A Trip of a Lifetime

10 flights

1 air BnB apartment

1 hammock on the beach

1 Ecohab Bungalow

1 hostel

1 Bed and Breakfast

2 hotels

1 5 star resort  

1 tree house

Plans, trains, automobiles, taxis, mini-taxis, buses, boats & our own two feet

Beach, Mountains, Jungle

Snorkeling, swimming, hiking, paragliding, relaxing (a little bit), site seeing, caiman hunting, piranha fishing, bird spotting and so much more!

When can we do it all over again?! 

Until the next great adventure...Live happy, wild and free 

Day 17: Last Day of the Trip

Today we only had a half day at the lodge because we had to get back to Iquitos to catch our flight tonight. We still got to go on a longer morning excursion after breakfast. Since we didn’t get to see many pink dolphins the first time we went looking for them, went out to the main river to see if we could find more today and we did! There were a lot more today and they got pretty close to our boat. Then we went on jungle hike on another trail. On this hike, the guide told us a lot about the vegetation and which plants are used for medicinal use, food, building materials and even poison by the local people.

After our morning excursion, we packed up our stuff, had lunch, said good-by to our tree house and then made the journey back to Iquitos. When we got back to Iquitos we had a little time before of flight, so we decided to check out the zoo to see how many of the animals we had seen in the wild. We had seen many of the animals. Lucky we never ran into a viper, anaconda, puma or jaguar in the wild though! Our guide has seen all of these animals in the jungle. The zoo was a little sad though because many of the animals were in small cages and I felt bad that they were so close to their natural environment, but locked up. Our trip to the jungle was an amazing, amazing experience and I am so glad we went, but 4 days was a good amount of time to be there.

Tonight we catch a flight to Lima and then a red eye to Ft. Lauderdale and then we get a flight back to Denver tomorrow. I can’t believe the trip is over. In a sense it feels like everything we did in Colombia was so long ago, but it also feels like the trip went by super fast.  It was truly a trip of a lifetime though! 

Day 16: Piranhas, Tarantulas, Boa Constrictors & More

This morning we were woken up around 5:30 to the sound of howler monkeys. We were warned by the people who got to the lodge before us of what they sounded like, but if you didn’t know what the noise was you would think there was a monster coming to get you. They sounds so scary!

Our morning excursion was a jungle hike, so we took the boat about 45 minutes down the river to the trailhead. We got to see all kinds of wildlife--exotic birds, creepy looking insects, monkeys, lizards, etc. It was also cool to learn about all of the jungle vegetation. You definitely have to know your way around and what to avoid in order to survive in the jungle! At least half of the stuff we saw on our hike, the guide would tell us could kill you if you touch it, ate it or it bit you.

Our afternoon excursion was piranha fishing. We took the boat down the little river to find a good spot and fished right from the boat. The fishing poles were just reeds with fishing line and a hook tied to it. We used chicken skin as bate. I’m not big into fishing, but this was pretty fun! Between the boat driver, our guide and Jeff and I, we caught 3 piranhas, 3 catfish, and an Oscar fish which I thought was pretty good! They even fried them up for us for dinner. I actually liked the taste of the piranha the best. It was a very mild white fish.

Our night excursion was a boat ride out to the large main river so we could look at the stars. It was so dark so viewing the stars incredible!

We also had some crazy wildlife encounters today. First when we got back to our tree house after dinner there were two huge tarantulas at eye level on our tree in the middle of our room. Then we got back from our night excursion, the guides found a boa constrictor in the hanging in the rafters of the lodge.  

Day 15: Caiman Hunting

We ended up staying out until 2:30 at the party last night and it was still going strong when we left! We can’t remember the last time we stayed up that late, which is pretty funny. We were awoken by the sunrise and all of the birds at 6:30 this morning though. Breakfast is at 7:30 every morning, so we headed down to eat despite getting far less sleep than we would have liked. The chef was with us last night, but he still managed to prepare everyone a huge delicious breakfast right on time.

