Wow! We had the most amazing adventure in Peru! Still reeling from the flight home, but I know there were some questions and the next departure is just around the corner. So I wanted to share some quick tips:
Do pack a fleece or two. It is quite chilly at night and in the early am. Almost all the dinners are outdoors, even though it gets down to see-your-breath temps. They provided heaters, but those with jackets or warm pullovers were much happier than those without.
Plan for layers every day. You are cold in the morning, then in short sleeves by mid day, then pulling back on your sweater as the sun goes down.
The rooms are not heated, except for a little space heater. It works, but if you get cold at night anyway, pack a pair of warm jammies.
Everyone felt the altitude at some point, but it didn't do anyone in. Oxygen was always available and we were encouraged to take a little hit if we needed it. When we got to Cusco, we asked at the front desk and they sent to our room an O2/ionizer machine that we ran all night. It filled the room with oxygen and we all three felt great the next morning. This was provided at no charge.
After doing a lot of research on the local altitude tablets, we came to understand that they are basically aspirin and caffiene. Any of you who live in the South know this is also true of BC powders. DH and I each added a powder to our water bottle in the am and again at lunch, and never felt sick. Everyone in our group had a different trick, so this is just an idea that worked for us. Of course, no aspirin for kids, so dd got a coca cola and a motrin with similar good effect. (the caffiene speeds your heart rate to get more blood pumping, the aspirin cures the headache) The main prevention is to drink a ton of water, which the guides encouraged constantly. (Water was always available)
Batteries were affected by altitude for a lot of people. Camera batteries were going dead about twice as fast as normal. We had purchased a new camera and, based on advice from the photography board, got the new Eneloop hybrid rechargeables to go with it. These did not lose charge as quickly as others' batteries did. Just be aware and maybe bring a spare battery if you can, or at least make sure to charge it every single night.
As for current: appliances/chargers that were rated up to 240 volts all did fine on the current. This included everyone's laptops. Wireless was available free at both resorts. There are "regular" shaped receptacles in all rooms, so you don't need an adapter. If you have a 110 rated appliance (like the eneloop charger) you will need a converter. HOWEVER, the converters did not work for either my flat iron or another woman's curling iron - so much for vanity and looking great in the pictures! While the hotels' websites promise converters for loan, in reality they only had a few and these were always checked out, so bring your own. Maybe do some research on what kind is best if you want hair appliances to work. (I just had a cheap one.) There were hair dryers in the rooms, they were not strong.
I'm sure there's other stuff I'm not remembering, but I did want to throw these tips out there for those of you down to single digits in your countdowns. You are going to have the time of your life! Peru is so beautiful, the people so friendly, everything was so clean. This trip has been tweaked to perfection. We could not believe how much we did each day. Super super super!
Do pack a fleece or two. It is quite chilly at night and in the early am. Almost all the dinners are outdoors, even though it gets down to see-your-breath temps. They provided heaters, but those with jackets or warm pullovers were much happier than those without.
Plan for layers every day. You are cold in the morning, then in short sleeves by mid day, then pulling back on your sweater as the sun goes down.
The rooms are not heated, except for a little space heater. It works, but if you get cold at night anyway, pack a pair of warm jammies.
Everyone felt the altitude at some point, but it didn't do anyone in. Oxygen was always available and we were encouraged to take a little hit if we needed it. When we got to Cusco, we asked at the front desk and they sent to our room an O2/ionizer machine that we ran all night. It filled the room with oxygen and we all three felt great the next morning. This was provided at no charge.
After doing a lot of research on the local altitude tablets, we came to understand that they are basically aspirin and caffiene. Any of you who live in the South know this is also true of BC powders. DH and I each added a powder to our water bottle in the am and again at lunch, and never felt sick. Everyone in our group had a different trick, so this is just an idea that worked for us. Of course, no aspirin for kids, so dd got a coca cola and a motrin with similar good effect. (the caffiene speeds your heart rate to get more blood pumping, the aspirin cures the headache) The main prevention is to drink a ton of water, which the guides encouraged constantly. (Water was always available)
Batteries were affected by altitude for a lot of people. Camera batteries were going dead about twice as fast as normal. We had purchased a new camera and, based on advice from the photography board, got the new Eneloop hybrid rechargeables to go with it. These did not lose charge as quickly as others' batteries did. Just be aware and maybe bring a spare battery if you can, or at least make sure to charge it every single night.
As for current: appliances/chargers that were rated up to 240 volts all did fine on the current. This included everyone's laptops. Wireless was available free at both resorts. There are "regular" shaped receptacles in all rooms, so you don't need an adapter. If you have a 110 rated appliance (like the eneloop charger) you will need a converter. HOWEVER, the converters did not work for either my flat iron or another woman's curling iron - so much for vanity and looking great in the pictures! While the hotels' websites promise converters for loan, in reality they only had a few and these were always checked out, so bring your own. Maybe do some research on what kind is best if you want hair appliances to work. (I just had a cheap one.) There were hair dryers in the rooms, they were not strong.
I'm sure there's other stuff I'm not remembering, but I did want to throw these tips out there for those of you down to single digits in your countdowns. You are going to have the time of your life! Peru is so beautiful, the people so friendly, everything was so clean. This trip has been tweaked to perfection. We could not believe how much we did each day. Super super super!
). We've told them we have to wait until my youngest is at least 6 so we have 3 more years to go. 
We wore our bathing suits with clothes over. When we arrived, they had wet suits laid out for us. These were full legs, armless. We put our clothes in our bags and back on the bus, put on the wet suits, then they had windbreakers to go over the suits. Then life jackets and helmets. This was plenty warm enough. DO wear sunglasses, even though the ride starts in shade. It warms up and brightens up quickly. You do get splashed on the trip, and the water is cold, but you dry quickly at the altitude so we were never really uncomfortable. When the trip is over, they have your clothes waiting and tents set up for changing, and hot tea and hot chocolate to warm you up. The rafting itself is more a gentle trip to observe the ruins with occasional excitement thrown in. I wish I had known that ahead of time to calm dd's expectations. She spent a lot of time asking when the next rapids were coming up. On the other hand, the exciting times were VERY exciting. If you want more info, I can give it but you said don't tell too much!
