Day 7: Laguna del Diablo

The morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise. By now we have our morning routine perfected. We met our guide, Marcello and the other two guests on the full day hike to Laguna del Diablo. We started where we ended the Los Huemules hike on Day 3, but took the Diablo trail at the split.

Good Morning

Near the start of the hike

The majority of the trail followed the Diablo river surrounded by the vibrant fall colors and the Electric Mountain. Along the trail, we heard and saw some birds that Marcello could identify. We hiked about 4 miles with some inclines to a refuge overlooking Laguna del Diablo and the Cagliero glacier.

Pretty colors today as well

Dad points at lichen

We found an overlook of the river and valley

Marcello helps us identify birds

It had started to lightly rain, but we were mostly covered by the tall trees. We crossed the river on a wood bridge to get to the west side of the lake and glacier. The last few hundred meters to the refuge were open on a rocky glacial moraine.

Over the bridge to the refuge

Entering the moraine – AKA asteroid field

We arrived at the refuge and found a cozy spot by the fire place to eat our lunches. It was very nice to be able to eat inside while it started raining harder outside. The refuge also offered us beverages and dulce de leche crepes, so that was an awesome bonus.

Solar powered refuge

No need for camping chairs here!

The refuge had some early drawings

Once we were relaxed and full, we made our way back on the same trail. The return trip went pretty quick and we managed to avoid any heavy rain. The weather started to clear up for a while and we were treated to (continued) excellent views.

Glacial terminal moraine

Heading back into the woods

Windows 98, fall edition, is that you?

We stopped at some of the same lookouts from the way in as the views change slightly with the weather.

Looking back to where the refuge is

Thanks for the guiding, Marcello!

This dragon is disguising itself as a tree

This part of the trail has yellow trees

When we arrived back at the hotel, it had started to rain harder. We were happy to have made it to our favorite place – the bar – for some afternoon refreshments. Tomorrow is our last full day, so we had to pick our explorations carefully. Matt and Jo picked El Filo, and Mom and Dad picked Laguna Condor.

Recovering back at the hotel

Day 6: Laguna Condor

Matt’s hike wasn’t scheduled to leave until 9:15, so he had some extra time to sleep in. With the rest of us taking a rest day, we also slept in and had a leisurely breakfast. Matt was the only one schedule for his hike with Rosie as the guide. She mentioned that due to the rain last night and this morning, the hike was very muddy and slippery, and might not be the best or safest hike. They went over options and picked a different, shorter and easier hike, and Dad decided to join.

Today’s window view

What’s at the end of a rainbow?

Off to hike!

Mom and Jo spent some time in the morning enjoying the view from the lobby and relaxing, then went to the spa for some much needed yoga and stretching.

Very helpful stretching

On the hike, Matt and Dad went to Laguna Condor. The trail was over the river and through the woods with very old and mostly dead (but mostly alive). After a short hike, they arrived at Laguna Condor lake and a waterfall.

Start of the hike to Laguna Condor

That’s a big hole in the tree

Laguna Condor is starting to look like Rivendell

Looking south over Laguna Condor

Dude, where’s the Van?

Dad and Matt returned to the hotel at about 11:30 and we all spent some time relaxing before lunch.

Made it back!

Mom had a massage appointment while Matt and Jo went to try out the drone. Although it was windy, we managed to not only get it up and running, but back in one working piece.

Self-Guided afternoon exploration: Drones!

And we have lift off

Our view after the drone exploration

We continued our recovery day with some very well made drinks at the bar. The R&R seemed to work and we were ready to pick a full day hike for tomorrow to Laguna Diablo.

Same view, afternoon lighting

Excellent Bartending

Dad points

Before going to sleep, we checked if the skies were clear enough to see any stars. We were able to see some constellations like the Southern Cross and Orion and a faint view of the Milky Way.

Yes, that is Orion in the southern hemisphere

Stars from the back of the hotel

Stars from the front of the hotel

Day 5: Lagunas de los Tres

The sun was shining and the skies were clear by the time we finished breakfast. We set off with Eras and two other guests to the Lagunas de Los Tres hike. The hike started about 10 minutes from the hotel and were on the way. The hike was located in El Parque de los Glaciares, a 700,000 hectare area. The first 6 miles was relatively flat through the foliage. Along the way, we saw a humul having a snack, and could see the Fitz Roy range and surrounding mountains and glaciers.

Off we go!

Where is the ticket counter?

