September 20, 2025 • 41 mins
In Part 2 of our Adventures by Disney Peru journey, we continue the adventure with Jacob and Lindsay’s experience at Machu Picchu. From the breathtaking views of the Lost City of the Incas to the deep cultural connections formed along the way, this episode captures the magic and meaning of traveling with Disney.
But even the best adventures come with challenges—and when a stomach bug impacted part of the group, Disney’s legendary care and attention to detail truly shined. Hear how Adventures by Disney cast members went above and beyond to make sure everyone, including Jacob, felt safe, cared for, and supported—proving why Disney’s reputation for guest service is second to none.
Walt Disney's philosophy that emotional connection builds lasting memories lives on in every Adventures by Disney itinerary, where unforgettable experiences are paired with heartfelt storytelling.
Listen to Lindsay and Jacob’s ABD in Greece here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wanderlust-wishes/id1749012067?i=1000702830283
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withFantastical Vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wanderlust into reality.
From hidden gems to bucket listadventures, join us as we dive
into the sights, sounds, andstories of our favorite
(00:20):
destinations.
So grab your passport, pack yourbags, and let's embark on this
journey together.
So let's get started.
UNKNOWN (00:30):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (00:33):
Welcome to episode 69, part two of Wanderlust and
Wishes.
If you are new here, we havepart one as the previous
episode, and we're going toresume Lindsay and Jacob's
Adventures by Disney Peruedition.
We are starting off with MachuPicchu and the end of their
(00:53):
trip.
So if you'd like to hear thefirst half, just head back to
the previous episode and listenbefore you listen to this one.
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
So with Machu Picchu, you we had to get up
early take the bus into town sothe train literally goes by our
hotel like really nearby that wecould probably walk to and take
the train but if we got on thetrain there we would have to get
on it at like four in themorning or something crazy early
so instead we got up at like sixand took the bus a couple of
(01:23):
train stops up and took thetrain from there and so that was
I mean again that's the theDisney difference is they know
we're gonna let y'all sleep anextra couple hours so they don't
have to sit on this train for anextra couple of hours because
they also have to take somelocal people between different
stops and stuff.
So we got to experience a trainride.
That
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
was so fun.
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
Lindsay loves trains.
SPEAKER_00 (01:43):
I just don't get to go on them very much, you know?
So it was like, we all had ourown little compartments and it
was like, there's, we're two andtwo sitting across from each
other with a table between.
So it was already comfortable.
They had, they provided us thesesnack boxes that you could, you
know, like when you can like buylike train or plane food, it was
that they had provided.
And then they were like, all ofa sudden Rudy and Lauren, those
were our two guides.
(02:03):
They were like come on we'regonna go to the back of the
train there's a party and we'relike okay so we all run back
there and there's like people inmasks like peruvian masks and
there's like a whole band thereand they're like singing songs
and we're all dancing andplaying and you can stand at the
back of the train and like takephotos which is kind of like i
mean you're like in the back ofthe train it's going so fast
you're like like a wind tunnelbut it's really cool just to see
(02:24):
that we all just danced and hungout and played for like an hour
we were all really tired andsweaty but it was really fun
like just to kind of pass thetime because there's a Also, we
were able to see all thedifferent, the water levels were
real low.
So it was really neat to see allthat and see some rapids and the
mountains, the glacier.
We could see that really well.
What's the name of the glacier?
Veronica.
Veronica was the name of theglacier we kept seeing.
(02:46):
And so that was neat.
It was like a whole thing.
We're like, there's Veronica.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
And the cool thing about the train is it was kind
of like a big glass box.
I mean, obviously it wasstructured better than that, but
there's windows everywhere.
So as you're going again throughthis valley, and as we get
closer to Machu Picchu, that'skind of where it transitions.
to like the Amazon rainforest.
I don't want to say it's likedesert-y mountain where we were,
but it wasn't super luscious andgreen.
SPEAKER_00 (03:11):
Right, it wasn't like forest-y.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Yeah, and so as we're getting deeper into this,
like we just get more and moreforest and then you're
surrounded by these hugemountains that go straight up
and down pretty much and there'strees like growing out the side
of them.
And again, you're down in thebottom of this valley just
surrounded by mountains goingthrough it.
It's the same.
I feel like I'm in a movie likejust going
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
through stuff
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
like that.
The scenery is...
Incredible.
SPEAKER_00 (03:34):
And that's the thing is like with ABD, the
transportation is so fun.
It's fun.
It's well done.
It's efficient.
There's always food and they'realways teaching you something,
you know, so you're never, youknow, when you travel a lot of
times, it's like, okay, we havetwo hours to drive.
I just get your iPads out andfigure it out.
It wasn't that way.
It was like, let's learnsomething.
Let's be entertained.
Let's do something.
So it was never a big deal forus to travel within these
(03:55):
locations because it was justreally well done.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
Yeah.
So we finished the train ride.
Like she said, it was actuallypretty enjoyable.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
(04:33):
and don't realize that you haveto buy tickets to go see Machu
Picchu.
And so they'll wait.
SPEAKER_00 (04:38):
Hours.
SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
Hours.
And then sometimes you may getthere and that may be sold out
for the entire day.
Yeah.
And so people go there and thenthey're just stuck.
They either have to go back orthey have to find a hotel, which
I can't imagine the prices ofthose hotels, and stay a day or
two just hoping they get ticketsto go see Machu Picchu.
SPEAKER_00 (04:54):
And then after you get tickets, you have to wait
several hours for a bus to takeyou up unless you want to do the
two-hour on-foot hike to getthere, which is...
No thanks.
No.
terrible we will do it it's likea whole thing but when we got
there we had there there's likea lodge up there like a hotel
type thing and it's just reallyreally fancy but they have a
restaurant so we had full accessto the buffet at that lodge so
(05:16):
like we were since we had towait a couple hours we were able
to eat and just kind of settleand they made sure we had water
and one thing about it is thatthere's nowhere to go to the
bathroom whenever you get upthere so we went like whenever
you get into Machu Picchu sothey made sure we were all like
we had water we were going tothe bathroom all that kind of
stuff so so this is kind of whateverybody was waiting for
(05:36):
whenever like we went to Perubecause Chris told us we should
and the price worked out buteverybody went to see Machu
Picchu and we were not obviouslywe're there we're excited about
Machu Picchu but we didn't knowmuch about it at all honestly
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
it's like one of the wonders of the world seven new
wonders you've seen you've seenpictures of it but
SPEAKER_00 (05:51):
but I see I thought of everybody thinks of it as
being like the mountains and Ididn't think of it as being like
the ruins and so that was justincredible I mean we got to go
we split up into two differentgroups and we had an extra guy
with us that was like from Peru.
