooking Cusco was on a hill top right next to this one!

View of Cusco from the mountain top at Sacsayhauman

Q'enqo

This place was used primarily as a ritual and a sacrificial place. There was an amphitheater that can be seen even to this day, in spite of the Spanish destruction of the sites. There was an underground chamber that had a sacrificial alter stone which was quite impressive.

Q'enqo means twisted maize in Quechuan language. We were quite aptly introduced to a local corn delicacy called Choclo by the local vendors. It was simply boiled corn on the cob dished out with a huge chunk of local qeso (cheese). It was simply heavenly and we devoured it ravenously as were were quite hungry.

Choclo, a simple delicious Peruvian snack : Boild corn with cheese. It was yummy!

Tombo Machay

It was getting dark by the time we came to this last ruin of the city tour. In Spanish this place is called El Bano del Inca as it was used by noble and royal people of the Inca as a place to kick back and relax. One can go to the extent of saying that it was like a present day spa! The place consists of aqueducts, canals and waterfalls that run through terraced rocks. The source of the water is a natural spring which flows to even this day.

Alpaca Factory

Llamas and Alpacas - Nature's lawnmovers.

Our final stop for the day was this supposed Alpaca factory, but was more like a huge warehouse that had all types of Alpaca gear and other local handicrafts. A kind old gentleman there gave us all a lecture on how to tell real alpaca from synthetic one!

We had purchased most of the alpaca gear we needed for the trip and to take back home too earlier in the day in Cusco. So we really did not buy anything there. It was around 7:30 PM closer to 8:00 PM when we were dropped of at the tourist center of Cusco again. Dinner at Chicha We were suggested this place by many friendly Cusco locals (including our tour guide) with whom we had struck casual conversation to inquire about a good places to eat local food. I'm glad to say we were not at all disappointed. The food was prepared by a well known Chef and every dish including the drinks that we ordered was something we will remember for a long time!

Left : Peruvian potato soup with ravioli...one of the most memorable comfort food I have ever tasted !

Right : This appetizer was a delicious array of various types of Peruvian potatoes.

After a long day we were totally exhausted and longed to get back to our hotel and rest up for the night. Day 3 We took day 3 easy. Got up really late and headed out for brunch at a place called Jacks which was also heavily recommended for American style breakfast and lunches. Even though there was a line to get seated, we were not disappointed with the food here either. We next walked towards the plaza de Armes and were pleasantly surprised to find a huge celebration with a long parade in progress. Our trip to Machu Pichu had coincided with centenary celebration of the scientific discovery of Machu Pichu. To the uninitiated, Machu Pichu was discovered by Hiram Bingham a professor of Latin American studies from Yale in July of 1911.

