The Holbrook Explorer
Holbrook in the Field
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 12
Day 13 / July 3, 2013 Today we had our suitcases out early so the driver could load the bus and we left after breakfast for Cusco. The Posada del Inca in Yucay was a lovely hotel! While in Cusco we visited Korikancha, the Inca temple, whose walls were said to have been sheathed in gold and silver...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 11
Day 12 / July 2, 2013 The train was scheduled to leave at 8:56 am, so we were up for an early breakfast and transferred to the Ollantaytambo station. These trains leave on time and as the last of our group boarded, the agents checked my ticket and said “NO GO!” Sheila, our local guide was there to...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 10
Day 11 / July 1, 2013 This morning in preparation for our rafting trip on the Urubamba, we made sure we had our bathing suits, water shoes and a towel. We traveled the road along the river to the put-in point, which had nice changing rooms. After changing into long wet suits and a windbreaker, we...
Holbrook History: The Story of Holbrook Travel
When Giovanna Holbrook took on the challenge of leading two University of Florida science professors and a group of naturalists to the Galapagos Islands in 1971, she had no way of knowing the lasting impact that experience would have on her life and on the lives of those traveling with her....
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 9
Day 10 / June 30, 2013 I was excited about this day as we started out with a visit to the Urubamba market with our local guide, Sheila, our tour leader, Kike, and the hotel’s head chef. At the market we bought foods for our cooking class, which was held prior to dinner. This was fun to merge with...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 8
Day 9 / June 29, 2013 This morning I gathered all my things that had gotten scattered about over 7 days, packed and left my bags outside of the room before heading to the dining area for breakfast. After breakfast I said goodbye to the guides who had taken such good care of me. The boat and bus...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 7
Day 8 / June 28, 2013 Today the group hiked to the Macaw clay lick and there was no activity. It had rained a lot the day before and was overcast, which isn’t great for parrots. Back to lodge to start the two hour Capo Tree forest hike. It was STEAMY and hot and the trail was so muddy it took...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 6
Day 7 / June 27, 2013 We got this day started right off the bat and had the group get up at 5 am so we could visit the oxbow lake in the early morning. After a 530 am breakfast we departed at 6 am for the oxbow lake. After 30 minutes on the lake we saw black caiman and soon after that a family of...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 5
Day 6 / June 26, 2013 After breakfast at 7 am, we left for the 1.5 hour boat trip back to Amazonia. Frank and I were set to meet our group of grandmothers and granddaughters at 3 pm. Before lunch, I went out with some of the adventure group participants to rope climb. That was seriously fun! We...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 4
Day 5 / June 25, 2013 Today we went back to the clay lick, but this time we went later in the morning after breakfast, as it was reported to us that during this time of the year the parrots were visiting in the range of 10 am to 11 am. This time we had planned well (and were lucky), seeing two...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 3
Day 4 / June 24, 2013 Early this morning we visited the clay lick, which is only a 25 minute walk. We were hoping for possible visits by any of the parrot species but specifically the Scarlet of Green-winged Macaw. There had been some rain that night and while not raining, it was overcast. Parrots...
The Incas and the Amazon, pt. 2
Day 3 / June 23, 2013 - Lima to Pto Maldonado Today we transferred to the airport for our 9 am flight to Puerto Maldonado. On arrival we were met by our guide from Posada Amazonas, who would be with us for our entire stay there. We then joined other guests for the drive to Rainforest Expeditions...