And we got to, I mean, we got togo really in depth into the
ruins.
They told us about whateverything was.
I mean, they have done so muchstudy on what, where everything
(06:15):
was, where the palace was, whereagriculture happened.
It was just really, reallyinteresting.
I mean, we learned so much aboutthe Incan culture and about
their defense systems and whythey put it there.
I mean, it's so strategic whatthey did because they didn't
find it for a really long time.
I mean, they never even finishedit because of the Spanish.
But it took them a long time tobe found.
So just the way that they wereable to get those rocks up there
(06:37):
and just the systems that theyuse with like out what we love
to talk about modern technology.
I mean, it was just, it was awonder.
I mean, it is.
It's insane.
It is.
Thinking about how
SPEAKER_02 (06:47):
they do it.
Like it is like a mystery.
Like how, seriously, how didthey do this?
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
It is.
And just to see it firsthand,being there and seeing
everything is, I mean, if wetold you what we were, you don't
know what you're looking at, butsince we've seen it, I mean, it
was just really, reallyinspiring.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
So to me, I will say before we even get all the way
up into Machu Picchu, my newworst job ever besides it is now
the people that drive the busesup and down this mountain.
It's just a switchback.
It's like maybe a 20-minuteswitchback journey.
SPEAKER_00 (07:19):
On these huge buses.
SPEAKER_01 (07:21):
Like the huge tour bus size buses, like the big
Greyhound buses.
And there's not really enoughroom to even pass each other
when they pass.
Oh my
SPEAKER_02 (07:29):
gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
I'm going to have a heart attack.
There's no guardrails.
There's no anything.
And I have developed a fear ofheights in my later years, I
guess.
SPEAKER_00 (07:37):
Since he's old now.
SPEAKER_01 (07:38):
I don't know where it came from.
But yeah, it was just a flopsweat all the way up and down
this whole time.
SPEAKER_00 (07:47):
And also people are waiting like hours for these
buses.
And we had a VIP bus justwaiting for us already as soon
as we were ready because we'rewith Disney.
So we didn't have to even juststanding there watching.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
Yeah, they're like, here's the line.
We have to wait about four and ahalf hours for the
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
bus.
Or you're like, meh.
They're like, Jessica.
You're kidding.
You're with Adventures byDisney.
(08:33):
Like, I don't know.
It's just hard.
It's hard.
We felt a lot of that in Greece,too, where we were like what we
were looking at.
We're like we're looking atCaldera and like looking at
volcanoes.
And it was just like, this isamazing.
And that's like that's whattravel is for us to see things
that are worth seeing, you know,more than just our normal
weekend trips.
So that's kind of why we like tolook at other countries.
SPEAKER_01 (08:51):
Yeah.
So after that, we took the trainback into town and it got I
think it was maybe right atsunset or so whenever we got on.
So it turned dark during ourtrain ride and stuff.
And they did the Same thing withthe dance party.
They had the dance party again.
I don't think I did it this
SPEAKER_00 (09:06):
time.
We didn't do it again.
I was exhausted.
We were all tired.
We had been hiking and stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
I did this little fashion train.
This is my new job.
SPEAKER_00 (09:11):
I was asleep for them.
Lindsay
SPEAKER_01 (09:13):
was asleep.
I was like, this is me.
And they had people like runwaymodeling on the train, all
different like Peruvian clothes.
Yeah.
You could buy it
SPEAKER_00 (09:23):
and stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
Yeah, you could.
It was super expensive.
But like Seth and Rebecca weresitting across from us, across
the aisle from us.
And they were doing this thinglike every single time.
Like they would walk down oneway and then they would like
flip the outfit around, liketurn it inside out or like unzip
part of it.
And it was like a completelydifferent outfit.
And every time we were justlike, oh, like this dress turns
(09:46):
into a scarf and the scarf turnsinto a sweater and it's like
transformation clothes.
And we just like hyped it upreally big.
It
SPEAKER_00 (09:53):
was
SPEAKER_01 (09:53):
really.
And I was like, you know, if Iever decide like engineering is
not for me, my new calling is tobe a train runway model.
SPEAKER_03 (10:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:02):
I think I could do it, you know, maybe in my next
life.
That's what I'll do is be atrain runway model.
I didn't know that was an optionfor me.
They didn't tell me that inschool.
My parents never taught me that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
But here it is.
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
But here it is.
SPEAKER_02 (10:13):
Great marketing because you're stuck there on
the train watching that.
People are
SPEAKER_00 (10:18):
buying stuff.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
They have to look at me.
Yeah, they do.
Unless they're asleep likeLindsay.
SPEAKER_00 (10:22):
I was.
I got out of it.
Well, anyway, we got back and wehad a little bit of a bus ride
by the hotel, but it was thesame thing as like, here's some
restaurants in the hotel.
Just go eat what you want andit's taken care of.
So that was nice.
But this is when everything wentdownhill a bit because Jacob was
like, he wasn't feeling great.
And I was like, I'm going to goon down to dinner and I'll just
come down when you're ready.
And by the time he got downthere, he was like not feeling
(10:43):
good.
So he didn't really eat.
So we kind of cut it short andjust went back to the hotel and
tried to get him feeling better.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
this is
SPEAKER_01 (10:51):
where the whole trip went drastically downhill for
SPEAKER_00 (10:54):
me.
But just for Jacob.
So I'll have to recap the lasttwo days.
But he wasn't feeling good.
So he wasn't able to participatein the next day but I will say
that like we we were changinghotels because we were in the
Sacred Valley this whole time inCusco so we were going to go to
the city of Cusco the next dayand it was about an hour and a
half bus ride which it was justbad timing because Jacob
(11:15):
couldn't just stay in the roomall day and sleep because he had
to switch hotels we checked outlike eight but he was able they
were him and another guy wereboth sick and we don't know if
it was water we don't reallyknow what it was or if it's just
like a traveling something sothey were able to stay till 12
and then they had a private busa private like van come get
Jacob and the other guy his andtake him back to the next hotel
and get him settled and checkedin and then like be good to go.