After breakfast we had our first excursion, which was a boat ride in a dugout canoe down the river to see the pink dolphins. We only saw a few and the pink dolphins aren’t as playful as regular dolphins, but they were neat to see and I enjoyed just being on the water and enjoying the scenery.

When had lunch when we got back and after lunch we ended up taking a 3 hour nap because we were so tired from last night! We had another excursion at 4:00 and we took the boat to the local village. It was cool to see it in the day light, since we couldn’t really see much last night. There was a soccer tournament going on between some of the other nearby villages, so it was fun to watch some of that. Also, a friend of our guide has a friend who has two sloths as pets, so we went to his house and got to hold the sloths. They are so cute! I guess they were found abandoned as babies so that is why the family took them in as pets.

After the trip to the village, we came back to the lodge for dinner and to relax for a little while.  At 9:30 we then had our night excursion, which was caiman hunting! It was crazy! Jeff and I and two of the guides took the canoe to another area of the jungle and we literally were hiking through a swamp with only one flashlight looking for caimans!  We had large rubber boots on, but mine were shorter for some reason, so I kept getting water in them and getting stuck in the mud. Also, I couldn’t really think about what may be lurking in the muddy water and tall grass that we were wading through because I probably would have freaked out. The bugs were ridiculous as well! I regretted making fun of Jeff for ordering a bug net hat before we left and I was pretty jealous that I didn’t have one! After about 45 mins of this, our guide finally spotted one and grab it out of the water with his bare hands! We had no idea that we were going to actually catch the caimans and get to hold them! The one he got was a baby, but I guess they can grow to be 5’ long.  I’m glad we only ran into baby caimans! After the fact, the guides told us that they are always scared doing that because there is a chance that we could run into a large caiman or electric eels, which could both kill us. Thankful they told us that after we were already back to the lodge…This night is definitely on the list of the craziest things I have done.  

Day 14: Welcome to the Jungle!

Right now I am typing this blog post 67 ft in the air inside a tree house surrounded by the Amazon Jungle. It is amazing to just sit here and listen to all of the sounds. I serious feel like I am on Swiss Family Robinson or on some type of movie set because it is so unbelievable.

Our guide picked us up at our hotel in Iquitos at noon and we took a 90 min car ride to a small fishing village on the Maranon River. We then got on a small river boat that took us down the Maranon River to the Amazon River to the Ucayali River and finally to the Yarapa River where the Treehouse lodge is located. We saw a bunch of river dolphins on the trip, which was fun. Once we got to the lodge, the boat pulled off to the bank of the river and you literally walk down a wooden platform straight into the Amazon rain forest.  When we arrived they had a welcome drinks made from a fruit called uchuva, which tastes kind of like a sour mango and grows on the trees in the area. Now we’re not sure which drink is better, the uchuva or Limeade de coco!

The lodge is made up of eight tree houses all connected through a series of raised wooden platforms and hanging bridges. There is also one main lodge area that contains the restaurant and bar. Our tree house is the tallest (by choice of course), so in order to get there you have to walk down 2 wooden platforms, go up 79 stairs wrapped around a huge true, cross a hang bridge 60 ft above the ground and then go up another few stairs! We are nestled in between the tops of the trees, towering over the rain forest with absolutely magnificent views.  The rainforest is crazy! There is so much going on between all the bugs and birds and vegetation!

There are two other young couples staying at the lodge and they invited us to have dinner with them, so it was fun to get to know them and here about their stories after already being here for 4 days. Based on their stories, I’m not sure what we have gotten ourselves into! We also didn’t realize that our stay here includes our own personal guide who is in charge of taking us on all of the excursions. He is a really cool guy who grew up in the area and is full of so much information about the jungle.

After dinner our guide told us that every year the local village has a party to celebrate the anniversary of the village and tonight is the yearly party. He told us they have a DJ and drinks and many of the workers at the lodge were going and we were invited to come along. We had only been in the jungle for a few hours and we had no idea what to expect, but it sounded like fun so we went! We also felt special because we were the only tourist at the lodge invited to come.