View of Fitz Roy and East Glacier

Dad points at an Andean deer

Because today was a clear day, many people were on the trail along with us, including another group from Explora that we caught up with a few times. There were also some good lookout points along the way, and even some where we could see our route in the distance.

More amazing views along the way

The trail in the middle of the red hill is our route

The main, and most difficult part of the hike was the 1 km, 1200 ft of elevation gain to get to the lake of Mt. Fitz Roy. We first crossed the Rio Blanco on a log bridge that led to glacial moraine rock field. We stopped to have a snack, refill water in the river, and get ready to make the ascent. We also may have asked how much was left in the hike too many times.

Crossing the Rio Blanco

We entered the forest where there were campgrounds and continued up. Much of the trail was an old river bed, with rocks of various sizes and slipperiness. We could see hikers way up at the top of the ridge for motivation, though eventually figured out that was not actually the top.

Up, up, up

Made it to the t—- nope, thats another ridge

We slowly and methodically made our way to the actual top for a stunning view of the Laguna at the base of Mt. Fitz Roy and the towers. After catching our breath we enjoyed lunch with a view.

Mom did not enjoy the climb

We all enjoyed the view

After taking in the view and nutrients, we started the steep decent all the way back down. Fortunately, many of the hikers had already either made their way up or came down before us, so there wasn’t too much traffic on the trail. Once we were back down, we found an area a little off the trail for another needed break. The route back to El Chaltén was another 6 miles along the trail, though mostly either flat or downhill.

Starting the descent

Careful on those steep parts

Bringing the chair was worth it!

The hike back provided some views of Fitz Roy from the other side. We looked back at where we were to find we had great timing as the towers had some cloud cover.

Happy the clouds showed up after we left

View of the valley on the way down

Near the end, we took a break at Laguna Capri to recharge for the last hour of hiking. We made it back to the van at our ending point and celebrated with snacks and drinks. The drive back took about 45 minutes and we arrived around 6:45. With 2800 feet of total ascent, 13 miles and 9 hours, we were ready to relax and have dinner. But first, we had to pick our hike for tomorrow. Mom, Dad, and Jo decided to take a rest day at the hotel tomorrow while Matt picked a hike.

I see El Chaltén!

Excited to pick a rest day

Day 4: Glaciar Vespigniani

The weather prediction for today was for rain in the entire valley. Given that, the guides last night were suggesting hikes around the hotel area, but since we have already done a few of those, we decided to go on a full day hike toward the Vespigniani Glacier, where there is a lot of tree cover. We met our guide, Rosie, at the map and were on the way.

First we drove about 45 minutes north to a dock on the Lago del Desierto. Along the way, we made a quick stop at a waterfall to stretch our legs and take some pictures. We hopped back in the van for a few minutes and reached the doc. Since the land in this area has been privatized, Explora partnered with a company called Exploradores for the boat ride and entrance to the hike. We spent about 20 minutes on the boat enjoying the view of the river, glaciers, mountains, and could even see the mountains in Chile.

Not listening to TLC’s advice

Second mode of transportation for the day

Pointing at Chile

As the name of the lake implies, Vespigniani Glacier is located in the Lago del Desierto region. There are two main trails that lead to a lookout of the Vespigniani Glacier. We choose the red route, which totaled only about 2 miles, but had some steep inclines. As promised, the forest was very green and full of trees that keep their leaves in the winter, creating a cover from the elements. We trekked up the mountain and made it to the lookout point with a 360 degree view of the glacier, valley, and surrounding mountain ranges.

Hiking the red route

Made it to the top — high sticks!

We were able to spend some time at the lookout and were lucky enough to hear and see an avalanche on the glacier.

The river view from the lookout

Group shot with the Vespigniani Glacier

Enjoying the area

We continued on the loop and started the descent to the starting point. Along the way, we saw a rainbow, the river shore, and more fall colors.

Rainbow Road

Dad is continuing his pointing streak

On the way to the lake

Tree canopy

We ate our lunches (I missed you canisters and Explora soup) under Exploradora’s Eco Dome and relaxed until the boat arrived. Please note: at this point, it still had not rained on us. When we boarded the boat and left, it had just started raining lightly, and we could see the low clouds and rain back in the direction of Explora. We reversed the route from the morning and made it back with plenty of time to relax before dinner. Once we returned to our rooms, it started pouring. Not only was the hike great, but we also definitely had good luck with the weather.