(11:38):
I mean, they told us that everysingle day somebody gets sick
from the altitude or something.
So like they even have a wholemenu for like gastro issues or
for like altitude sickness, likein all the hotel room services.
So like they're prepared forpeople to get sick because it's
a different altitude.
But I just went on aheadbecause, and that's, that is
this, like even as an agent,this is like my selling point
for ABD because I would not havegone out into Cusco by myself
(12:02):
if, We were on a trip together,just the two of us planned out
together.
I just stayed in the room withJacob and just missed it.
You know what I mean?
Because I just, I'm just not,I'm not big on just as a, as a
girl.
I'm not just out like, you know,exploring by myself with no map,
you know, no matter what I'm areason.
So that was, but ABD, you know,they were like, we'll take care
of Jacob.
Come on with us.
Like I'd made all these friends.
(12:23):
So like Nellie and Young, theywere like, yeah, you're, you're
our kid for the day.
We'll just, you'll be with us.
And I was friends with all thesepeople already.
So it was like nothing for me tojust pick up and, you know,
continue the trip.
And every hour they werechecking on Jacob and Rick and
seeing if they were feelingbetter.
They were sending food to theroom.
You know, they were really liketaking care of them.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
With the sickness stuff, it was brutal.
I'm not going to go into a bunchof details because I know this
is not what the fans have signedup for to listen on your
podcast.
But just to give you an exampleof it, like, it was so bad.
I was, I had to stay withinwalking distance of a toilet for
hours straight.
For two straight days.
For two straight days, prettymuch.
And so the reason I didn't gowith Lindsay and them on the
(13:00):
tour is because they were makingtwo or three stops on the way to
the toilet.
And I was like, I don't think Ican physically make it.
Like, I was like, I almostasked, like, is there somewhere
I can buy like adult diapers orsomething?
Because I don't know how I'mgoing to move.
And I will say the only thingthat practically saved my life
there is they have the bidettoilets.
And so it literally life changerfor me was being able to have
(13:23):
that.
But when we got to the newplace, I couldn't eat and drink.
I hadn't been able to keepanything down.
And I was like, I have to see adoctor.
Like, something is wrong.
And so they brought the doctorin to take my vitals and they're
like, you just need to come intothe hospital.
And
SPEAKER_00 (13:38):
they took him to, they brought the doctor to the
hotel and our Rudy, our guide, Imean, he translated and made
sure we weren't being like, thatwe knew what we were getting and
what was going on.
It was really helpful.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Yeah.
So they took me to the hotel.
They put an IV on me.
They gave me oxygen.
They gave me a bunch ofdifferent medicines and kind of
got me back up to speed enoughthat I could start to drink like
their electrolyte mixture thatthey gave me just to try to
survive.
And so they ended up getting meback to like living.
And then I went back to thehotel.
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
I wasn't going to die, but yeah, it was really
bad.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
I mean, honestly, like I was so dehydrated.
It could get there.
SPEAKER_00 (14:14):
It was like six or seven bags of fluids I put in
him.
SPEAKER_01 (14:17):
Yeah.
I couldn't drink or eat or doanything.
And so I went back to the hoteland then I hung out there the
entire next day while Lindsayagain went out with the group
and I would just order food,electrolytes.
The guys are checking on me thewhole time.
Yeah.
It was, it was a really roughexperience.
I can't imagine what it wouldhave been like if we were alone.
SPEAKER_00 (14:35):
And also like Nellie and Young, they like came and
picked me up from the hospitalbecause I didn't want to Uber by
myself.
And so like they came andchecked, even though the guides
would have done that, but theywere, everybody was like, how's
Jacob doing?
What can we do?
And like some of the kids hadgotten sick.
Like there was, I think fivepeople total that got sick while
we were there.
So we're all just taking care ofeach other, like a little
community, you know, making sureeverybody's okay.
People are asking me if I'mgood.
People are getting, I misseddinner because I was at the
(14:57):
hospital with Jacob.
So they're like bringing mefood.
You really make friends withthese people.
I at the end of it when you'reit's a different type of
experience because people reallyreally care and they're all
there they're all there to seesomething and to experience
something really amazing it'snot just to see the sights it's
to like develop relationshipsand get immersed fully into the
culture so that was reallyreally cool
SPEAKER_01 (15:17):
yeah so that was the end of the trip for me waddled
to the airport and just survivedto getting home
SPEAKER_00 (15:23):
I was like I don't care what happens you were
getting on that plane we weregoing home
SPEAKER_01 (15:27):
yeah so that was that was a rough end for me
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
and when we got home he went to the doctor and we got
all sorted out and it was funYeah,
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
it still took me a couple of days after I got home
to get back to normal, but.
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
But he didn't miss water water rafting.
He didn't miss Machu Picchu, so.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (15:39):
I got to see the stuff that I really wanted to
do.
I'll let Lindsay fill in all thegaps, but that's it for me.
So I'll let y'all, if y'all haveany questions specifically for
me.
SPEAKER_00 (15:47):
Yeah, maybe we should answer those.
SPEAKER_01 (15:48):
We can do that and then I'll let Lindsay finish it
out.
SPEAKER_02 (15:51):
I think he kind of answered it earlier on.
We had a question about, youknow, the first trip, Lindsay
kind of had to talk you into,or, you know, she had to do some
schmoozing to get you to go, youknow, on the Greece trip.
And for this one, you know, didyour perspective change where it
was, you were all in, like,yeah, we're going.
(16:11):
And there wasn't any kind ofhaving to talk you into it this
time around to go to Peru.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
No, this one, it was just figuring out where we were
going to go, not whether it wasgoing to be ABD or not.
Like I was, there wasn't anyhesitation because I guess all
my hesitation was answered inthe first trip.