It was quite the experience! About 10 of us piled into a little dugout canoe and travel about 30 minutes down the river in the pitch dark. The party was at a local “hall” (a larger hut that they use as a community building) and it was packed with people. We were the only non-locals at the party and as if it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, the DJ made sure to let everyone know by announcing “Bienvenidos a los turistas!!” as we walked in. Even the chief of the village came over to welcome us and shake our hands. It was a little awkward at first, but after a few drinks and getting out on the dance floor, we had a lot of fun! It was cool to get to know the staff at the lodge as well.  Welcome to the jungle! 

Day 13: Pisac

Today wasn’t that exciting because it was mainly a travel day.  Our butler told us that we would want to live at the hotel after a few days and I think he was right. We were sad to leave. We did leave the hotel early this morning so we could stop at a small town called Pisac on our way back to Cusco. Pisac is known for it’s huge market where locals come from all over to see their handmade textiles and crafts. It was fun to walk around and look at everything and we both bought a few souvenirs. Also, I finally got my picture taken holding a baby alpaca, which I have been wanting since we arrived in Cusco!   

We had a flight from Cusco to Lima and then Lima to Iquitos. After waiting for about an hour after our flight for the bus driver to leave, we finally made it to our hotel in Iquitos around 8:00 PM. We ate some dinner at the hotel restaurant, watch a little CNN and then went to sleep. We went from the beach to the mountain’s and tomorrow we are heading to the rainforest! 

Day 12: Paragliding Scared Valley

We decide to do something a little crazy today. After our delicious buffet breakfast, we took a taxi to a small farming village in the middle of the Scared Valley where we met up with our paragliding pilots. Yes, we went paragliding in the Scared Valley…pretty amazing! This was Jeff’s idea by the way…

The pilots drove us to the top of one of the foot hills and prepared us for our flight.  We were both a little nervous looking down off the cliff we were about to run off of. There was another couple from Seattle who were going too and a few other people who all had their own equipment who were taking off from the same spot. We waited around for about an hour waiting for the best wind conditions. Then all of a sudden, the pilots jumped up and said “ok, the girls first” and quickly prepared us for takeoff. The pilot strapped me in and told me that I had to run as fast as I could straight ahead  and not to stop until we were in the air. I was shaking (partly because it was really cold up there and partly because I was nervous), but I did as I was told and before I knew it I was in the air! Soaring around the Scared Valley, surrounded by the Andes Mountains was an incredible experience. It was surprisingly clam and relaxing up in the air. My pilot caught a really good thermal, so we went super high and I was able to stay up in the air much longer than some of the other paragliders. After about 15 minutes in the air, we landed in a field just barely missing landing on a heard of sheep.

After I went, the wind changed directions so they said that we had to wait for Jeff to go, which ended up being a three hour wait. The wait wasn’t too bad though because we packed a box lunch from the hotel and we had our books, plus you couldn’t beat the scenery! However, the weather looked a little iffy for a while and they weren’t sure if they were going to be able to do another flight. However, just like when I went, suddenly without warning they jumped up and said “ok let’s go!” and within a few minutes Jeff was off.  I would have felt horrible if I got to go and Jeff didn’t! Jeff loved it and I think he may be buying paragliding equipment now…

After paragliding we hung out at the hotel pool for a while and then had dinner and drinks and the hotel’s really cool bar. It was another amazing day and one in a life time opportunity

Day 11: Urubamba Relaxation & Salt Mines

Today was a very nice relaxing day which we needed after the jam packed last few days. Jeff keeps saying “I needed this,” “this is my kind of hotel,” “I love this place.” J We slept in for the first time in what seems like a long time and went to the breakfast buffet, which is included in our room. We thought the last Starwood hotel buffet was great (which it was), but this one is even better! They have anything you could possibly want and more. We felt like gluttons because of how much we ate, but we had to try everything.

