Peru: Planning the Trip of a Lifetime

(For the next couple of weeks, I'll be recapping everything about our honeymoon in Peru!  It was an amazing adventure, and I can't wait to share everything with you here.  For the complete recap, click here.)

Peru was undoubtedly the trip of a lifetime for us, and it took a while to plan.  Dan and I started talking about Machu Picchu as our honeymoon destination in the middle of last year, well before we got engaged.  We had to figure out when to go, what level of accommodations we wanted, and what our must-sees were.  A friend of mine at work had used Kuoda Travel on his dream trip to Peru, so I decided to look into them as well.  They had great reviews on TripAdvisor, so I quickly got in touch with their planners to get a leg up on planning.

Itinerary, Plane Tickets, and Travel Insurance were the big three planning steps for us.

Our travel designer, Urpi, sent us an initial itinerary, based on our desire to have plenty of time at Machu Picchu to enjoy our "bucket list" item.  We also wanted to be exposed to great food, culture and history, and have comfortable and safe accommodations.  Urpi and I discussed the level of hotel accommodations we wanted, and she and I e-mailed back and forth for a few months around the itinerary.  Peru has everything from $10/d hostels to luxury resorts upwards of $600/d!  Kuoda was helpful in helping us hone in on what we wanted.  By December, we were ready to commit to a trip in late March via Kuoda, which included hotel, breakfasts and some other meals, entrance tickets, in-country plane and train travel, and a private guide and driver for almost the entirety of the experience. 
Note: If you want to hike the Inca Trail, you need to reserve/purchase those tickets at least six months in advance, I believe.  We wanted to go during the shoulder season to save money and avoid the biggest crowds; the dry season is May through October.  That's how we ended up honeymooning months before our wedding!  We paid our first deposit to Kuoda, booked our own air travel, and purchased travel insurance recommended by Kuoda.  By the time our trip rolled around, we'd paid off the entire trip minus incidentals, which was our goal.

Our guide, Jimmy

I can't say enough good things about using Kuoda to arrange our trip.  We knew we didn't want to rough it, so they helped us find reasonably-priced boutique hotels to stay at during the journey.  They had someone meeting us at every airport arrival, on time and always with a smile.  I am used to traveling, including internationally, so I don't really need my hand held through the process.  But I really loved turning my brain off a bit and allowing Kuoda to take care of a lot of the planning and operations for us.  It was probably one of the easiest vacations I've ever taken, because we could really lay back and just take it all in.

Useful Things I Packed:

• Moon Handbooks Machu Picchu:  This full-color book was PERFECT for our trip.  In fact, which I didn't realize until we'd booked, all of the hotels we stayed at were in the book.  Many of the restaurants recommended to us were in the book.  And I don't mean that in a touristy textbook sense, but that the book is legitimately well-written and has a lot of great tips and recommendations.
• Kavu Rope Sling Bag:  This bag is the one I carried daily, because it was lightweight and super comfortable.  I was able to carry my waterproof rain jacket, DSLR, water bottle, and more small things in it, and it was easy to sling on my front or back depending on the situation.
• Canon T3i DSLR Camera, SD Card Lightning Reader, and iPad Mini:  The camera is obvious (I even brought extra battery and SD card) but I was paranoid our epic photos could be lost somehow if something happened to the card or camera.  So each night, I uploaded a copy of our photos to my iPad as a backup.  All of our hotels had at least some Wifi coverage, so the iPad Mini was the perfect portable entertainment and communication tool to make sure our family (and cat sitter) knew we were okay.
• Waterproof Lightweight Jacket, Waterproof Hiking Pants, Comfortable T-Shirts, and Waterproof Hiking Shoes:  This was my daily uniform.  I wore an UnderArmour rain jacket that I could roll up into my bag when not in use.  I wore lightweight Everlane t-shirts almost every day, along with a long-sleeve shirt and cardigan for layering.  The waterproof hiking pants were both comfortable and functional when the light rain showers would happen.  Lastly, the Merrell shoes I had were super comfortable for navigating the hills and cobblestones.  I wore them every single day.  I guess you could call my outfits "basic adventurer" or something like that.  Even on the rainy days I was dry as a bone and able to adjust between microclimates.
• Bug Spray and Sunscreen (not pictured):  My sister gifted us a small bottle of Coleman Botanicals bug spray, which was a non-aerosol, non-smelly, small (4 oz.) size perfect for the trip.  We got the 3 oz. TSA-size sunscreens at Walgreens.  Both were needed, especially the sunscreen; the higher the altitude, the closer to the sun!  Don't let the cloud cover fool you.

Stitch Fix Review: 2nd Fix

Disclosure:  I paid for my own Stitch Fix; all opinions are my own.  If you're interested in trying Stitch Fix, I'd love for you to use my referral link so I can get $25 towards my next Fix!

It's already time to recap my 2nd Stitch Fix!  I've got to admit, this one was much better than the first, like everyone tells me.  Here's a recap of my five items, and whether I kept them or not!  (Next time I'll try to take the photos in some natural light, I swear.)

1.  Toledo V-Neck Blouse by Sweet Rain ($38):  Returned

I loved the print and long back hem of this top, but it looked boxy on me.  I'm not at my ideal weight right now, so I'd rather camouflage my midsection!  So while this print was nice, the boxy shape was unflattering.  It looked better under a blazer, but I'd rather not spend on that much on a top that I can't wear solo.  That's what Forever 21 is for, you know?