So to me, it like actually beinga good trip that has everything
that I wanted in it that wasconfirmed I think the only
hesitation was like I kind ofhad this weird doubt like maybe
(16:37):
Greece was special maybe that'snot how it always is and maybe
that's the best trip thatthey've ever done we happen to
be a part of it and now we'resuckered in always chasing that
trip but this one was just asgood in different ways
SPEAKER_00 (16:50):
you made probably more connections this trip
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
yeah maybe more connections this trip it was
really good so I didn't have anyhesitations going into this one
I won't have any hesitationsabout ABD into the future ones
either just a matter of whenwhere and if we can get the
price to match mm-hmm
SPEAKER_02 (17:06):
If you could do any of the itineraries, what are
your top two on your list now?
SPEAKER_01 (17:11):
Right now, really, I think South Africa and Egypt are
some of the top ones on us.
South Africa, I think we'retrying to plan for like 2028
with some friends.
That
SPEAKER_00 (17:20):
have kids already.
They're our kids' ages.
SPEAKER_01 (17:22):
Yeah, trying to get the kids old enough.
I would love to do that one.
I actually just talked to a guythat I play pickleball with, and
he said he went to South Africa,not with ABD, but he was telling
us how amazing it was.
Seth and Rebecca just did the
SPEAKER_00 (17:34):
ABD.
With their kids, yeah, and theywere 10.
They said that like, the lodgesyou stay at are like the nicest
hotels I've ever been to becauseyou know people worry about that
like going on safari and beinglike intent but it's not like
Disney has it all ready for youalso we were talking about like
Iceland or Switzerland becauseeverybody we know that's been to
Switzerland for like a quickcruise stop has been like it's
amazing breathtaking so we justwe like we like going to we
(17:55):
liked that we went to a newcontinent this time so we're
kind of interested in hitting anew continent which is why we're
so big on Africa as far as Egyptor South Africa goes yeah Egypt
might be one that the kids maynot care about as much So
they're much, much older.
And
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
I would love to eventually hit Asia, but I
think...
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
Yeah, we're going to go to China because it hits both
of the Disneyland's.
That's a great place.
That's a great way to go to theChina Disneyland.
SPEAKER_01 (18:18):
That is not my intention.
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
It is my intention.
SPEAKER_01 (18:21):
You
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
need to get on the adventure cruise ship, Jacob.
SPEAKER_03 (18:27):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (18:28):
yeah.
He promised me already, we willgo on every single cruise ship
in our lifetime.
So I'm ready.
I want to do it like this year,but he's like, in our lifetime.
SPEAKER_01 (18:36):
Yeah.
So I eventually want to do Asia,but I think that's a little bit
out of our travel culture andwhat we're ready for.
SPEAKER_00 (18:42):
ABD would be the way to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:43):
Yeah, ABD would be it.
I want to do that, but probablynot until we do like another one
or two.
That's not in the immediatefuture, but in the distant
future.
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
Cool.
Well, thank you, Jacob.
SPEAKER_00 (18:54):
Yes, thank
SPEAKER_01 (18:54):
you.
Sorry, I have to cut it short.
Y'all enjoying your time
SPEAKER_00 (18:57):
with Lindsay?
That's okay.
I'm famous anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (19:00):
I mean, you're no Tupac.
SPEAKER_00 (19:01):
That's true.
See y'all.
Have a good one.
Bye, Jacob.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Okay.
So since you heard all ofJacob's situation, he did not
come on the next few days.
So I'll just kind of coverthose.
But again, I felt reallycomfortable going because I was
with my friends, you know, and Iwas with the guys and it was,
everything was still plannedout.
(19:21):
So, I mean, just like our friendMelissa went to Greece by
herself, you don't have to havea big group to make it work.
So that was really cool.
So this is one I was really sadJacob missed because it was, the
whole day was like called Locofor llamas.
So he went to this.
Oh, he missed the llamas.
He missed the llama, but we hadseen llamas.
was a thousand times on thetrip.
But it was, I think it wascalled like the Camelid Center.
And it was basically where likeyou got to go see another place
(19:43):
where they use the differentwool to do the weaving and the
demonstration.
So we got to see that.
But we also had like a Kipurepresentation ceremony where
they just, it just talked aboutlike, it's more religious as far
as Peru goes.
And we got to see kind of howthey worship.
They call it Pachamama.
And that's like their mothernature version.
And so you're supposed to giveback every time.
(20:04):
So like if you take a sip, youjust give a little back to
another nature or if you'recooking in the ground that's
part of giving back to mothernature it was just that was
their big kind of ceremonialjust their religion i guess but
it was just part of it so theirspiritual circumstance i guess
so that was neat to just be ableto see that they gave us these
souvenirs and it's just likeyarn but it's not yarn but it's
made out of something butthey've like tied knots so like
(20:25):
every time they would experiencesomething cool they would like
tie a knot and it wouldrepresent something that they
experienced kind of like our wayof taking like having like photo
albums it's like a kind of anancient ritual that they would
do so you know you have thislike keeping and it's like this
is this this represents thistrip to Greece and this is this
not represent this stuff so it'sjust like a really neat way for
them to just savor theirexperiences and then we went to
(20:46):
a restaurant in Peru in Cuscoand it was just like a
restaurant they've gotten toknow really know the owners of
the restaurant and they wereable to just feed us all this
different food I mean it's a lotof it's always going to be like
a bunch of different meats abunch of different vegetables
that are all like local to Peruand then they would have like
tamales or all the differentbreads and desserts and stuff
like that so it was just All thefood was really, really good.
(21:07):
These last two days were verymuch just like exploring the
city and doing littleexperiences.
So I kind of told Jacob, if youhad to miss two days, these were
probably the days to miss.
They weren't like lesser by anymeans.
They just weren't like, itwasn't Machu Picchu.
You know what I mean?
It wasn't whitewater rafting,stuff like that.
So we did a lot of that as faras like sightseeing, going into
different restaurants, goinginto this bar to kind of see
(21:30):
some of the drinks that theydrink.
And a lot of times they do barsduring the beginning of the day.
So it's like they kind of justsit there and drink all day and
then because they all go to bedearly so they have a big dinner
and go to bed so nobody's likehung over the next morning it's
just a different type of culturesimilar to Greece and how all
their meals are like it's a it'sa it's an event the meal is the
event for the day it's not justlike a quick you know eating at
your counter getting the food inyour body real quick so you can
(21:52):
move on to the next thing it's amuch more it's a very hard
working culture but they are asavoring type culture if that
makes sense yeah okay so therewas a city called it's called
Saxomon I can't remember exactlyhow to say it but Rudy would say
And it literally sounded like hewas saying sexy woman.