One of the numerous street parades in Cusco to mark Machu Picchu's centenary celebrations. The celebration in the plaza kept us engrossed most of the afternoon. We were thrilled to see that many colorfully dressed dancers and floats on the street. We ditched the idea of going on a road trip to Maras & Moray. Another family in our group decided to do this trip. Maras is famous for salt pans and Moray is known for the concentric circles of farming terraces. The salt pans collect dried salty water from a salty water spring source that waters the hillsides near Maras. In Moray the farming terraces were constructed by the Incas to experiment various techniques of farming on hillside. In the evening we had our first meeting with our guide for the hike. The hike was completely arranged by Wayki Treks. The original travel agency, S A Luxury Expeditions, was only the middle men and the hike was conducted by a local trekking company there. The lead guide with whom we met was Freddy. He was a very affable person and got along well with everyone instantly. He first explained what the plans were for the next 4 days and patiently answered all our questions. The rest of the evening was spent in packing. We divided our belonging into two set of bags. One that we intended to carry for the hike and the other that would stay back in the hotel. The hotel had a convenient luggage room where we could store all the luggage that we did not intend to take with us. After an early dinner we quickly retired for the night as our day started quite early the next day. Day 4: Our day 4 of the trip began on a cold dark and damp morning around 3:45 AM. As we were asked to be ready to leave by 4:15 AM by our guide the previous evening. Our initial goal was to reach the trail head at Lares driving in our Van by noon. Once there we were to have lunch and then start our hike. We had to first drive about 4-5 hours long and cross a pass where there was heavy construction going on. As the road would be closed by day break we had to cross the region where the construction was happening before day break. Hence the early start we were told. We were on a 16 seat Mercedes van arranged for exclusive us. Including two guides, two cooks and one driver we completely filled up the van. All our luggage together with the camping gear was bundled on the top of the van and we were on the road well before 5:00 AM. As we drove along, we saw first rays of Sun light after 6:00 AM and it was closer to 7 AM when we made our first stop. It was a tiny mountain town called Calca. It was here that we got to see some really tall snow capped peaks of the Andes mountain for the very first time at really close proximity. Even though it was a pit stop on our drive up the mountains the picturesque location of the tiny town in the midst of snow capped peaks was unforgettable. We next passed ManchaCancha a tiny settlement famous locally for its hot spring. We may have traveled about 45 minutes beyond Macha Cancha when the terrain started to get really tough. At the elevation we were there was snow all around and there were snow flurries too. We may have gone another half hour or so when we hit a major traffic halt. Basically it was single lane road with snow piled up a few feet deep on either side and a long list of vehicles stuck one behind the other. Apparently a vehicle ahead of us was stuck in deep snow and there was no room for another vehicle to pass by it! It was not clear how long it would take to get the stuck vehicle out of the snow and the traffic to clear. It was pretty cold outside and it had started to snow quite steadily as well.

The pass we were supposed to walk through, at 4400 meters, was completely snowed out.

Freddy our tour guide considering the group he was leading, with kids and all, made a decision to not pursue the road toward Lares. Even though at that time I felt it was a bit quick to make that call, on hindsight, it was the best decision made. We backtracked our way and decided to hike at a lower elevation instead. The plan was still to hike for 3 days but at slightly at lower elevations. It was around 9 AM and we were all getting hungry since we had been up for more than 6 hours now. So we decided to make a stop at Mancha Cancha at the hot spring location. We were amazed to see the quickness with which the cooks and the guides got to work. They pitched up a tent and setup kitchen and quickly prepared a breakfast of warm bread, hot chocolate, tea, and sandwiches.

Our trekking support team whipped up the most delicious meals in a matter of minutes.

After breakfast we did a hike up a nearby mountain while lunch was being prepared. We got to see some local farmers farming on the hillside up close. We were introduced to some of the local crops like quinoa (which is a staple grain in our house now!) and a various kinds of potatoes. Peru has over 3000 different varieties of potatoes still farmed since the Incan times.

Left : A quinoa plant

Rigth : Our dining tent

Just as we returned from our hike up the mountain, it was time for lunch. The cooks had prepared an elaborate 3 course meal with soup and dessert.

Our meal inside the tent

After lunch we were informed of our modified plan. We were to drive down to Ollyantaytambo and then head to our destination where we would camp for the night. Given the cold weather we had changed plans to camp for just one night in tent instead of 2 nights as per the original plan. The second night would be spent in the hostel at Aguas Caliente. After a ride of about 3 hours we reached Ollyantaytambo around 4 PM in the evening. Before we headed off to our campsite we wanted to do another hike up a mountain that skirted the downtown area of Ollyntaytambo. This mountain hike had many Inca ruins. They were primarily storage structures built on steep hills. These storage structures were used to store granaries and ammunition too. The hike up the mountain provided unbelievable views to other Inca ruins of terraced farming on surrounding hills.

Left : Birds eye view of the town of Ollyantaytambo

Right : Ancient granaries of the Incas embedded in the mountains. It was about 6:30 PM by the time we got back to our van parked in the plaza of Ollyantaytambo. Even though we wanted to get to our camp site before it got dark, it was already dark by the time we reached our van! It was good 40 minute drive on an unpaved road up a mountain to our campsite. Complete darkness had settled in by the time we reached our camp location. Even in the darkness the tents were setup and a hot meal was cooked for us. By the time we had finished dinner it was past 9:30 PM and we were all tired. While some of us retired for the evening a few of us enjoyed a few minutes by the campfire making smores. The local rum was a welcome drink in the cold for some of us. Night in the tent was quite cold to say the least! Even though we had enough clothes and a good sleeping bag and inflatable mats to sleep on, the elevation we were at, the cold mountain air and the surrounding snow made it a long cold damp night for us. That night made us appreciate a good warm bed that we take for granted daily!

