Two Adventure Vacations in One
The Owner of One of the Country's Top Travel Agencies
Enjoys an Extraordinary Family Vacation in South America
When families travel from New England to San Francisco, they often go south to see LA while they are in California. When others make the journey to Ireland or England, they figure they've traveled this far, why not go to Scotland too? However, when Elaine Osgood, president and CEO of Atlas Travel International headquartered outside Boston, planned her family vacation this summer, she chose to travel with her husband, 10-year-old daughter and friends of the family, to see Machu Picchu and the Ancient Incan Ruins in Peru. Then, she said, “We were all the way down there, so we spent the second week in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.” Quite the adventure!
Having adopted their daughter Veronika from Russia almost decade ago, the Osgoods have spent most of their family vacation time in the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, wanting to minimize travel time and maximize family fun. Now, with Veronika's love of nature and adventurous spirit as their inspiration, the Osgoods not only toured colorful Peruvian marketplaces, trekked through ancient Incan ruins and climbed the iconic Machu Picchu to the Sun Gate above, but also continued with a flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and then onto the Galapagos, where they boarded the National Geographic Endeavor to cruise six of these iconic islands.
The Ancient Incan Ruins & Machu Picchu
When asked what they enjoyed most about the Machu Picchu week of the trip, Osgood simply couldn't decide. “It was all so incredible,” she said. “The hike to the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu was up steep hills and narrow paths. It was very exciting.” However she also says she loved walking the market at Pisac where the local Indians, clothed in beautiful bright colors with babies strapped to their backs, meet to sell their wares.
“Everything was perfect,” she enthusiastically reported, having taken every bit of advice from her own vacation department manager at Atlas. “We had private guides that took us on each leg of the trip, which made it wonderful. We stayed at the most magnificent hotels and ate wonderful local food.”
They stayed their first night in Lima at the Country Club Hotel, an historic hotel located in one of the most exclusive residential and commercial districts in Lima, San Isidro. Considered a national monument, this hotel is decorated with over 300 pieces of original artwork of both classical and Peruvian Colonial styles.
The following day they flew a little more than an hour to Cuzco (altitude 11,200 feet) and started their tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Their guide drove a Mercedes mini-bus for the one-hour ride from Cuzco to the colonial town of Pisac, where they toured the Incan ruins and colorful marketplaces. Their route followed the meandering Urubamba River through verdant farmlands.
During their time in the Valley, they visited the village of Ollantaytambo, considered to be the best example of Inca city planning. The massive fortress at Ollantaytambo with its steep terracing occupies a highly defensible position on a rocky promontory above the village. “Every foundation was made of ancient stones,” said Osgood. “Everywhere you look you find antiquity. It's truly remarkable. It is hard to actually describe, you have to see it to believe it.”
After a night in an adobe bungalow at the lovely Hotel Sol y Luna, the Osgoods boarded a glass-enclosed Vistadome train, which, she reports, is a great way to see all the sites along the 90-minute journey to the village of Aguas Calientes below Machu Picchu. From here they took a 20-minute bus trip up the switchback road to the legendary "Lost City of the Incas."
“We had another guided tour of the ruins at the citadel of Machu Picchu,” said Osgood. “And during our time in this region, we hiked to the Sun Gate to see the sun rise over the mountains and trekked several hours to see the Incan Bridge, which was amazing.”
During their time there, they had lunch at The Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel situated adjacent to the citadel of Machu Picchu. Set high in these mountains, the citadel and this hotel are surrounded by a lush cloud forest. Lost in history, this unforgettable site was discovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham and is considered one of the most renowned examples of Incan architecture still in existence.
While they didn't stay at The Sanctuary Lodge, the Osgoods thoroughly enjoyed their night in Aguas Calientes below the mountain. They spent the night at the Inkaterro Pueblo Hotel, where 85 quaint houses resemble a typical Andean town surrounded by rich biodiversity.
They then returned to Cuzco on the train and stayed at Monasterio del Cuzco, a former monastery dating to 1592, that is situated right beside the lively Cuzco central square.
“This was an amazing hotel,” said Osgood. “It was an attraction in itself, with all the feeling that you were in an ancient monastery. With all the beautiful tapestries and art, you actually felt a hushed tone when you entered, and that put you in a very different state of mind.”