And he was kind of doing it onpurpose because it was like sexy
woman.
(22:12):
And but it's like we keptjoking.
So we found a sign that saidthat's all the girls like took a
photo in front of it, you know.
And it was like there are thoselike 200 ton stones.
They were they were like movingthem miles and miles of no
modern machinery.
And they were explaining likethe ruins.
And we were able to see likepanoramic views of it.
And we even got to there wasthere was like an old amusement
(22:33):
park type thing with like slidesand stuff.
And we got to like.
actually get up there on therocks and slide down and just
like play and have fun.
So that was a cool way of seeingthe ruins.
They always like, they reallyincorporate what the people were
doing, what they did for fun,what they were doing to eat and
to sleep and how they, just howthey lived.
So that was really neat to seethat.
And then we wandered around overto a man's house where they had,
(22:55):
they have just like a contractwith him.
He played like over 26 differentinstruments and he had made, he
made instruments.
And yeah, like his whole life hedid that.
His son was with him because hedidn't speak English, but he
would like show us an instrumentHe made and he would play it for
us.
And it was just anything fromlike shaking something to like
hitting it a little bit to adrum to like these huge flutes
and guitars.
I mean, just all these things.
And then we got to make theseflutes.
(23:17):
They were had like fivedifferent little sticks.
And then there's someone on topand they showed us how to play
like happy birthday.
And just that was really, reallyneat just to sit there and kind
of have like a mini concert witha man who had taught himself how
to create and play all of thesedifferent instruments.
And that was just neat.
It was in his home.
It was just on the terrace ofhis home.
And although That's sointeresting.
(23:37):
Yes.
How do they find these randompeople?
They just do so much.
I mean, because Disney just goesinto these cities and they
really find the experiences thatare going to actually make you
feel like you were a part of itor a part of the culture.
You know, I feel like it'snothing that I would ever just
you can't just Google like Peru.
It's like ChatGPT is not goingto throw you this man's house to
go.
(23:57):
Right.
Yeah.
And it's so great like being atravel agent because it's like
it makes me look deeper intothese destinations and it makes
me really seek out experiencesthat are once in a lifetime
because we may never go back toPeru but we will always have
these memories and we reallyfeel like we we went there we
saw we did and we experiencedyou know and that's that is so
(24:18):
meaningful when you're whenyou're paying the money you're
paying you want it to be youwant to feel like you got the
whole package you know
SPEAKER_02 (24:25):
yeah
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
and then pretty much the rest of the afternoon was
kind of on our own so we went wewent swimming at the hotel and
hung out and just did a few dida few of those things just to
kind of hang out with each otherand Jacob was so I'm just really
not feeling good so I waschecking on him and everybody
was checking on him we were likethey were coming we had people
were bringing him like Zofran inthe middle of the night I mean
it was just oh that was huge Imean and I hated they got sick I
(24:46):
mean it was terrible but if hehad to be sick on a trip Disney
taking care of you on that tripwas I mean it was just there's
no words to describe how much Iappreciate people checking on us
and taking care of us and thesame with like Rebecca and Seska
had been got sick and we're alllike is he good everything fine
like how are we doing you knowit's just they had oxygen at the
ready for people that needed itit's just they know that we're
(25:07):
like we're from the UnitedStates so like the altitude I
mean there's altitude issuesplaces in the United States but
nothing like this you knownothing like this 11,000 12,000
feet and they just prepared usso much even the first few days
they were like drink a ton ofwater don't drink any alcohol I
mean they prepare you for thetrip yeah so that I mean this is
pretty that's pretty much whatwe did when he was gone and then
the last night was our our bigdinner it was our Peruvian feast
(25:31):
but it was like in the hotel andit was in this huge like
conference area and they broughtin like dancers and there's
there's always like there'salways like god type dancers and
like kings or queens and likeprince and princess and warriors
and like they came in and theydid all these dances and this
production for us just for usit's like a private show we got
to like take pictures with themafterwards they pulled all of us
up to dance and do a limbo andjust play you know and it was
(25:54):
just a big celebration of ourtrip and that's the same the
thing they did in greece they wehad this a bunch of dancers and
performers and then we got tointeract and play and dance it
was just a big celebration ofour time together and there were
a relationships we had built andthe culture we had experienced
and just I mean it's just awhole different setup and the
food was buffet style so it wasjust amazing any kind of meat
(26:16):
you think of huge salad barsvegetables and just something
for everyone I mean you couldand we were just bursting at the
seams we were never even hungryfor meals it was like we had
just eaten so much at thebeginning at the meal before but
it was like yeah let's do thislet's experience but it's also
such it's such whole it'sthey're all whole foods and it's
all organic and it's just likelocally sourced and grown.
(26:37):
So you just don't feel liketrash.
You feel very full, but youdon't feel like you're
preserved, like the body, yourbody's preserved with processed
food.
You don't feel
SPEAKER_02 (26:43):
like inflammation, like
SPEAKER_00 (26:45):
that.
Absolutely not.
No, no.
And it goes away and then you'reready for the next thing, you
know?
So it's just a different way ofeating.
And there's just, there's ahealth factor there.
That's as far as our food goes,as far as like just eating the
whole foods that that'ssomething that I missed.
Like, and I, me and Nellie werejoking.
Like I was like, I only gainedone pound while I was gone and I
ate enough food for like 10people every day.
And it was just, it's just causeit's different.
