Peru comfort food: Chota style (part 7)

Peru comfort food: Chota style (part 7)

(continued from "At Least He Could Walk in to the Village Hosptal part 6)Within an hour of settling in the room, my son started throwing up violently, over and over all night. Then the diarrhea started and there were times when…

Peru: At Least He Could Walk in to the Village Hospital (part 6)

Peru: At Least He Could Walk in to the Village Hospital (part 6)

(continued from "Traveling Where the Paved Road Ends" part 5)Everything was dark except for one lighted sign in the rear of the hospital. The word "Emergencia" glowed in the darkness. After the bus arrived in Chota, the rest of…

Peru: traveling where the paved road ends (part 5)

Peru: traveling where the paved road ends (part 5)

(continued from "Off To Northern Peru," part 4) In spite of the fever, we decided to continue with our planned itinerary. We would take the local equivalent of a Greyhound bus and travel all day over a really big mountain pass…

Off to Northern Peru (part 4)

Off to Northern Peru (part 4)

(continue from "Our Guide, Our Mother and Our Chicha Beer" part 3)Before leaving the hotel for the Cusco airport, Vidal told me privately that my son did not have altitude sickness. Vidal was confident that my son had some kind…

"Nobody knew about our trips to Machu Picchu" by Vidal Jaquehua

By Vidal Jaquehua It took me a while to write my story, but here we go. I been working in tourism for over 20 years as a licensed guide.  At the beginning for some compànies based here in Cusco, and then for some companies that…

Peru: Our Guide, Our Mother and Our Chicha Beer (part 3)

Peru: Our Guide, Our Mother and Our Chicha Beer (part 3)

(continued from "Our Guide, Our Mother and Our Chicha Beer" part 2)Vidal would be our guide, our mother and our angel, day and night, for the next week as we walked, drove and toured our way through Cusco, Sacsayhuaman (pronounced…

Just arrived in Cusco:  who is this guy? (part 2)

Just arrived in Cusco: who is this guy? (part 2)

(continued from part 1)The next morning, we filtered down to breakfast and boarded the van to return to the airport where we would fly to the city of Cusco at 11,000 feet above sea level.  Maneuvering a herd of teen-agers was…

An Authentic Latin Experience (part 1)

An Authentic Latin Experience (part 1)

Twelve months later, 7 students, another teacher and I were slurping cocktails (not the kids, I promise) on the plane to Lima, Peru. It took 10 months of preparations.  I met with parents, attorneys, (just kidding!) collected…

Hola! Hello!

Hola! Hello!

It was an accident, unless you believe in fairies, fate or Pacha Mama. How did an American soccer mom cross paths with an Incan guide in Peru? And what's even more crazy, is how did we become friends and then business partners?…