Most Inspirational Moment
Mountains are a particular draw for me so I deliberately chose the Moonstone Trek for its views of the lovely glacial cone of Ampata. There's a point on day three where you trek up to the remains of a small Inca temple which stands on a lofty promontory. And there, towering above you as you crest the ridge, is Ampata. Any of you who've scrambled round a rock, pulled open your tent flap, or seen the clouds part to give you that first glimpse of a fine mountain will know the feeling.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Rene - he was good and I would recommend him.
Advice for Potential Travellers
1. Think carefully about what you want from this trip. It should include a definite liking for the trek element, a wish to see as much as possible of Peru and a preparedness to tough through bits to achieve. If, though, what you really want is Machu Picchu plus maybe a bit of something else, choose one of Exodus' other itineraries in Peru. If you don't want to trek, weigh up picking a non-trek tour as opposed to choosing Peru Explorer and passing the trek days in Cuzco - you will find yourself in Cuzco for most of a week. Interesting city though it is that's a long time and our Cuzco hotel was nowhere near comfortable or well appointed enough to sustain this. 2. Talk to your travel clinic doctor about acetazolamide (Diamox), specifically to take advice about the option of starting this medication in Arequipa to possibly help with acclimatising to what is to come - a road ascent in part of a day of about 8,000ft from Arequipa over the high pass en route to Chivay. To my knowledge, none of us did this and all of us developed altitude symptoms to differing degrees coming on either at the pass itself or by bedtime in Chivay. I'm a GP, had some acetazolamide left over from last year's Exodus climb of Mts Meru and Kilimanjaro, started taking it in Chivay and didn't look back. Purely personally, starting this pre-emptively in Arequipa rather than Chivay is the one thing I would have done differently.
Suggestions
Don't think you're too old or won't manage it. If you like the sound of this tour, book it. You need to be able to carry your own bags when necessary, get in and out of boats, manage steps, be more of a traveller than a tourist and, if you are trekking, walk three and a bit days consecutively and sleep in a tent. The Moonstone Trek is perfectly manageable. I and my two new companions I met on the trek are regular weekend walkers in the UK and we found the walking easy to moderate by our Lakes/Peak District/Snowdonia standards. There's nothing tricky or vertiginous and no scrambling. It's just the altitude of 15,000ft! But by then we were well acclimatised and accomplished it quite easily. If I'd known then what I know now, would I do it all again? Like a shot.