(27:05):
I mean, it's the pace here isjust different in America than
it is in other most othercountries so that was really
neat then one of my favoriteparts of ABD is we went to this
they had this other room withlike a projector set up the same
thing as in Greece so Lauren andRudy had taken pictures and
videos of us the entire time andlike they'll go off and they
(27:25):
make this video it's like a 10minute video maybe 15 minutes
but it's got all the picturesall the videos all the
experiences and we get to justwatch our whole trip all
together as a group you knowwe're all crying and we're like
laughing and loving each otherand we're cheering when somebody
comes up on the screen and likewe're oohing and aahing when the
cute people because they havethe couples kissing a lot you
know just being sweet and thekids playing and having fun so
(27:47):
we just got to like see a recapof our trip and they give you
that video at the end so we gothome and showed our kids
immediately and they wanted tosee everything and they're a
little too young to go on a lotof them but they love watching
the videos and that's they doevery I mean as far as I know
they did it for every ABDbecause we did it in Greece and
we have that so I mean it's ahuge keepsake I mean not having
to take your own photos and thephotos are good quality I mean
(28:07):
they're professionalphotographers and they they just
I don't know how they guide ustake care of us make these
videos put it all together inthe end for us to do it on the
last day but they do and they doit flawlessly and it is it's so
special but we stayed in therean extra like two hours Jacob
did come to dinner because hedidn't eat but he came down they
brought him some like speciallike specific soup and some like
(28:28):
um keiko tea just to kind oflike see if he could get
something in his system becausehe didn't want to miss the last
day and he struggled throughthat last meal because he was so
sick I mean he wasn't taste oranything so you could hang out
and it was it was just reallygreat and we stayed another like
two hours to just talking topeople and not wanting to say
goodbye not wanting to leave andwe were getting up the next
morning like really early on thefirst bus with everyone and then
(28:48):
there was a big group thatstayed and took like a later
flight because I will say withPeru you have to fly either
overnight like seven at nightlike to the next morning or you
have to fly like super superearly and then get there so like
it's basically like I mean wedidn't have a time difference
we're central time and they aretoo but like we had to fly from
Lima from Cusco to Lima thenLima to Atlanta then Atlanta to
Birmingham because we always doDelta and they are Atlanta's
(29:10):
their hub so we had a whole dayof flying so we left and then a
lot of them stayed after andwe're all in our WhatsApp group
and they're talking about lunchand we're like oh we have FOMO
we wish we were still there youknow and so now every time like
I was at HomeGoods the other dayand I saw like a couple of like
Peruvian things and I like I wasjust like send a picture to the
WhatsApp group we all startgoing off and talking to each
(29:31):
other and oh there's one morething I didn't talk about before
the dinner we had gone to thisother market it's not a farmer's
market it was more like a goodsmarket like a little Chinatown
and we they were like we'regonna play white elephant so
here's 20 soles and he was likejust find something like some
kind of souvenir and we'll do itand then at the at the farewell
dinner we like we played thewhite elephant or the secret
(29:52):
Santa whatever you want to callit and so everybody would pick a
gift and we would steal and soeverybody got like a little
keepsake that somebody else hadpurchased and some of them were
like funny like a bull like welike we bought like a bull and
like a mirror and then somebodypeople bought like a Cusco hat
and some people bought like amug I I mean, so you've got like
a cool souvenir and that waslike just like a fun game.
It was like having Christmaswith your family, you know.
So we have all those littlekeepsakes to remember.
(30:13):
And I mean, we probably talk.
I mean, I talk to a couple ofpeople separately, but like all
the time.
But we probably talk in thatgroup at least once or twice a
week still.
And it's I mean, it's beenseveral weeks since we left.
So I think it'll be we were alltalking about where we all want
to go.
We're all going to try to do ittogether the next one if it
works every schedule.
So it'll be cool just as we dothese ABDs to just, you know, we
(30:33):
have friends all over the UnitedStates now.
And from there, we have themfrom Greece.
Now we have more.
So it'll be cool to get ourGreece friends and our Peru
friends, you know, just meshpeople because it's kind of my
thing.
I
SPEAKER_02 (30:43):
think it's very, I don't know what the word,
poignant maybe, that the wholelike dinner at the end and one
of Walt's things was tyingemotion to, you know, your
memories.
And that's how you make greatmemories.
And that's how you keep peoplecoming back to whatever it is.
(31:05):
whatever the experience is thatyou're offering.
And that although it's notDisneyland or Disney World, it's
still using that foundation thatWalt Disney set that he wants to
tie emotion into the experienceso that you truly enjoy it and
you truly remember it forever.
It's
SPEAKER_00 (31:25):
true.
And that's what they do.
I mean, that's why the price tagdoesn't scare us anymore.
I mean, because we know thatthere's value there.
And I will say that I havepriced out different ABD trips
like hotel and because you stayat like five-star hotels, so
hotel versus food versuseverything.
And I mean, it's not worth it tome to save$500 to$1,500 and not
do the Adventure by Disneyexperience.
(31:46):
You know, it's just, it'sdefinitely worth it to me to
upgrade to something that'sgoing to be, that's going to
change our lives, not just goingto entertain us for a week, like
you said.
SPEAKER_02 (31:55):
Do you have any favorite
SPEAKER_00 (31:56):
moment or
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
pinch me experience?
SPEAKER_00 (31:59):
I think that when we, when we thought we were
buying food for ourselves tocook and we were trying to be
funny, like what will go, whatwill we not go together at all
and be silly and then we endedup it was taking care of that
lady and getting to know her Ithink that was just huge like
that has stuck with me that thedifference in a tourist and a
traveler has just really stuckwith me since then you know and
even in my life like I don'twant to be a tourist in my own
(32:19):
life you know I want to travelthrough my life and make a
difference and impact people ina good way so I just thought
that was a really good just Imean Disney gives back so much I
mean say what you want to sayabout whatever you don't like
about Disney or whatever you dolike but they do give back and
they do so many things thatimpact communities and impact
people.
And so that I just, it was justa really good reminder of that
(32:40):
for me, that, that pinch meexperience.
And then, I mean, just seeingMachu Picchu, I mean, we've
seen, we've seen several of thewonders where we shouldn't
realize it, but that, I mean,it's almost like you're seeing,
it's almost like you're in likea secret, you know, because it's
like, it was a hidden city forso long.
And then it's like, how doesthis work?
And it's like, you're part ofthis community of people who've
seen it, but still don'tunderstand it, you know?
(33:01):
So it's just neat.
I mean, it really is a wonder.
So those moments were reallyIncredible.
SPEAKER_02 (33:06):
Also about the makeup of your group, like how
many people, were there a lot ofkids, just a couple of kids,
were there single travelers?
SPEAKER_00 (33:13):
Okay, so there was 21 of us, not including the
guides, so 23 total.
There was two guides.