Our group tent scene.

Day 5 Our day started at sunrise. Having got little sleep I was out of the tent at the break of dawn to see a wet tent top. The beautiful sight of the snow capped mountains all around was probably the most comforting sight next to the individual basin of warm water provided to us to freshen up.

Our cozy tent. The warm water in the tubs was all what we had to wash up before we trudged along another day, another mile.

It was quickly time to wake everyone up and start to pack. The plan was all our luggage would be transported on horseback while we would hike down to Ollyantaytambo. Before we hit the trail to hike down to Ollyantaytambo, we were provided a sumptuous breakfast. There was omlettes, pancakes bread butter, jelly and to drink we had tea, coffee and hot chocolate. The hike down to Ollyantaytambo was scenic to the say the least. The trail meandered through tiny mountain villages. We stopped to hand over small trinkets from our world like school supplies to little kids that we met on the way. We also handed over some of the calorie rich candies and sweets that we had on us too :)

The kids in our group sharing trinkets they brought from home, with the village children they met along the way. This little guy not older than 5 was trundling along all by himself home!

It was surprising to see little kids no older than 6 or 7 years walking all by themselves feeling completely safe in the open mountain countryside! By the time we reached Ollyantaytambo it was around 11:30 AM. We had started to hike around 8:30 AM. We were quite tired and were aching for a rest by the time we had reached a local hotel in Ollyantaytambo for our lunch stop. Lunch was cooked by our team of cooks once and once again was a greatly relished by everyone. This was the last meal cooked by them, as from here on we would take the train to Aguas Caliente and stay at a hostel there. After our lunch we headed to the local train station at Ollynataytambo and made it just in time to take the train to Aguas Caliente. We were on a glass top carriage and had a great view of the Andean mountain range all around us. The The snow capped mount peaks and the colorful country side was totally out of this world. It was evening around 5 PM by the time we reached Aguas Caliente. From the train station we had good hike lugging our luggage to our hostel. From Ollyntaytambo on, only the two guides traveled with us. Aguas Caliente is small tiny right on 2 or three steep hills. It is also the only town that had access to Machu Pichu. From here one could either hike or take a bus ride to Machu Pichu. Our plan was to head out to Machu Pichu early in the morning the next day. Before dinner some of us managed to hike the hills around Aguas Caliente, while others chose to rest up in the hostel room. The hostel accommodations were very basic. Each family had a room with either 3 or 4 beds in them and a bathroom as well. We all assembled for dinner in a local restaurant down the road and enjoyed the local food there. Since some of us wanted to hike up to Machu Pichu, while others wanted to ride the bus to the top. So we decided to break into 2 groups and meet up at the entrance at top. Those who hiked had to wake up early around 3 AM and those taking the bus could wake around 5 AM. There were two reasons to get up early to reach the entrance of Machu Pichu. The first was to catch a glimpse of the rising sun while the second was to get a pass to climb Huyana Pichu. Huyana Pichu is the larger peak seen in the background of Machu Pichu ruins. Only the first 200 visitors are allowed to climb this peak.

Day 6 We chose to ride the bus to get to the entrance of Machu Pichu primarily because one or two in our family was fighting off a fever and were too tired to hike up. There was a steady stream of buses ferrying the thousands of visitors up the mountains as we sat in engrossed in the unbelievable sight of the Urubamba river encircled around the peaks of Machu Pichu.

Couples dressed in Incan and Quechuan garb participating in a parade to mark the 100th year of the Scientific discovery of Machu Picchu. We had timed our visit to Peru just right....the whole nation was in revelry.