2.  Starla Ornate Collar Necklace by Romolo ($44):  Kept!

Isn't this a pretty necklace?  It's apparently a Stitch Fix exclusive, and I love the colors.  It will go with a lot of tops, and the weight made it feel worth the cost.  I'd say it's on par with J. Crew Factory quality necklaces, and similar in price to those.

3.  Glynnie Striped Top by Olive & Oak ($44):  Returned

I LOVED the fabric on this top, and it was super comfortable!  The back had a great zipper accent too.  But the horizontal stripes?  No bueno.  Another boxy fit for me.  It looked much better layered, but since I was already returning other items it didn't seem worth keeping.  If it had short sleeves, it could have worked, because then the shoulders would balance out the middle.

4.  Devin Cap Sleeve Blouse by Fun2Fun ($38):  Returned

I can't wear cap sleeves.  I repeat.  Can't wear cap sleeves.  I loved the print on this shirt, so I was hopeful something about the shape would flatter me.  It looked boxy and the cap sleeves still don't work for me.  Womp womp.

5.  Carissa Striped Fit & Flare Dress by Pixley ($64):  Kept!

I didn't get great photos of this dress, as it is more flattering in person!  The fabric is stretchy and comfy, so I know it will be a great traveling piece.  The side panels on the top portion, and the stripe at the waist, accent my narrowest point, which is what I like.  I showed the dress to Dan, and he was a fan, so I decided to keep it!

Overall:
I spent time between my 1st and 2nd fixes adding images to my Pinterest board, which I'm finding is likely the key to success with helping your stylist.  I was also very descriptive again in my reviews of the clothing I received.  If the three tops had fit me better, I would have kept this entire box!  The prints and fabrics were spot-on for me, just not fitting quite right.

Also, while my total for the two pieces was $108, the $20 styling fee was included in that.  I don't think these are pieces I would have gravitated towards right away, so I like that Stitch Fix is doing exactly what I hoped... pushing me towards new things.

I am going to try a 3rd Fix next month, and if it's successful I may continue on every other month... we shall see how it turns out!

I've included my styling card below, in case you're curious!  "Sydney" was my stylist this round, and I've requested her again if it's possible.

Disclosure:  I paid for my own Stitch Fix; all opinions are my own.  If you're interested in trying Stitch Fix, I'd love for you to use my referral link so I can get $25 towards my next Fix!

St. Lucia (retrospective)

I've been a lot of amazing places in my life, but since many of these trips occurred before the inception of this blog, I haven't shared them here before!  This post is part of a sporadic series I featuring some of the destinations I've visited that have not been previously published on Adventures in Aubreyland.

After a cold winter, it's easy to find your mind drifting off to warmer climates.  I noticed a few of my friends posting old photos of trips to St. Lucia on Facebook, and it reminded me of my trip to the island back in 2008.  It's a popular honeymoon destination, especially with the number of all-inclusive resorts.  I stayed there at Sandals Regency La Toc for a week, and it was a really wonderful vacation!  (Confession:  I went there with my ex, but I remember the trip fondly because I met a couple that would become my friends ever since!)

My favorite photo from St. Lucia...  because obvi.

The resort was on the older side, but that afforded a great price.  We booked the most basic room, but we were upgraded to a nicer suite with plunge pool.  There were 4-5 restaurants at the time, and I think we tried them all.  The all-inclusive everything was really nice.  There was a swim-up bar at the pool, activities, and more.  The beaches at St. Lucia are kind of small, but I'm more of a pool girl myself.  I liked the frozen drinks a lot... :)

I also recall that because there were three Sandals resorts, we were able to travel between the three.  We ate meals at the smaller resort, Halcyon Beach, as well as the newer bigger resort, Grande St. Lucian.  I remember thinking that I wasn't sorry we didn't pay more to stay at Grande St. Lucian, because we got to see all the resorts and use the money saved to spend on excursions.  Because excursions were my favorite thing in St. Lucia.

The resort offered a number of excursions you could book when you get there, so we took advantage.  There was a bike ride to a water fall, which was a little nerve-wracking as I didn't have much experience on bikes with gears and it was very hilly.   But the group moved slow enough I was able to walk the bike up the steepest hills when I had to.  The waterfall was a disappointment as it wasn't flowing really well, but the banana plantations and other views made it worthwhile!

Waterfall Bike Ride

We also went ziplining in the rain forest, which was a great adventure for someone who is afraid of heights like me.  You can see on my face it was a little nerve-wracking, but the rush was pretty amazing!  I loved the views, and some of the platforms were up in the canopy on platforms.  You spent a lot of time up high.  This is the excursion where I met my friends EM and CM, so I loved it the most of the trip.

Rainforest Zipline

Another memorable excursion was riding horses, especially when we went bareback into the water.  Now, this looks and sounds cooler than it is.  The reality is, everything that touches the horse's back gets covered in horse hair.  So... yeah.  Bikini and horse hair.  But it was still pretty awesome to be out there in the water enjoying the coastline.

Horseback Riding

The only thing I didn't love about St. Lucia?  If you get motion sickness, the drive from the airport and around the island can be a little nauseating.   Pack your Dramamine, and you'll be fine!  I'm not sure I'd go back to St. Lucia given it's a fairly long flight, but it's a great destination because it's not as impacted by hurricane season and it's English-speaking for the most part.  There's also a lot to do, as you can tell from the excursions I described.  The motto around the island is "No Pressure, No Problems" and that's how I felt about the island.  No one was in a hurry, no one was pushy, everything was relaxed!  A pretty sweet vacation for sure.