Days 2B & 3A - Peru: Ferrata to the Sky Lodge and Zip your descent...

Life as we know it has been ever changed! 

Most of you know me to be quite adventuresome and somewhat fearless...well I successfully wobbled my own knees, raced my heart and made myself uncomfortable! And remember, I dragged my Mom and daughter up on this little adventure too...

The Sky Lodge, is a bucket list MUST! But forewarning, getting there is actually more terrifying than staying in the glass luxury pod bolted to the side of a cliff 984ft. up! 

We traveled approximately 2 hours north west by private car from Cusco to our 1st Sacred Valley stop. 

Natura Vive, Sky Lodge SacredValley is 1 of the worlds top 10 ferratas (meaning iron path in Italian). 

Hmmm...perhaps the God blazed into the side of this mountain was sign of things to come...?

Yes, zoom in! See those three little metal/glass pods? That's where we are heading, 1000ft., straight up...

Smiling now, aren't you girls!?! #3GenCtheSkyLodge 

Lol! More smiles, as Eric explains the ins and outs of scaling the cliff...pay attention girls! 

Let the ascent begin, @ 5:00pm...

Still smiling...good for me! Road and onlookers gathered below...watching us climb or baffled at the sight of me taking a selfie hanging off the side of a cliff...?

Mom of the year! Great parenting...

Mimi, hanging on! Omg!!!! Way to go Mimi!!!! 

Ran out of cliff? Now we need to walk on two wires while holding on to another!?!

Yup, it's dark, headlamp on, another 45minutes to go! 

Milli the calm, cool and collected spider monkey! 

Welcome to Sky Lodge Milli! 7:00pm. Happy to be suspended in a glass pod 10k feet above sea level! Have I mentioned how off the charts amazing our guides were?!?! Eric with Milli.

Welcome to Sky Lodge Mimi! Mimi wins oldest person to make it to and sleep in the Sky Lodge!!!! Brava! And she is still smiling.

More props to our guides! Cesar group selfie after preparing and delivering our gourmet dinner.

We slept well tonight! The thrill of a lifetime! 

Day 3A - Peru: Sky Lodge descent...

Good morning! After collapsing from exhaustion and exhilaration...my morning view was glorious! Yes this is what it must feel like sleeping in an eagle's nest.

Milli having a little morning tea! We had two twin beds and a queen. The pod was larger then we expected. The sheets were yummy soft and blankets were cozy warm. The pod was more than comfortable, spotless, sleek and super mod! 

The view from the loo! 

Neighbors to the right of us...

Neighbors to our left...

Three generations suspended in air! Smiling and thrilled to have had the nerve and the perseverance to experience the Sky Lodge! 

Our shoes' view...

Milli contemplating the decent! Helmet on...

Off you go Mimi...see you at the bottom...

Up and down a 1000ft. Ferrataing, zipping and trekking...AND still smiling Mimi...way to go! 

Really, 6 zip lines back down 1000ft. traversing the cliff? Our posse plus Mike and Catherine from Houston, our SL neighbors. 

"have a good flight" Eric or Cesar would say as we flew 300, 400 or 700 meters across the cliff.

Getting clipped on for my 4th flight down...Eric making sure all is in the right place! 🙏🏻

Mimi coming in for the final landing! 6 zips later!

Our Sky Lodge posse! Off the charts, amazing experience!

Put Sky Lodge on your list! 

Sky Lodge Packing tips:

Toothbrush and share toothpaste

Maybe pjs

Hat/gloves

Puffer

Nothing else!!!

We overpacked and I carried for the three of us... 

They have playing cards up in the pod, they provide headlamps and all the gourmet organic food you could desire.

Next up: Day 3B -Peru: Sacred Valley Tour and then Day 4 Puno/Lake Titicaca for Mimi & Milli and Inca trail for me!

Day 2A - Peru: Life Before Sky Lodge

Let the party continue! 

After a great night sleep, we rose to a wonderful breakfast and some touring on our own. 

(Mimi and Milli, enjoying cocoa tea and eggs)

One thing is for sure, the Peruvians don't shy away from color! 

The dancing and parades continued! Each Province represents! 

(Corpus Christi Parade)

(Street fair fare (Guinea Pig - Cuy, a big Peruvian delicacy...happy to be a vegetarian!) @San Francisco Plaza. 

We hit most all the parks, street fairs and markets around us. We ate lunch at Ayllu (meaning enlarged community in Quechua) on Calle de Marquez. Fantastic Peruvian authentic food.

Have I mentioned next up...Sky Lodge? 

Day 1 - Peru: JFK - Lima - Cusco

Wow, that was 24 well used hours!

We started at JFK on our LAN flight at 11:45pm to Lima.

Not so bad...right? 

The plane was packed, not a seat open. We landed in Lima at 6:30am. (Remember Peru is an hour behind)

Immigration, baggage, checked in for our domestic Cusco flight and sat down to a Starbucks and free wifi by 7:30am.

