点评:There are not enough words of praise to describe how wonderfully well-served we were by Vamos Expeditions and their agent, Annelies.
The easy part was when Vamos designed the perfect privately guided trip to Machu Picchu for me and my wife, both of whom are not young and have travel constraints: in particular, not too early starts in the morning, not too long bus or van rides, flexible tours that allow for rests. Working with Vamos throughout the planning process was a pleasure.
The challenging part came when we were in Peru ready to embark to Machu Picchu when the trains stopped running because of demonstrations by Machu Picchu ticket agents. We kept hoping that the trains would start again before our scheduled flight back to the U.S. but that didn’t happen. So we postponed our flight home for four days while Annelies worked liked crazy to rearrange hotel stays, guided local tours, local flights and other arrangements to help us reschedule our Machu Picchu trip. And it worked!! The disruption was settled and we made it to Machu Picchu the day before we departed Peru.
All through the rearrangement process we did not feel we were working with a bureaucrat at a travel agency, but rather with a close friend who really cared about us. We spoke to her at all hours, long after the office was closed. She offered every option she could come up with to make our extra four days comfortable and rewarding. And I’m sure the arrangements she made were costing her extra money, which she never mentioned.
The only regret we have about Annelies is that she works only in Peru. We would gladly hire her for any future travel we might consider anywhere in the world.
Turning next to our personal tour guide, Marisol. As I mentioned, we’re not young people, so the many stairs, hills, and uneven terrains we needed to negotiate to see all there was to see were really challenging. Marisol was a genius at encouraging us not to shrink away from the challenges and give each a try while at the same time giving us plenty of time and space to rest and slow down to conserve energy and renew our spirits. Her enthusiasm explaining the history, importance, and cultural significance of what we were seeing made it feel that this was the first time she had ever taken anyone on these tours, while it was probably the hundredth. She carried our backpack (over our objection), used her connections with guards and rail conductors to get us the best seats and best views of everything, and, like Anneleis made us feel that we had a close friend showing us her favorite places. She went out of her way several times during our extended time in Cusco because of the rail disruption to ferry us around, show us alternate attractions and make us feel that the disruption to our original plans was not a disappointment, but, rather, a great stroke of luck. Thank you, Marisol!
翻译:没有足够的赞美之词来形容 Vamos Expeditions 及其代理人 Annelies 为我们提供的优质服务。
最简单的部分是 Vamos 为我和我的妻子设计了完美的马丘比丘私人导游之旅,他们俩都不年轻了,而且都有旅行限制:特别是,早上不能太早出发,不能乘坐太长时间的巴士或面包车,灵活的旅游,可以休息。在整个规划过程中与 Vamos 的合作非常愉快。
当我们在秘鲁准备前往马丘比丘时,最具挑战性的部分出现了,因为马丘比丘票务代理的示威,火车停止运行。我们一直希望火车能在返回美国的预定航班之前再次启动,但这并没有发生。因此,我们将回家的航班推迟了四天,而 Annelies 则疯狂地重新安排酒店住宿、当地导游、当地航班和其他安排,以帮助我们重新安排马丘比丘之旅。它起作用了!干扰得到了解决,我们在离开秘鲁的前一天到达了马丘比丘。
在整个重新安排的过程中,我们并不觉得自己是在与旅行社的官僚一起工作,而是与一位真正关心我们的亲密朋友一起工作。在办公室关门很久之后,我们一直在与她交谈。她提供了她能想到的一切选择,让我们额外的四天感到舒适和有意义。我确信她所做的安排花费了她额外的钱,但她从未提到过。
我们对 Annelies 唯一的遗憾是她只在秘鲁工作。我们很乐意雇用她来参加我们未来可能考虑去世界任何地方的任何旅行。
转向我们的私人导游 Marisol。正如我所提到的,我们不是年轻人,因此我们需要穿过许多楼梯、山丘和不平坦的地形才能看到所有可看的东西,这确实具有挑战性。 Marisol 非常天才地鼓励我们不要在挑战面前退缩,尝试每一项挑战,同时给我们充足的时间和空间来休息和放慢脚步,以保存能量并恢复精神。她热情地解释了我们所看到的历史、重要性和文化意义,让人感觉这是她第一次带人参加这些旅行,而这可能是第一百次了。她背着我们的背包(不顾我们的反对),利用她与警卫和铁路售票员的关系为我们提供最好的座位和最好的视野,而且,就像安妮莱斯一样,让我们觉得我们有一位亲密的朋友向我们展示她最喜欢的地方。由于铁路中断,我们在库斯科逗留的时间很长,她几次不厌其烦地载着我们到处转转,向我们展示了其他景点,让我们觉得对我们原来计划的干扰并不是令人失望,而是一次伟大的经历。运气好。谢谢你,马里索尔!