helloworld Travel Mt Maunganui - Recent staff trips

I was very excited to be able to take my father on a special trip to Peru and Chile – Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a long time, and it was everything I dreamed of!

We flew in to Cuzco via Santiago and Lima, and were transferred to our stunning hotel, the Aranwa Cusco Boutique Hotel.  This hotel was formerly a 16^th century priest’s residence, and I definitely felt like we were staying in a bit of history.

The following morning we headed into the Sacred Valley, considered the food bowl of Peru.  This lush area is full of plantations of every fruit and vege you can imagine, including some of Peru’s 4000 varieties of potatoes. The Sacred Valley also is known for is Incan and pre-Incan sites.  Our first stop was at Moray, the site of circular agricultural terraces built by the Incans.  This amazing archaeological site is where the Incans tested at what temperatures certain plants thrived – the lower down the site the cooler the temperature, such incredible science at work. 

Following this we journeyed to the  Maras Salt Pans, where each family in the local town owns and works their own saltpan.  Because we were on a tight timeline, we then headed to Ollantaytambo.  This is one of the few places the Spanish Conquistadors lost a battle with the Incans, and the ruins of the fortress and temples are still very imposing.  This where we realised just how high an altitude we were – in order to keep breathing the best pace up the Ollantaytambo steps was SLOW!! 

From Ollantaytambo we headed on the scenic train to Aguas Calientes, the township at the base of Machu Picchu.  This town was established essentially to house the tourists before heading up to the ruins, so it is relatively modern, and there are great markets to explore here.  While you do not need to stay the night in order to see Machu Picchu, I highly recommend it, as it means you can do like we did and be on the first bus at 5.30am, up to the archaeological site, and there are less people there at that time.  The rules have changed in the past few years and the Peruvian government has capped visitors into Machu Picchu at any given time.  Still I was not expecting to be able get photos without other tourists in it, but by being one of the first in the gate on the first bus, I managed it, and got some incredible photos of the ruins coming out of the clouds as the sun rose. Just a wonderful experience, and to experience it with my dad made it extra special.

On the train again back to Ollantaytambo, we were treated to a cultural performance and a fashion show of local products.  They didn’t make any money out of us (it was tempting!) but it made for an entertaining trip.  We headed back to Cusco and had a city tour before hopping on a plane to Lima to join our cruise.

World Journeys did all of the pre-cruise arrangements for us and it was so well organised, with private transfers, private tours and local guides wherever we went.   Recommended length of time for this trip is 3 to 4 days, we squeezed it into 2 due to time constraints but it was rushed.

The next stage of our trip was on the Scenic Eclipse 2, a luxury expeditions ship, on her way down from the Northern Hemisphere to her Antarctic season.  This beautiful ship has 2 helicopter, a mini-submarine and plenty of kayaks and IRBs for adventuring, and only a maximum of 220 passengers, so is more like a luxury yacht.  It is fully inclusive, so it is difficult to spend any extra money on board, and has cooking demonstrations, a theatre for wonderful evening entertainment on a small scale, spa and sauna, and an open bridge as well as a selection of delicious restaurants.

We cruised from Lima to Santiago, and our first stop was Paracas, the launching point for the Ballestas Islands,  home to sea lions, pelicans and Humboldt penguins.  The water was a bit rough that day so we got a little wet on the boat ride out there, but that just made it more fun!

Our next port of call was Matarani, to access Arequipa.  Arequipa is known as the ‘White City’ and is home to the Convento de Santa Catalina, a beautiful former convent in the heart of Arequipa, with a huge array of colonial art.

Leaving Peru behind, Arica in Chile was the next stop, known as the driest city in the world. Although it has amazing surf beaches, great seafood, it is also the top of the Atacama Desert.  From here we ventured to Codpa village, where we got to sample the local wine, have our futures read by a local shaman, and listen to folk singers.

Next was Iquique, home to a number of UNESCA heritage sites.  We opted to visit Humberstone, a ghost town abandoned after mining ceased in 1960.  It was a little eerie, and unbelievable that people lived in these conditions as late as the ‘50s.  We then went on to view the incredible Geoglyphs of Pintados – over 400 ancient aboriginal pictures covering the nearby hills.

Day 8 of our cruise saw us at Coquimbo, where we saw the Sun Observatory Alfa Aldea.  The Elqui Valley has some of the clearest skies in the world, and has a number of high-altitude observatories, as well as one of the few Sun observatories.  I learned a great deal about the sun that day!

Our last day on the cruise saw us arrive in Valparaiso, the port closest to Santiago.  After saying goodbye to the lovely Scenic Eclipse 2, we did a walking tour of Valparaiso.  What a wonderful, lively city!  We saw the incredible murals painted all over Valparaiso and had a great time exploring with the local guide.  After lunch at a beautiful winery we finished our South America trip in Santiago with a city tour. Santiago has some amazing architecture and markets, as well as lots of parks, but my preference was definitely Valparaiso! 

Our Scenic cruise video -

https://fast.wistia.com/embed/channel/nlt5jqdgdh?wchannelid=nlt5jqdgdh&wmediaid=wjl5d0bbpr