V for Vespigniani

I’m on a boat

Heading back south

Rainy afternoon views

The weather tomorrow should be sunny, so we planned the Tres de los Laguna hike, a long full day hike that should give us a clear view of Mt. Fitzroy and the surrounding towers.

Day 3: Los Huemules

The Explora lodge is located in the Los Huemules reserve, where our two hikes for the day were. This is also the same area where we did our short hike yesterday. Starting with breakfast, we got ready for the day and met our guide, Eros, at the map. As always, the hike was explained, and we learned that we will hike from the lodge along the Electric River, in the Electric Valley into a glacial moraine.

Breakfast Club

Eros points to our route

Fall colors on the Electic River

Charged up for the hike in the Electirc Valley

The total hike was about 10 km, there and back. The river was lined with trees changing color for fall, and the Fitz Roy mountains in the background. Along the way, Eros told us about the mushrooms, bushes, and wildlife droppings. Only Puma poop was seen, but still no pumas.

Is this a trail marker or Mt. Fitzroy art?

The view while hiking

Off the trail and onto the moraine

We made it to the top of one of the mounds in the moraine, looking out at the Marconi Glacier (yes, the radio guy) and Mt. Fitzroy. At that time, Eros brought out the tea and cookies, which we thoroughly enjoyed before making our way back to the lodge.

Marconi Glacier moraine valley – fin de senda

Brief Fitz Roy tower sighting

Of course, the end of the hike included passing by the BBQ house, with lamb already cooking. We had time to each lunch and relax before our second hike.

Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys

Explora dining room

Soon enough, it was time to leave for the next hike. We met our guide Paula and the one other guest going on this hike. Paula explained that we would again leave from the lodge, but take a different trail to Laguna Azul. When we arrived, it was obvious how it got its name. We continued to Laguna Verde, which was, you guessed it, verde.

Yup, that is definitely a blue lagoon

Yup, that’s definitely blue

Neither of these photos made it in the blog

On the way to Laguna Verde

Do you think this lagoon is envious of the bigger one?

The vegetation in the water is doing the heavy lifting for “verde”

Pato, Pato, Pato Vapor

After the lakes, we hiked further north, over the Rio Cañadon de Los Toros on a suspension bridge. We all made it across alive and finished the hike about a mile later.

Treebeard Cohen joined the group

No bears in Patagonia, but great post-hike beers

Prior to starting the afternoon hike, we had the forethought to book a hot tub for when we returned. We all spent some time relaxing before dinner. Tomorrow is forecasted to be rainy, so we are going on a hike in a different area that should have enough tree cover to keep us mostly dry-ish.

Day 2: Buenos Aires to El Chaltén

Today is the day we arrive at Explora! It all started when our pre-arranged airport shuttle driver picked us up right on time and promptly started driving to the wrong airport. Luckily, we noticed that he was going the wrong direction and changed course in time. We managed to get through the road construction and the airports crowds and found the right line (on the second try) to check our bags. Miraculously, we made it to the gate with enough time for coffee and breakfast. The concern about the lack of an airplane at the gate was quickly dispelled when we found out we take a bus to the plane.

This van is definitely going to AEP, right?

Just your average 6am check-in line

Made it on the plane!

Now approaching Patagonia

The flight went well and we landed in El Calafate on time where we met our Explora driver and the one other passenger. After about an hour and quite a few guanaco sightings, we stopped for lunch at an old Gaucho bar turned restaurant established in 1894. Once we were filled with empanadas, hot chocolate, and brownies we got back on the road for the last two hours.

Good views so far

Stayed awake and didn’t get dizzy

The only reason to turn the wheel is the high velocity winds

Dad: “Is that fresh?”

The terrain changed from flat, dry grasslands to giant picturesque mountains. A lookout of the mountain range was a convenient stop along the way, just before getting to the town of El Chaltén. We were able to see Mt Fitzroy and the surrounding peaks and glaciers. This is autumn in Patagonia, which means fall colors and high winds.

Watch out for flying guanacos

It’s a little windy

We all made it!

About 45 minutes past El Chaltén, a very small touristy outdoorsy town, we arrived at Explora — only about 48 hours after leaving home. The Explora Welcome wagon greeting us with drinks, hospitality, and room keys. As usual, the rooms have amazing views.