After breakfast, we took a leisurely walk around the resort grounds which are beautiful. We are right in the middle of the Sacred Valley surrounded by the Andes Mountains and right on the Urubamba River. After our walk, we headed to the pool. The pool is half indoor and half outdoor and is overlooking the river and mountains, so it is very beautiful. We spent a few hours reading by the pool and relaxing….I worked on catching up on the blog too. J It did feel nice not to have anything to do or anywhere to be today and just to enjoy the hotel. We did end up taking a taxi to the Salt Flats later in the afternoon, which was really cool to see. Basically, the Inka’s discovered how to mine salt from one of the springs on this mountain and the same salt mining techniques are used by the people today. It was very interesting to see how it was done. Ok, we have dinner reservations at the hotel's traditional Peruvian restaurant soon, which I am very excited about so I better get ready! 

Day 10: Machu Picchu!

This day has to be up there on the top of my list! We woke up at 4:30, ate a quick breakfast and got in line for the bus up to Machu Picchu. Even though we got to the bus stop at 5:30 the line was already super long and we were afraid we were going to miss the sunrise. We ended up having to wait for about 50 mins, but we still made it into the entrance of Machu Picchu right as the sun was coming over the mountain.  It’s hard to describe in words what Machu Picchu is like and no pictures really do it justice, but it is amazing!

We also had tickets for Machu Picchu Mountain, which is the taller of the two mountains overlooking Machu Picchu. Most people who do the additional Machu Picchu trail do Wayna Picchu (the other mountain), but I read a lot of trip reports and found that the mountain is a lot better because it is higher, a better view and less traveled.  It is about 1550 ft above Machu Picchu, so you have an incredible bird’s eye view. It was also cool because it was the opposite view of yesterday, so we feel like we’ve got to see Machu Picchu from all viewpoints.  That hike took a little over an hour up and about an hour down. We were glad we started right at 7:00 when it opened because it started to get a lot more crowded and hot as we were getting down to the bottom.

We also signed up for a guided group tour of Machu Picchu, so when we got down from the mountain we ate a picnic lunch and then met up with the tour.  We weren’t sure if we were going to like the tour, but we are really glad we did it because we learned a lot about the history of the place and the Inka culture. Our guide was great and the tour was super interesting.  Man were we beat at the end of the day though. The combo of the hike yesterday, getting up at 4:30, the hike today, a 2 hour walking tour and being in the sun for 8 hours totally drained us. We feel like we took full advantage of our trip to Machu Picchu though and it wouldn’t have been nearly as good without getting there early to beat a lot of the crowds, climbing the mountain and taking the tour, so we did it right and it was well worth it!

After getting down from Machu Picchu and grabbing our stuff at the bed and breakfast we headed out to catch our next train. This train took about 3 hours to get to our resort. Again, it was pretty cool though. They had a fashion show of Alpaca clothing and some traditional Inka dancers this time! Also, our hotel has it’s own private train stop, so that was pretty cool. The resort is absolutely amazing and of course we got an upgrade to a huge suite. When we got there, we got into our plush robes and stayed awake just long enough to order room service for dinner. They also brought us a tray of fancy desserts since I told them it was our honeymoon. This resort is the icing on the cake after the amazing day we had!

Day 9: Aguas Calientes

We had to wake up early this morning to catch our train. Our room included an amazing buffet breakfast, so we had that and then took a taxi to the train station. The train ride to Aguas Calientes (the town at the base of Machu Picchu) took about 4 hours. I actually really enjoyed the ride though. The scenery was breath taking and the train had windows on all sides, as well as the ceiling. They also served us a nice meal during the trip.