And then, so we were, Jacob andI were a couple without our kids
with us and Nellie and Youngdidn't have their kids with
them.
There were, there was a family,Seth and Rebecca with their two
kids and they were 10 and 12.
And then there were Rick andAnita with their son, Sean.
He was 15.
(33:33):
That was one thing.
He was a little bit, he waswishing there were more
teenagers there and he was theonly one.
But like our Greece trip, therewere like four or five teenagers
that were friends.
So it kind of, they kind of tryto put you with them.
It just depends.
We were a small group.
And then there was a family, twosisters with their, with their
niece and her son.
So like just a different mixedfamily.
And then there were two othercouples.
(33:55):
They were kind of a family.
It was like two sisters withtheir dad and then one of the
sister's husbands.
So like that, there was justlike a little bit of a
multi-generation there.
So that was kind of our makeup.
I would, say there's you knowthere's three families that had
kids with them and then likeseveral of us just couple you
know so it was a really good mixof people but that's why we hit
it off so good with Nellie andYoung because they were 55 but
(34:16):
they were by themselves theirkids weren't there and we're
their kids are like 26 and 28 sothere's they're like we're Jacob
and I are 36 and 38 so just agood dynamic they're just like
good just like high energypeople so it was really fun
group none of the kids wereobnoxious they were all really
sweet and fun and they were theywere all interested in what we
were doing did and causeproblems.
And that's a big deal.
You know, no parent wants totake their kid on a trip like
(34:38):
that and then have an issue.
So once they told us that, youknow, our kids are, you know,
our kids are, well, Chloe justturned six last week, so six and
seven.
And they're like, we wouldaccommodate your kids, even
though if it says eight and up,they'll still let them come.
It's just, you know, your kids.
So they'll take care of yourkids.
But, you know, it was kind ofnice for me to know that,
especially for different clientsto say like, you know, your
kid's seven, it says eight,we'll figure it out.
(35:00):
You know, like Disney wantskids, they really want kids
immersed.
And Lauren even said, you know,look at it, Look at your parents
and tell them thank you becauseeverybody doesn't get to go on
trips like this.
Every kid doesn't get toexperience something like this.
And it was really moving for thekids to realize that just
because they have that lifedoesn't mean everybody else
does.
And so having that culturalimmersion, I think that'll be
really good just as they grow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:20):
Would you recommend Peru as a first-time ABD
experience?
Or do you feel like going toGreece first or doing another
type of trip first and thendoing the second?
was really kind of the betterway to do it
SPEAKER_00 (35:38):
for me since I'm not outdoorsy I think that it was
better for me to do Greece youknow it's just a little bit
easier to be in Europe becausethey speak a little more English
and it's you know it's justeverybody hears about Europe
that's where we want to go inthe United States we all want to
head to Europe you know and Ithink for me it was really good
to see Greece if you're lookingto do something out of your
comfort zone like South Americaand you just don't know how to
(35:59):
do it then yeah I mean that'sthe best way to do it because
you're you're they just tell youwhere to be and what to do so
that's For me, though, yeah,going to Greece first, I was
just like, if we only get one, Iwant to make it a big one.
And Greece was a big one.
And Greece was a good bit moreexpensive and it was longer and
stuff like that.
So I would say Peru is a secondor later trip for sure.
(36:20):
Unless you're like, because ifyou're like real outdoorsy and
like, I would almost sayNational Geographic is so
similar to ABD, I would say,hey, if you're down for whatever
and you're real active andstuff, then like, I mean, hit
that up.
Because that's where you'regoing to like be hiking and
being all, being in the terrainwhere they don't have to hold
your hand, you know, because,you know, they got to make sure
you're good and ABD, more family
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
oriented.
I did have a question about withJacob getting sick.
Did you guys have travelinsurance?
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
So we don't have travel insurance and it ended
up, it was like$375 for the IVsand all the different, the
oxygen and all the stuff he hadto do.
And they told us that ahead oftime.
They were like, here's your menuof options on how to treat this.
I think we will get travelinsurance going forward just in
case because it could have beenreally bad that he had to be
admitted to hospital and thingslike that.
(37:06):
Because we were in Peru, theconversion rate is in our favor.
So it wasn't as expensive.
Then we've never gotten travelinsurance.
But also when we got back, ourdoctor, we have a primary
doctor, and he said ourinsurance would have worked
there.
Our health insurance would haveworked.
It would have just been aprocess to get it figured out,
you know.
So I think we're probably goingto buy like an annual policy.
I mean, we fly three or fourtimes a year.
We, especially me, I mean, I'mon like my 10th or 11th trip of
(37:28):
the year, you know.
So it probably will make sensefor us to go ahead and get a
travel policy just annually.
I would probably not get travelinsurance on an ABD because it's
really expensive for one trip.
It just says, if I'm just beingcompletely honest.
Do
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
you have one piece of advice for someone choosing
between destinations or planningtheir first ABD now that you've
seen a couple?
SPEAKER_00 (37:48):
Yeah, use a travel agent.
I think it matters.
Price matters a lot because welooked at this trip.
I mean, it came down to about$1,000 a person from when we
first looked at different stuffto when we booked it, you know?
So I think price is a big deal,especially for your first one.
Like you don't want to, youdon't want to just like break
the bank.
(38:08):
And then, you know, it's forsomething you're not, you're not
ready for.
Like we would pay whateverbecause we know it's worth it
now.
But I think that price is a hugedifference, a huge difference.
And then time of year, like wewent to Greece in the heat of
the summer and it was miserablyhot.
Like had Greece not been soamazing, that would have taken
away a lot of it.
So I think just realizing thatlike, like Peru, we were there
at the end of winter so we couldwear like jackets and pants.
(38:29):
Like it was nice to know that weweren't going to like just sweat
profusely.
If you're going to do a bunch,price and time of year.
If you're going to do one, thenit's destination.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_02 (38:41):
Yes, it does.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
This has been such a funconversation.
I love hearing about all of theexperiences.
I have an undergrad degree inSpanish, and so I had a lot of
classes that were South Americanhistory.
So all of the things that youwere talking through, it just
sounds so interesting to me.
And I would love to be able togo and experience South America
(39:04):
in general.
And to be honest, I've alwaysbeen a little hesitant because
they have a lot of politicalunrest in general.
