PJ and I spent last week in Peru. Our main goal in planning this vacation was to see Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas,” as Hiram Bingham famously called it. This also meant spent most of our week abroad in Cusco, the largest city near Machu Picchu. Before writing what I hope will be several posts about everything we did, I thought I would start with an overview of our trip. It was an amazing experience. We learned a lot, saw magnificent sites, and ate some delicious food. What more could you want from a vacation?!

It was our first time to travel to South America, so we were a little nervous about it. We’ve been to Europe several times now, so that doesn’t seem so difficult. But I, especially, don’t deal well with new things — they make me a nervous wreck. So, PJ had the foresight to book us for a pre-packaged tour through a travel agency, Best Peru Tours.

We purchased the 7-day “Deluxe Package” that included airfare from Lima to Cusco, a tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the train trip to and from Machu Picchu, a city tour of Cusco, the hotels, and the flight from Cusco back to Lima for $999. One of the things that we loved about this package is that someone met us at each stage of the trip to make sure we got where we needed to go. Jorge, for example, met us at the airport when we landed in Lima and accompanied us (with a driver) to our hotel. Along the way, he explained what we’d be doing. The next morning Alonso (and a driver) picked us up from out hotel and took us back to the airport for our flight to Cusco. Gladys met us in Cusco and got us to the appropriate place several times. And another transit officer met us when we arrived in Aguas Calientes to get us to our tour of Machu Picchu.

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