The time in Cuzco, their last day in Peru, was filled with more tours of ancient sites like the Cathedral, which dates back to the time of their monastery-turned-hotel, which put the hotel experience into an interesting context. They also visited Koriacancha, where the most revered Incan temple, the Temple of the Sun, has actually been built into the colonial Church of Santa Domingo.
Then on to the Galapagos Islands…
Since the Galapagos were just a short 950 miles away from Peru's ancient sites, the Osgoods and their friends traded their mountain climbing for sea legs and headed to Guayaquil, Ecuador to start their Galapagos Islands cruise. After a stop in Ecuador's largest city, they took a 90-minute flight to embark on the National Geographic Endeavor, an expedition ship that is designed for discovery and active exploration throughout the Galapagos Islands. The partnership between Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic creates a unique offering dedicated to sharing unknown places through “eco-tourism,” a form of vacationing said to be founded by Lars-Eric Lindblad in the late 1950s, and now a very popular way to spend leisure time.
The National Geographic Endeavor is a small expedition ship that was originally a fishing trawler built in 1966, and converted to carry passengers in 1983. It has 56 outside cabins and accommodates 96 guests.
“The accommodations on the ship are tight, but comfortable,” said Osgood. “The service was wonderful and the food was great. But it's not about the ship on this trip. It's about the adventure. There is so much to see that you will not see anywhere else.”
Osgood enthusiastically praises the ten guides on board the ship. “They are so incredibly well informed about the islands and the wildlife. You learn so much about the history, the birds and the marine life.”
During the nine-day expedition at sea, they stopped to explore eight different islands. "Our ship was not allowed to dock at any of the islands so each day we took Zodiac (12-15 passengers) boats from the ship to the islands. Some of the landings were wet landings, meaning you had to wade into the island, while others were dry and we would disembark onto rocky coasts,” Osgood explained.
On the first stop to North Seymour Island, a tiny uplifted seafloor is home to sea lion colonies and blue-footed booby nesting colonies.
“It was incredible to be walking along a beach and think you see a large rock in the distance,” explained Osgood, “only to find that when you approach it, it's really a sea lion basking in the sun.
“The animals are so used to people on these expeditions that they allow you to come very close,” she continued. “It's an incredible experience to be so close to them. They are protected on the islands and have no fear, so they feel totally at home around you.”
The Osgood's daughter especially loved snorkeling in the shallow waters off the beach.
“There were so many things to love,” said Osgood. “It was extraordinary to see 100-year-old turtles on the beach, marine iguanas that look like small dinosaurs, and every kind of bird imaginable. The blue-footed boobies' courting rituals were fascinating to witness.”
Off the coast, guests were able to swim, kayak and snorkel and on board ship, they were treated to great presentations that taught them about the studies and work of Charles Darwin.
“They had Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Weiner and his wife, who is also an author, on board,” said Osgood. “ He won the Pulitzer for his book The Beak of the Finch about evolution and scientific discovery, and he could really speak about Darwin's work. His wife was a wealth of information about Darwin's personal life, so the two of them really gave a us a great picture of Darwin's work and life in the Galapagos while we were sailing among these islands.”
While these fascinating educational presentations were being offered on board the ship, the children were kept entertained with a host of wonderful activities. This allowed everyone in the family to fully enjoy the voyage.
“It was a fantastic two weeks,” concluded Osgood, tired from the long journey, but invigorated by all they had seen. “This definitely isn't your typical beach vacation,” she said. “But for families who really want to experience culture and nature and have an adventure, I can't recommend it enough.”
Osgood praises her Vacation Manager Karen McCrink for her coordination of all trip details and highly recommends Avanti Destinations, the travel partner whose offerings allowed them to put each leg of the trip together into a single itinerary.
“The guides made all the difference,” Osgood emphasized. “When you are going to places that have such rich culture and history, you will get so much more out of the trip if you get a local English-speaking guide to make your trip worry-free and to explain what you are seeing each step of the way.”
For more information on creating a trip like this or to ask questions about these destinations, email elaine.osgood@atlastravel.com.