Room with a view

View

Since it was already 4:30, we didn’t have time for a full half-day exploration, but we were offered an 1.5 hour into hike around the property, which we quickly agreed to. Leaving right from the hotel, we walked about a mile towards the Los Huemules Reserve forest. Hiking through the trees, we saw various types of ferns, the ever important Calafate plant, and lagoons. Once we made it to the lookout, we enjoyed tea and cookies and then hiked our way back to the hotel.

Melissa explains the hike

And we are on our first exploration!

Into the Patagonian forest we go

First task was to find the spa. Next task was to freshen up and get a drink from the bar. All tasks were accomplished successfully. Before sitting down for dinner, we met with a guide to plan our next day. Given the fact we have 7 days to explore, we decided to start with two half days hikes – both of which will start from the hotel again. With that settled, we sat down for a delicious dinner and refueled. Every night, one of the menu options will be a traditional Argentinian asada, cooked in the smokehouse right next to the hotel. Tonight we had beef ribs and flank steak.

These sun rays smell like BBQ

We are all looking forward to a full night’s sleep and tomorrow’s hikes for our first full day in one place since Wednesday.

Day 1: Chicago to Buenos Aires

Welcome back to the blog: Take-a-Kid-on-Vacation edition. Three years after our planned trip for June 2020 was canceled (thanks, Covid), we are on our way to Patagonia! This time, we are heading for the Argentina side, specifically to Mount Fitz Roy — the same mountain that is on the Patagonia clothing company logo. We will get to spend seven nights at Explora El Chalten with great food, scenic hikes, and giant mountains.

Continuing the tradition of pointing at trains.

The adventure started with a flight to Miami with Matt & Jo and Mom & Dad on separate flights. We stayed at the very convenient (but not much else) Miami Airport hotel to sleep for a few hours before the next leg. After Mom & Dad checked in for their flight the next morning and were assigned seats to avoid getting Delta’d, we all met up for the hotel breakfast, fancy lounge access (thanks, parents in business class!) and to board the 8.5 hour flight.

Aerolineas Argentinas sound like a good airline to take to Argentina.

Hey, that’s where we’re going!

A few movies, a couple of meals, and one sunset later, we landed in Buenos Aires! Customs and baggage claim was a breeze, and we met our driver to take us to the hotel. With a 5:45 am departure time from the hotel tomorrow, we went to our rooms, had our beers we kept from the flight, and went to sleep.

Checking out the sunset as we near Buenos Aires

The aforementioned sunset

The Fast and the Furious: Airport Shuttle

Tomorrow is our last travel day, and we should arrive in Explora by the late afternoon. Just one more ride to the airport, a three hour flight, and a three hour car ride to go!

Day 12: SkyLodge to Chicago

Today we woke up in our crazy SkyLodge pod and enjoyed the sunrise view from the side of a cliff! The pod was a bit cold from the night – maybe mid-30s, similar to camping outside in the fall – but we quickly rectified that and warmed up with some tea thanks to the hot water provided in the thermos.


Hot tea to warm up in the pod


Geared up and ready to go

At 7am, we put on our harnesses and made the 10-minute climb back over to the dining capsule for coffee and breakfast with the rest of the group. We had fruit, bread, granola, and the guides even made us eggs.

You know, just a quick climb to breakfast


Morning view from the breakfast pod


Delicious breakfast banana rings


Dining pod has the cliff wall built in

After, we had about an hour of free time to go back to our pods, enjoy the view and get ready for the day. During this time the photographer stopped by and helped take some fun pictures and videos with the drone.

Chillin’ in the pod


Chillin’ on the pod


Pod window for fresh air


We got the top pod, one of the other pods can be seen below us

To get back down off the cliff, we took 6 zip lines. Our pod was the highest, so when it was time to leave, everyone met on our platform to climb a bit further up to get to the first zip line.

Bye pod! Heading up and out.


Waiting on our platform for the rest of the group


On the way to the first zip line

At about 10:30, we made it back down all in one piece and left right away for the Cusco airport. On the way, we were stopped by transport authority. I suppose our driver had the right papers since we were able to continue on.

Made it back alive!


Papeles?

We arrived back in the hustle of Cusco. Our flight wasn’t until 6:00, but others in our group had a flight at 1:40. We spent our time relaxing and people watching until our flight. Plus, we had to have one more Inca Kola.

Welcome back to Cusco!


Anybody need a hand cart? I know a great place…


Most of the day was spent in airports enjoying Peruvian classics

The flight went well and we made it to the Lima airport with plenty of time before our flight to Miami (so early, they had us wait 45 minutes before we could check our bags). Our Miami was a red-eye that departed at 11:45. Once we checked in, we got moved to the 2-seat exit row (woo!). We got some dinner at ChinaWok in the food court and made our way to the gate.

