Cusco, Sacred Valley...and risky rafting!

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Short flight from Lima and here we are in Cusco. This is only my third visit here, first one in 2002, second one in 2006. The past two times it was Cusco and Matchu Pichu for me, but this time it would be way more.



My only real issue was to find out how Tiffany and Leslie would react to an altitude of 3400 meters. Altitude sickness is not something to take lightly in Cusco. At the same time, Tiffany and Leslie have both skied well above the 3000 meters mark without any issues.



My last two visits in Cusco, we never splurged on accommodation…and I wasn’t going to splurge on the Monestario this time either. I found a nice deal at the Novotel…reading the reviews I was expecting a small room and average stay…how wrong was I. We landed a huge renovated room with a nice bathroom, and a pretty cool breakfast served from 4.30am…well, for that price, I can only recommend the Novotel…with on top of it, a great location!



So I had planned 4 days and 4 nights...with Matchu Pichu on our third day. Guessing that what ever would happened, we would be safe for that Wonder of the World….bearing in mind that this is the high of the rainy season…I know, that’s a scary bet!



So the first day was the test….and I can say, by the end of the day I was relieved. Leslie had some issues…but after a good nap in the afternoon he was safe. Shall I mention that back in 2002….my head did hurt big time, but I had no idea if it was because of the previous party night and the lack of sleep…or the altitude…only way to solved the issue by than was a good bottle of wine and a good nap. For Leslie, this time it was coca tea…and a good sleep.



We still had time to walk all over the historic center during that day to plan our next move. Second day would be spent exploring the Sacred Valley. On the program, the ruins of Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chicheron. We went on a group tour….you know , the one where you first stop with all these shops…not my cup of tea, but the tour was pretty cheap. Fun part was at lunch…everybody on board had prepaid their buffet lunch…not us….we escaped fast to eat great grilled trouts…of, it was a rush, but it was great food…not really what the buffet comments seem to have been!



The Sacred Valley is beautiful, and the kids loved the sites of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Chicheron was a little less impressive, but not less interesting. Note to anyone, make sure you do Matchu Pichu after the Sacred Valley.



Our next day was spent at Matchu Pichu, but due to the wonder of the experience, that will come in a separate blog.



Our last full day in Peru was something! We couldn’t do rafting back in Patagonia in December…so I did put my eyes on a trip with Leslie and Tiffany.



Now rafting with a 10 and 12 years old is something more difficult than you think to organize. Class II rapids are simply too boring…Class IV are a no-no as they can be dangerous for children…way too dangerous! So this leave you with only Class III…and you go to find a river with those!



So for the challenge…Cusco has hundreds of “travel agents”…but most will only sell you a product, without really caring if you need this or not…or put it simply…is it a safe operator for the kids or not.



Thanks to the honesty of Rory at Andina Travel, he admits they were not much in rafting, but I should speak to the people at Mayuc. Went there, love the guys, right price…right river..we were ready to raft Peru.



I now have find the solution for a river for Tiffany and Leslie…you take a boring class II with little class III stretches, and you run it in the high point of your rainy season….these turn in truly fun Class III++…or maybe a little more….but wait…the fun is coming soon!



So bear in mind, 2 girls died here a month ago on a Class V river. To top this, Peru has a very bad reputation when it comes to safety for rafting…with a lot of clearly not-qualified or trained guides. And wait for what is coming….



We were a group of 5…plus 2 guides. 5…Leslie and Tiffany…an Israeli guy who has spent 5 years in the army, a student from the north of Chile and my self. We are speaking of one raft plus an inflated double kayak as a back-up.



The inflated kayak would welcome one of the adult while doing easy part of rapids…and Leslie and Tiffany on the very quiet part of the river. While things were getting more intense, it’s all the guests on the main raft.



The plan was a 2 hours ride. So let’s speak about the first 105 minutes of our 120 minutes ride.



Wow, that was fun. Leslie had a huge smile. Tiffany was a little scared, but she admitted, it was truly fun. I had found what I was looking for. A serious ride for my children, but not being dangerous at the same time. There were really fun rapids and huge flow of water, but very limited in terms of technicality. There is not much pictures of the amount of water we took in. I was in the front of the raft with my diving housing…and when you have to paddle forward, there is not time or hands available to take pictures. So you won’t see how fun it was…but at one point, that rapid look more like and easy class IV to me.



Than after 90 minutes the rapids were over. The main guide switched to the inflated kayak with the two kids, and we were left with the second guide…and this when it all started.



I would not even call this a rapid….but in front of us, 100 meters ahead…there was a pine tree down across half of the river…and that stupid non-qualified guide pushed us right in it. Slight problem, the main trunk was something like 80cm above the water….leaving just enough space to let the raft get stucked below it.



I’ve rafted 11 rivers…and some serious ones…so I had an idea of what was coming for us. 10 seconds before impact…I was ready…well…if you can call it ready. I knew we were going to hit the water. I had to avoid the stones, do not get stuck in the tree…and make sure I kept my diving housing safe. Diving housing are not the kind of shock proof devises!



We hit the water…as expected it’s a washing machine…good news is I never met the tree…bad news…it’s full of rocks…I’m fast 100 meters further…the israleli guy next to me…and soon 200 meters further…on our feet in the middle of the river. Everybody seem to be ok, even my camera. We are standing in the middle of the river…and the first thing going through my mind…ouf, Leslie and Tiffany are safe, they were not with this idiot guide.


The Israeli told me he feared for his life...may answer...come on....after 5 years in the army you cannot do better than this!



The raft is still well stuck in the tree…the two guides trying already to get at it. We stay in the middle of the river for a good 10 minutes before I realize…this is going to take time, and I want to check on the kids.



One side was the right side…but with way too much water and rocks to try to give it a try. There other side…seemed easy to go, but was a small island….not that useful!



The guides seemed more concerned about their raft than the guests…so I made a move…let’s go and cross that river. You first walk…till the flow of water push you down…and then you swim to the other side…pretty simple…but can be also slighty tricky…mainly trying to avoid the rocks….made it. Leslie and Tiffany were nicely awaiting next to the inflatable kayak.



Went to see the raft…that the guides had started to deflated to get it freed from the tree. That trip was over, we would missed the last tranquil 10 minutes, not really an issue.



I than went to the main guide remind him that they had children on the island, that the raft wouldn’t move, and it was maybe time, after 40 minutes, to make a move!



Crossed the river with the kayak, and 15 minutes later the bus was there…with a smiling driver…who settled the hot lunch while we pooled everybody out of the island, ready to go back to Cusco.



As a result of the delay, we missed the end of the Carnaval in Cusco, but that was not really an issue.



At the end of the day, this was clearly not a boring experience. The kids were always safe…so not an issue for me. I would still recommend Mayuc…but would be clearly careful to do any serious rafting in Peru for now. The rivers are amazing…it’s just not the place where I want to die!



And if rafting with young teenagers, try to find a river of class II and small class III…and raft it in the top water season…because that was so much fun for three of us!



Time to go back home soon….well…I’m writing this stuck in a hotel room in Africa…because not everything is always going as planed…

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