Get some Soles - the Peruvian $. Look for machines in the airport.  (1 Sol = $.30 USD) 

I put a currency app on my phone...because when I travel I lose perspective of cost!! Funny money = over spending... :) 

Landed in Cusco by 11:15am, where we were whisked away for our debriefing and first tour...

Not to worse for the wear.... :)

Cusco - former capital of the Inca Empire. It was the richest and most important city in the Americas 500 years ago. 

The Spanish arrived around 1533. 

Cusco has an Incan foundation, Spanish influence layered on top. The city has a very European feel with its very narrow streets, many places to eat and kind hospitality. 

Altitude: 11,150'

Language: Spanish, a little English and Quechua (language of the Inca Empire) 

Places to stay: So many to chose from, we liked the San Blas area and our boutique hotel, Casa San Blas also Hotel Marqueses Luxury: Hotel Monasterio or Inkaterra. Boho Trendy: Ninos Hotel

Places to eat: Again so many, if you are feeling adventuresome: the street (tons of vendors selling everything from sticks of beef or cow hearts on a stick with a potato on the end to churos), San Pedro market has a plethora of offerings or try a popular traditional dish: Guinea pig (or Cuy in Spanish)! Thank goodness I am a vegetarian!! If you wanted to stick to more mainstream eating venues: Greenpoint, Pachapapa, Inka Grill, Macando, or Tacomania (don't ask... :) 

For fancy: try Senzo or ChiCha

Or just explore and surprise yourself. We walked across the street from our hotel to our local panaderia, ordered up a couple of pollo empanadas and sat outside our hotel to enjoy the sunshine.

Our hotel, Casa San Blas, is right in the heart of the San Blas Artisan district, great walking distance to everything. Clean, very nice and accommodating staff. Even let us store our bags in between our great adventures! Ask for room #315.

We hit the ground running:

Tour 1: the typical "city tour" - Getting a feel for Cusco, the ancient cultural capital of Peru. It is a MUST do. 

We visited: Santo Domingo Church built on the famous Inca site of Coricancha, Sacsayhuaman, and Plaza De Armas, and CuscoCathedral.  

(Plaza de Armas - The city's beautiful main Plaza lined by Cusco Cathedral, and many local stores.)

(Cusco Cathedral - ornate, conflicted- (Andeans vs. Spanish Catholicism) and so much silver and gold your head will spin. 

(Qorukancha - hmmm can't find my pix- The Santo Domingo Church houses one of the most impressive Inca ruins, Temple of the Sun) 

(Sacsayhuaman fortress- ancient ruins considered one of the worlds greatest examples of stone masonry located over looking Cusco. 

How is it we can't even get our stone pathway to last a season??? 

(Cusco as dusk)

Cusco City tour is a MUST, to get a good feel for the Cusco history, but ask your guide to tour you through the Inka Museum.

June is a month of pageantry, parades, dancing in the streets, music, fairs and great parties. 

Our first sitings were these frequent irresistible adorable "hustlers" and their ever so cute accomplices!!! Irresistible! 

Lessened learned: if you take a picture of or with them...money is owed...and no amount is enough...think Elmo and Naked Cowboy in Time Square...)

Closed out Day 1 with "White Jesus" and Tacomania! 

We were sound asleep by 9:30pm.

Next up...Sky Lodge

Peru on my mind...training done, packing...almost done...reflection before we leave...

It's hard to believe my hiking, climbing journeys only began 5 summers ago. To recap, my first was Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, a warm up for the Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt, The Narrows- up to my neck in water in Zion, then Mt. Toubkal in Morocco, ice climbing The Gunks in NY, Mt. Whitney in California, Mt. Shasta in Northern California, and glacier climbing & kayaking through Norway, along with countless training and pleasure local hikes. 

Sometimes I travel alone, sometimes with a friend or two. 

I crave the adventure, the thrill, the extra push in my everyday routine, the planning, the focus, the training, the time spent indulging on my treks, basking in the memories afterwards, then dreaming about my next adventure...

Peru will be extra special because I am making this trip with my mom and my daughter! 3 gen C Peru! Each of them game for adventure and a little thrill! 

Stay tuned for bags packed, and our movement from JFK to Lima to Cusco to Puno and back.

Ps. Gear update!!!

Say goodbye to my little friends...

My Asolos went the way of the pair in Wild...over the cliff...along with my @$&#%* blisters!!!

Hello nirvana ...Hoka One One... I am in love! 

Also stay tuned for my hiking fashion update and in use fashion show...after five years I needed some updates! 😜

Thank you for all the waves & beeps from friends and offers for rides to the train station from kind strangers during my "training around town" hikes the last few weeks!!

I have Peru on my mind!

Ok, my annual July hike is taking on a different month and form...three generations hiking Machu Picchu in June. 

Let the training begin...1st day...if you see me wandering around your neighborhood...give me a beep! 

Next up...packing and carrying for three?!?