Exit row leg room!


“Made with Peruvian potatoes”

After a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Miami at about 6am, we went through customs (Global Entry is still the best), re-checked our bags, went back through security and made it to our gate with 20 minutes to spare before boarding our last flight to Chicago. We made it back home right on schedule. It was a wonderful trip that won’t be forgotten!

Day 11: Chinchero & SkyLodge

Knowing that we would be going to SkyLodge later this afternoon, we wanted an easier half-day activity in the morning. Based on another solid recommendation from Luciano, we opted for the overland tour of textiles and an archeological site at Chinchero. Our new Explora friends Ben and Keith were also leaving the hotel after lunch, so they joined us on the exploration as well. Not quite a private tour, but close enough (besides, Ben and Keith are awesome!).

Our guide Ediht explains the day at the trusty map


Best white corn statue guy we pass in Huayllabamba each day

We started with a van ride to the town of Chinchero, where a group of local women gave a presentation on how they wash, dye, spin, and use wool to make their products. They use sheep wool, alpaca wool, and baby alpca wool — which is the term used for the wool from the first sheering, not actually from baby alpacas.

Making this look easy

Using a combination of all natural and local sources (leaves, salts, seeds, etc), they are able to create a variety of colors and shades to dye the wool. Then, they turn the wool into yarn and use it to weave or knit. Once the presentation was over, we were able to shop their products. We ended up walking away with 3 pairs of gloves and a blanket. The pattern on the blanket represents the Inca Trail, the mountains, and the Chakana, which is a symbol for the terraces, a compass, and the 3 worlds.

The parasitic beetle cochineal on the prickly pear cactus provides the red dyes


What the wool looks like once dipped in the dye


Meticulous weaving


Explaining how each symbol has meaning

After making our purchases we drove a few minutes to the archeological site and the adobe church of the village . On the way to the entrance, we passed through shops and we finally found the style of sweater I was looking for. With the exchange rate, they were very well priced and I ended up getting two, as well as a magnet to add to our collection.

All the sweaters!

When we were done shopping, we walked around the church and viewed the mural depicting one of the battles that took place there. The leader of the battle was Mateo Pumacahua, the owner of the house that is now the spa at Explora.

Markets in the town square with the church and archeological site


I think this church door is trying to quote something

We made it back at about 11:30 and we were technically checked out of the hotel (but could wait inside), so there wasn’t much we could do. There were more celebrations going on in the neighborhood, so we decided to walk around and see if we could find anything. We walked to the town square and the nearby roads, but it was pretty quiet (other than the random fireworks).

The road behind Explora


Urquillos town square


My reaction when fireworks are set off right behind this wall

After our little backyard exploration, we went back to the hotel to wait for SkyLodge to pick us up. They arrived a few minutes early, we said goodbye to Explora, and we were on the way. At SkyLodge there were two other pairs already there. We signed our life away and learned how to use the safety equipment. Once we were all harnessed up, we starting climbing the 400 meter via ferrata.

Excited to start!


See those little pods waaayy up at the top? That’s our hotel.

We were basically rock climbing with pre-set handholds on a cliff overlooking the Urubamba river and the Sacred Valley. There was one section of hanging suspension bridge which was tough to start, but ended up being pretty fun.

Let’s rock this climb!


Didn’t look down much


Up, up, up!!!


Does landscape mode help??


Getting closer to the pods


Matt displays the very important safety wires

Was a suspension bridge really necessary?!?!?

We reached the top of the climb about an hour and a half later, in time to watch the sunset. There are three sleeping capsules and one dinning capsule. We all met in the dining capsule where we could still see the sun setting. The photographer set us up for a picture, which is when Matt surprised me and got down on one knee to propose! I said yes, by the way.

Any questions?


Good answer!

After calming down, we relaxed in the dining capsule while our multitalented guides made dinner. We talked and enjoyed the meal until we were ready to go to our sleeping capsules for the night. By this time is was dark, so we used our headlights to see where the handles and wires were. The top of each capsule has a platform to stand on and where you can access the hatch to get in. One of the guides came with us to show us how to use the capsule. All of the curtains on can be opened, and the sky was clear enough to see the stars. The moon was almost full which blocked some of the stars, but it was still a pretty amazing view — and a perfect view of the moon overhead.