By the time we made it to the ticket booth, the limited 200 passes to climb Hyana Pichu mountain top was long gone. The other team which hiked up the mountain however were lucky and were able to get the pass. Since one of them fell sick while climbing up I got his pass. Our guides who had made it to the top with us, suggested that we first finish the Hyana Pichu hike which would typically take about 1.30 to 2 hrs long, since it would be harder as the sun came out. So it was around 8 AM by the time we started on the Hyana Pichu hike. The hike up Hyana Pichu was as it was promised and more. The sights across into the Machu Pichu ruins and the Urubamab river at various elevation was absolutely gorgeous. The trail was quite hard in many places as we had to pass through narrow ridges and even had to scramble on all four at certain places. We reached the top which consisted of a few larg sized rocks on which we could barely rest for a few minutes, before we had to keep moving down as there was steady stream of climbers coming up for whom we had to make room!

The Incans planned the city of Machu Picchu in the shape of a Condor, their sacred god. You can clearly see the Condor in this view from Wiyna Picchu.

Once we reached back the ruins we joined with others in our group and started our official tour of the ruins.

As the sun slowly rises over Machu Picchu.

There are many theories about Machu Pichu. At first this was considered the "last city" and not the "lost city" of the Incas. The last city was the city where they made their last stand against the Spanish invaders while the lost city was the city that was supposed to contain all the Inca hidden gold but was never found. Now, the latest theory is that Machu Pichu was the lost city.

Left : A view of the house of the noblemen from one of the numerous trapizoidal shaped windows.

Middle : Birds eye view of the ruins

Right : Busloads of tourists enter the sacred site as soon as the gates open at dawn.

Machu Pichu was constructed as an estate of the most famous Inca ruler Pachacuti around 1400 AD. There are many theories on the purpose of constructing such a place at that elevation and location. It is in a quite secluded location and must have provided natural fortification against all attackers. After spending a long memorable day in the ruins of Machu Pichu we reluctantly headed back to Aguas Caliente as it was close to closing time. We rode the bus back to Aguas Caliente and enjoyed our last glimpses of the river Urubamba and the peaks of Machu Pichu as we descended down. Dinner was at a location where we had live music playing. Some of us were daring to try the local delicacy called Cuy which was roast guinea pig. Tired after a long day we headed back to our hostel.

Cuy (guinea Pig), a Peruvian delicacy. It came with teeth, claws, the whole nine yards !

Day 7 We were supposed to take an afternoon train back to Ollyantaytambo. So we had the whole morning to spend around in Aguas Caliente. We got busy shopping in the market streets of Aguas Caliente. We found many interesting local artifacts there. Our train ride back was quite memorable. The train was a single carriage with a glass top that included a driver cabin at the front right corner. The train included a meal that was served. But the best part was the entertainment that was provided. The Peruvian railways were selling their wares in the train and cabin attendants got busy modeling the items on display that were for sale. They were quite entertaining and danced and walked to music as they showcased them. Most of the items there were quite expensive compared to what we had shopped at Cusco and Aguas Caliente.

We took the VistaDome train of Peru Rail. The Vista Dome train is only for tourists, not locals, and with a cultural dance and a fashion show, and awesome views, was one of the most entertaining rides of my life !

When our train reached Ollyantaytambo, we had our van waiting for us to take us back to Cusco. The ride back was about couple of hours and it was evening time around 6 PM by the time we reached Ninos Hotel in Cusco.

After a quick early dinner we packed to head back home the next day. Day 8 We had a morning flight at 10 AM out of Cusco. We checked out early after a quick breakfast and made to the airport in good time. We flew to Lima to take a flight back home to San Francisco.

Thoughts about our trip Peru is a wonderful country rich and vibrant in history and culture. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. The people were quite friendly. Even in the market place stores that we visited in Cusco the vendors when we would bargain and negotiate prices, they always seemed friendly and never aggressive. If I were to do this again, I would plan to spend some time in Lima the capital city and also make a trip down to Lake titicaca the birth place of the Inca civilization. Of course Peru is also famous for its Amazon river and forest. We would include that in our trip as well.

Amen to that!