We arrived at Aguas Calientes around 12:30 and checked into our bed and breakfast. It was simple, but nice. We didn’t have any plans for while we were here since it is a small touristy town so we decided that we were just going to relax for the day. That lasted for about 1 hour while we were eating lunch and then we heard about this really cool hike you could do about 10 mins outside of town that had views of Machu Picchu. We debated for a while and then decided we had to do it.  I am so glad we decided to do the hike because it was seriously one of the best hikes I have ever done. The hike is of Putucusi Mountain and it is 1550 ft of pretty much straight elevation gain through a series of steep stone steps and wooden latters. It was pretty difficult and a little scary at times, but when you got to the top you had an amazing view of the front of Machu Picchu and all of the surrounding mountains. It was unreal and I was in awe. The best part was that the hike was totally free and we only saw 4 people the whole time. In totally, the hike took about 2.5 hours to get up and down. It ended up being another big day so we just got a pizza for dinner on the way back to the bed and breakfast and went to bed early so we could get up for Machu Picchu tomorrow. 

Day 8: Cusco

Last night was extremely exhausting. We waited in the airport for a few hours then we took a flight from Santa Marta to Bogota. We had a 2 hour layer over in Bogota and then flew to Lima where we had an hour layover.  Finally, we flew from Lima to Cusco. We left Colombia at 10:20 PM and arrived at our final destination in Peru at 8:30 AM. The hotel we are staying at, Palacio Del Inka, is amazing! It used to be an Inka castle and it was then turned into a mansion by the Spaniards. It still has some of the original stone walls and it is decorated with a mix of Spanish colonial style and the indigenous culture. I have to say that Platinum status for Starwood is an awesome perk because they really do treat you like royalty. They let us check into our room right when we got there even though it was only 9:00 AM. They also upgraded us to a large suite with a view of the grand courtyard and our butler sat with us for 45 mins telling us everything we should do for our day. We are guessing that we got about 3 hours of bad sleep max last night. However, we only had one day in Cusco and we didn't want to waste it, so we drank lots of coffee and set out to explore! 

We didn't really know what to expect from Cusco, but it is a really amazing city.  We walked around the whole historic part of the city admiring the architecture and the views (the city is set on a hillside at 11,800). We then walked up to the top of the city to some of the Inka ruins called Sacasyhuaman (pronounced “sexy woman,” which is pretty funny to hear people talk about it). We also went to the local market where I bought an alpaca blanket for our new couch and Jeff bought an alpaca sweater.  We also had a nice dinner at a traditional Peruvian restaurant and pisco bar, which we both agreed was our best meal of the trip so far. We were pretty much delirious after dinner since we were running on no sleep and literary walked up and down hills all day. When we got back to the hotel they had turned down the bed and put on some nice relaxing music, so we got right into bed. It was sooo nice.

We really liked Cusco. The people and the culture reminded me a lot of Quito Ecuador. Everyone is super nice here and I love seeing the people in their traditional dress with all the beautiful textiles and colors. It’s not that people in Colombia weren't nice, but I don’t think they are as use to tourists and hardly anyone spoke English which made it difficult for me. I also felt like you had to be a little bit more on alert while in Colombia, so it feels a little more relaxed in Peru. We are excited to see more! 

Day 7: We're in Paradise

It was already getting dark last night, so we couldn't really get a good sense of what everything really looked like, but today we soaked it all in. You know when people talk about picturing paradise and you have an image of what that looks like? Well, this resort is pretty much it. You literally wake up to a perfect view of the Colombian coastline and the sound of the waves crashing against the beach. You are surrounded by hills and jungle and there tons of exotic flowers, birds and lizards everywhere you look.  There are only 12 huts and then the main restaurant and lodge, so the resort is small and intimate and even though you are in a resort, it feels like you are secluded and you have your own private paradise.   

After waking up to the amazing view, we were then served a breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, toast and Colombian coffee. After breakfast we went down to the beach where there we nice lounge chairs and umbrellas for us. There was only one other couple at the beach, so it felt like our own private beach. The contrast from where we stayed the night before is pretty funny. We had to check out of our ecohab by 1:00, but they let us check our stuff at the front desk and hangout on the patio and in the restaurant until we had to leave. I wish we had an extra day here and Jeff wishes we had an extra week. It was an amazing experience just to spend one day there though!