It was dark arriving to our pod after dinner, see next day for daylight pics!

Day 10: Tastayoc

Today’s exploration was called Tastayoc, named for the remote mountain town where the hike begins. After breakfast, we met our guide, Bider, who explained the route, and we found that once again we had a private tour! Woo! Probably a bit of luck, but we are also choosing the harder hikes that probably aren’t on anybody else’s radar.

Speaking of which, Tastayoc is located way up (Puna region) at 3,976 meters beyond Ollantaytambo (which is the larger city where we previously caught the train for Machu Picchu and started our Pumatambo exploration). Therefore, today’s drive clocked in a bit longer at about two hours, and I may have slept through most of it.

The winding mountain roads lull Jo to sleep

Along the way, Bider talked about how he used to be a pro-mountain biker. He had sponsors and competed in professional races. When he started to work at Explora, he had to choose to either work or continue competing as Explora prefers to have their guides in tact. Feeling satisfied with 10-plus years of mountain biking, he decided to stay with Explora.

Bider also mentioned that today marks the end of a two week vacation for students. We saw many attempting to catch busses (there are no “official” school busses) with their parents standing with them. Turns out, busses tend to pass kids standing alone, but if the parents are there, they have to stop, or the parents can report them.

Awake and ready to go!

We arrived in Tastayoc in the rain and got ready to start. The first few miles of the 8 mile hike was uphill. We crossed through farms and fields as well as streams. The land we were walking through is owned by the locals, so the trails are not really hiking trails, but lama and alpaca trails. Also because it is private land, Explora has an agreement with the owners to allow us to hike on their land, so we did not see any other non-villagers during the hike.

And we’re off


Hey Matt, this is how you cross a stream

As we got higher, the precipitation turns solidly into snow. The ground was starting to get covered, as with the elevation change, it was also getting colder pretty quickly. Eventually, we made it to the top! This is the highest point we reached today, and the highest point we reached on the entire trip, at 4,687 meters (15,377 feet). We had some celebratory (and body warming) tea and Bider even made a snowman.

High enough for a coating of snow


Ok, that’s a bit more snow


Made it to the top… now we have a snowstorm


Do you want to build a snowman?

We continued our route and started to descend. The clouds were also shifting, making for some sunny spots and stark contrasts between the snowy shale mountains and the ones covered in grass.

Heading to warmer climates


30 minutes of sunshine


Quick, before the clouds roll in

Eventually, we descended far enough that we were out of the snow. We passed a few farms with lamas and their accompanying guard dogs. We have seen a lot of stray dogs around the cities and villages. They help keep large predators away from the crops and animals. The dogs in the city and bigger towns were all very calm and friendly, but these dogs were clearly trying to get these giant two-legged predators off their land.

Crossing the Peruvian farm lama security system


Crossing farms down the valley


GET OFF MY FARM!… Biscuito?


On your Monday afternoon commute, look for light rain and lama congestion

We survived the barking dogs and continued our way down. Since we were at lower elevations again, there were some new plants we hadn’t seen yet. Bider pulled a bud off a plant and asked us to smell it to see if we recognized it. It’s smelled similar to the muña leaf, which is mint and very common, but looked different. Bider explained that this is Ccuñuca, a similar plant to muña, but it stronger and even better at curing ailments. He also pointed out two varieties of the plants that the Incans used to make tools since the wood is very durable.

You’re saying this is even better than Muña tea?

We finally made it back to the van and had some snacks and lunch. It started raining again as we were finishing up, so we hopped back in the van to go to Explora. Along the way, we saw some kids walking home from school.

Arriving in Patacancha


School’s out at 2 pm!


This is a reminder we are missing the 2nd to last episode of Better Call Saul. Werner… Ziegler???

Twice a month, Explora organizes a traditional Peruvian barbecue in the open area at the spa house. We had walked through multiple times thinking, “they should use this space for something.” Well, apparently they do. There were local vegetables like beans, potatoes and corn, as well as pork, lamb, guinea pig, and chicken — some of the animals we had been seeing on the local farms. As we ate, there was a band playing and a show of traditional dances. We sat with Keith and Ben, who we met on day 1 and are the only other people we have been on an exploration with (except the people on the Machu Picchu trip, but they went home already). It was a great way to spend the last night.

Traditional music and dance at the BBQ


Explora friends, Keith and Ben

Tomorrow, we plan on going on a very easy half-day exploration in the morning before heading to SkyLodge for the night.