Travel Review: Family Vacation in Peru, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Amazon, Culture, Adventure, History, Culture, Geography

Far and away, the highlight of our trip was our local guide.  Hand-selected by our tour company, our guide was so wonderful that we literally felt like she became part of our family, and we all shed some tears when we had to say goodbye in the departure area of the airport.  It's hard to know where to begin in describing just how awesome our guide was, and how she made our trip so perfect.  First, her knowledge is nothing short of awesome.  She speaks fluent English (along with Spanish, a local dialect, and maybe some other languages too) and could talk endlessly (but not in a boring way) about the history, geography, and culture of each place that we visited.  Her patience with the varying age groups in our multi-generational group was also amazing.  She never hesitated to hang behind with the grandfather of the group (78 years old), who needed a bit more time to make the climbs in high altitude, and she her interactions with the children (ages 7, 9, 11) were firm but loving in a way that, as the mother, I sometimes wish I could be!  She made the history and geography come alive for all of us, whatever our age.  We plan to keep in touch with her and hope to reunite again.
Aside from our guide, our favorite part of the trip was probably our venture to Machu Picchu.  Words and pictures do not do the place justice - one must experience it for him or herself.  From the train ride, to the town of Aguascalientes, to the site itself, the whole experience was nothing short of magical.  We can't wait to go back!!