We left around 4:00 and caught a bus into Santa Marta, which was about an hour drive. We then had to take a taxi to the airport, which was about 30 mins outside of the city. It was interesting to be on the bus and to see the countryside and how most of the people in Colombia live. It makes you feel very grateful.

Now we wait for our flight and then catch a red-eye to Peru! 

Day 6: Ecohab

The sunlight woke us up pretty early this morning and I was pleasantly surprised at how well I slept in the hammock. It wasn’t my best night sleep, but I felt pretty rested. Since it gets dark here by 6:30 and the restaurant closes at 9:00 everyone went to bed early and it was surprisingly quiet at night despite having about 30 tents and 30 hammocks filled with young backpackers. We had some cliff bars for breakfast and set off on a hike to El Pueblito, which is an archaeological site about 2 miles up the mountain. The hike itself was pretty cool and it was very different from what we are used to in CO since it was jungle terrain. I saw a really big snake and there were tons of these little frogs that looked like dart frogs you would see in a zoo exhibit. We learned that about 2000 people lived in El Pueblito from 450-1650. It was crazy to think of what life in the jungle would have been like at that time.  When we started the hike it was still cloudy and there was a nice breeze, but the way down was very hot and sticky. By the time we got back to the beach, we could hardly wait to get into the ocean.  We found some coconuts on our hike and Jeff cracked them open with a rock so we could drink the coconut water out of them, which was fun.

We spent a few hours on the beach and then we set off for our trek to the Ecohabs. The hike was a little more intense than we expected, mostly because our bags were so heavy and not the most comfortable backpacks. It was also extremely hot and humid. Jeff kept trying to wheel his bag on the flat parts of the trail, which looked pretty ridiculous.  Just picture Jeff wheeling a suitcase through the jungle. The people we passed on the trail looked at him like he was crazy. After 2 hours of hiking through the jungle, we finally made it to our ecohab!  We showed up to this amazing resort dirty and dripping in sweat. When we arrived they gave us welcome drinks, which was what they called lemonade de coco (some sort of frozen coconut and lemonade drink).  It was seriously the best thing we’ve ever tasted, partly because we were so hot and thirsty.  The resort is amazing! Our ecohab was the highest one up on the hill and it we were so tired from the day that it felt like a trek just to get up there.  It was well worth the day of trekking though because it was amazing! It was a 2 floor circular hut. The bottom floor was totally open with a nice bathroom and two white hammocks to relax in. The top floor was our bedroom and of the windows open so we had a 360view of the ocean and jungle. After a cold shower we ended our day with a nice dinner at the resort restaurant and then pretty much passed out because we were so tired! 

Day 5: Tayrona National Park!

We woke up this morning and had a nice breakfast on the rooftop of our hostel. After breakfast we packed everything up and went to the beach to catch the boat to Tayrona National Park. It took about an hour to get to the park. The water was pretty rough, but not nearly as bad as the other boat ride. We also only had about ½ the amount of people on the boat, which was much better. We got to Tayrona and they dropped us off at El Cabo beach, which is the best beach in the park and the place where everyone camps. It was pretty awesome. El Cabo has white sand beaches and super clear water.  It’s pretty much a backpacker’s oasis, filled with other backpackers from all over the world. There was one little open air restaurant where everyone ate and hung out. 

We spent the day relaxing on the beach, swimming and snorkeling in the ocean.  Later in the afternoon, I feel asleep on the beach later and the tide came in got me all wet. I freaked out for a second because I didn’t know what was happening or where I was. The guys next to me were cracking up and thought it was just hilarious…I didn’t think it was so funny…ok, it was kind of funny.  We decided to rent the hammocks for the night instead of the tents because we heard it was a lot cooler in the hammocks since you had the breeze off the ocean, plus when else in our lives will we have an opportunity to do that?! We’ll see how it goes!