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Spanish Immersion in Peru with Machu Picchu Tour
16 Day/15 Night Itinerary
May 8 - 23, 2009
Friday, May 8th
Travel day from your home town to arrive in Lima, Peru in the wee hours of Saturday (the 9th). One of our Red Lotus Tour Guides will meet you when you arrive. We will have a three-five hour wait in the airport for your early morning (around 5:30 a.m.) flight to Cusco. Don’t worry, there are places to get food, a massage, do internet, etc. to help you fill the time.
Saturday, May 9th
Arrive in Cusco early in the morning and we will transport you immediately to your hotel we have arranged for you. Relax and get some rest while you adjust to the altitude. (Please read “What to Expect” on our website.) We will be around to assist you if you need something but the day is devoted to getting you settled in and acclimatized. There will be a group dinner at a nearby restaurant where we will go over the schedule for the next few days.
Sunday, May 10th
After breakfast we will be taking a tour in the city of some Inca sites with our Peruvian guide. Our groups are small so these tours are very intimate with time to wander and ask questions. After lunch you are free to do a walking tour around the area with suggestions from us, or use your time as you care to.
Tomorrow we will start Spanish lessons so enjoy your free time getting the feel of this beautiful city.
Monday, May 11th
After breakfast you will have your first 2 hr. Spanish grammar class. The teachers are fun and understand it’s difficult to begin a new language, so relax and enjoy the process! Class will be three students maximum.
Lunch.
In the afternoon you will have your first 2 hr. Spanish practical session with an instructor who will take you around town and converse with you based on the instruction you received in the morning. Again, it will be only a small group, possibly two or three students.
Free time to relax, reflect, wander or ….. do homework!
Dinner
Tuesday, May 12th – Friday, May 15th
Schedule will be the same as Monday with noted exception below:
*** Wednesday night you will join your instructors at the Spanish
school for a cooking class….it’s really fun! A chance to get social
with all the teachers and students in the kitchen as everyone pitches
in to cook and eat dinner together.
Saturday, May 16th
After breakfast there is a 10 am volleyball game at the Spanish school for those who would enjoy it; otherwise you can spend the morning as you choose.
After lunch we will go as a group to Sacsayhuaman, an Inca walled fortress on the outskirts of Cusco. Fascinating tour with our Peruvian guides ending with a special event … it’s a secret and it’s really FUN!
Return to Cusco either by hiking down the trail or by private taxi/transport.
Dinner
Sunday, May 17th
We will check out of our hotel this morning and board a train to the Quechua village of Ollantaytambo. You will have some time to wander through the friendly streets of the town before lunch. There are many restaurants around the town square for lunch. After lunch we will meet again for a tour of the ruins built into the mountainside of the town.
Ollantaytambo is “home” to our Peruvian guide so he will share his knowledge and memories of these ruins in a way most tours don’t experience.
Free time for internet or shopping and then dinner.
Monday, May 18th
After breakfast you will have the unique opportunity to visit and volunteer your hands and your heart to help prepare and serve hot lunch to 100+ children from the high altitude villages who make the 2 hr walk into town each day to attend school. This activity is optional, of course, but I don’t think you will want to miss it! This is very memorable event and it opens your heart in a new way. Also a great opportunity to practice your Spanish with the cooks, Elizabeth and Navidad, and the children. They will have fun helping you learn to speak Spanish!
After lunch with the children we will be off to catch a train to Aquas Caliente, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.
After we check into our hotel, we will have dinner together in town.
Tuesday, May 19th
Up early today to go to Machu Picchu! Once again our amazing guides will escort us to the ruins and give us a guided tour that is unique and special in so many ways. (We have actually been joined by an occasional tourist from another group who overhears our guide….what a great compliment!) Lunch will be at Sanctuary Lodge located at the ruins.
After lunch you have several options: wander the ruins on your own, make the climb up Huanya Picchu (Fabulous! But not for the faint of heart….), or return to the town below to enjoy shopping or a dip at the hot springs.
Dinner and exploring the town at night on your own.
Wednesday, May 20th
Breakfast at the hotel before we check out and get ready for the train trip back to Cusco.
In Cusco you will be transported back to the hotel and have your afternoon free until it’s time to go back to Spanish school for yet another cooking class, dinner and social evening… speaking Spanish of course!
Thursday, May 21st
After breakfast it’s back to school time! Grammar class for 2 hours this morning.
Lunch on your own today; you’ll know all the great spots by now!
Spanish practical class in the afternoon.
A special dinner for all of us will be planned for tonight.
With any left over time we can suggest some fun and relaxing things to do, or you may want to go back and buy that Alpaca sweater you’ve been dreaming about since you saw it last week!
Friday, May 22nd
Have your bags packed and check out of the hotel (don’t worry, we will be there to help you!) by 10 a.m.
You will be attending Spanish classes today….just as before. Grammar in the morning and practical in the early afternoon.
After classes and lunch we will take you to the airport via private transport so you can board your flight back to Lima.
When you arrive in Lima we will accompany you to one of our favorite locally owned and operated B & B where you will spend the night plus have your room until 9 pm on the 23rd.
Your Red Lotus Tour ends at this time.
Saturday, May 23rd/24th
Today is at your leisure and is not part of our organized tour. There are many opportunities close by for shopping, dining, pubs, spas & salons.
You will be responsible for arranging your taxi to the airport around 10 pm (the hotel will do this for you a day ahead of time when you check in if you request it). The cost is approx. $15 USD.
Your flight back to No. America will typically leave Lima around 1-2 a.m. (Check your airline itinerary carefully to make sure you arrive at the airport 3 hours ahead of time.)
Please remember to have $30 USD to pay the international departure tax.
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