And going with Adventures byDisney, I would feel comfortable
going.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
We even asked that about Egypt because there's a
lot of political unrest inEgypt.
And they were like, we have asecurity team.
They'll go with you anytimethere's an issue.
It's just like they are notgoing to let anything happen to
you.
SPEAKER_02 (39:28):
Where can people find you on social media?
Just as a reminder.
SPEAKER_00 (39:33):
Yeah.
On social media, on Facebook, Iam fantasticalvacationsbylindsay
with an A-L-I-N-D-S-A-Y.
And then on Instagram, I'mcastlesandcoastlinestravel.
And then I have a website.
It'scastlesandcoastlinestravel.com.
And that's where I do recaps ofdifferent trips and just explain
different things.
So that's a good resource as faras reading.
And apparently on your podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (39:56):
We love having visitors.
We love having other agents comeon and talk about their
experiences.
I feel like we have such afamily culture you know at our
agency and we
SPEAKER_00 (40:06):
love that reminds me of these ABDs is like the
financial vacations groupbecause like we're all friends
all over the United States andit's like same thing with
Adventure by Disney justextending your friend group you
know real people not justfollowers you know
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
well we love you guys and we appreciate you so
much for coming on and recappingyour trip and thank you we
appreciate it of course it wasfun can't wait for the next one
we hope everyone enjoyed thisepisode as much as we did and
everyone have a fantastic week.
We'll talk to you next week.
Bye! Thanks for tuning in toanother episode of Wonderlust
(40:51):
and Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
Welcome to Wanderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withFantastical Vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wanderlust into reality.
From hidden gems to bucket listadventures, join us as we dive
into the sights, sounds, andstories of our favorite
(00:20):
destinations.
So grab your passport, pack yourbags, and let's embark on this
journey together.
So let's get started.
UNKNOWN (00:30):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (00:33):
Welcome to episode 69, part two of Wanderlust and
Wishes.
If you are new here, we havepart one as the previous
episode, and we're going toresume Lindsay and Jacob's
Adventures by Disney Peruedition.
We are starting off with MachuPicchu and the end of their
(00:53):
trip.
So if you'd like to hear thefirst half, just head back to
the previous episode and listenbefore you listen to this one.
SPEAKER_01 (01:02):
So with Machu Picchu, you we had to get up
early take the bus into town sothe train literally goes by our
hotel like really nearby that wecould probably walk to and take
the train but if we got on thetrain there we would have to get
on it at like four in themorning or something crazy early
so instead we got up at like sixand took the bus a couple of
(01:23):
train stops up and took thetrain from there and so that was
I mean again that's the theDisney difference is they know
we're gonna let y'all sleep anextra couple hours so they don't
have to sit on this train for anextra couple of hours because
they also have to take somelocal people between different
stops and stuff.
So we got to experience a trainride.
That
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
was so fun.
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
Lindsay loves trains.
SPEAKER_00 (01:43):
I just don't get to go on them very much, you know?
So it was like, we all had ourown little compartments and it
was like, there's, we're two andtwo sitting across from each
other with a table between.
So it was already comfortable.
They had, they provided us thesesnack boxes that you could, you
know, like when you can like buylike train or plane food, it was
that they had provided.
And then they were like, all ofa sudden Rudy and Lauren, those
were our two guides.
(02:03):
They were like come on we'regonna go to the back of the
train there's a party and we'relike okay so we all run back
there and there's like people inmasks like peruvian masks and
there's like a whole band thereand they're like singing songs
and we're all dancing andplaying and you can stand at the
back of the train and like takephotos which is kind of like i
mean you're like in the back ofthe train it's going so fast
you're like like a wind tunnelbut it's really cool just to see
(02:24):
that we all just danced and hungout and played for like an hour
we were all really tired andsweaty but it was really fun
like just to kind of pass thetime because there's a Also, we
were able to see all thedifferent, the water levels were
real low.
So it was really neat to see allthat and see some rapids and the
mountains, the glacier.
We could see that really well.
What's the name of the glacier?
Veronica.
Veronica was the name of theglacier we kept seeing.
(02:46):
And so that was neat.
It was like a whole thing.
We're like, there's Veronica.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:50):
And the cool thing about the train is it was kind
of like a big glass box.
I mean, obviously it wasstructured better than that, but
there's windows everywhere.
So as you're going again throughthis valley, and as we get
closer to Machu Picchu, that'skind of where it transitions.
to like the Amazon rainforest.
I don't want to say it's likedesert-y mountain where we were,
but it wasn't super luscious andgreen.
SPEAKER_00 (03:11):
Right, it wasn't like forest-y.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Yeah, and so as we're getting deeper into this,
like we just get more and moreforest and then you're
surrounded by these hugemountains that go straight up
and down pretty much and there'strees like growing out the side
of them.
And again, you're down in thebottom of this valley just
surrounded by mountains goingthrough it.
It's the same.
I feel like I'm in a movie likejust going
SPEAKER_00 (03:29):
through stuff
SPEAKER_01 (03:30):
like that.
The scenery is...
Incredible.
SPEAKER_00 (03:34):
And that's the thing is like with ABD, the
transportation is so fun.
It's fun.
It's well done.
It's efficient.
There's always food and they'realways teaching you something,
you know, so you're never, youknow, when you travel a lot of
times, it's like, okay, we havetwo hours to drive.
I just get your iPads out andfigure it out.
It wasn't that way.
It was like, let's learnsomething.
Let's be entertained.
Let's do something.
So it was never a big deal forus to travel within these
(03:55):
locations because it was justreally well done.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
Yeah.
So we finished the train ride.
Like she said, it was actuallypretty enjoyable.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
(04:33):
and don't realize that you haveto buy tickets to go see Machu
Picchu.
And so they'll wait.
SPEAKER_00 (04:38):
Hours.
SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
Hours.
And then sometimes you may getthere and that may be sold out
for the entire day.
Yeah.
And so people go there and thenthey're just stuck.
They either have to go back orthey have to find a hotel, which
I can't imagine the prices ofthose hotels, and stay a day or
two just hoping they get ticketsto go see Machu Picchu.
SPEAKER_00 (04:54):
And then after you get tickets, you have to wait
several hours for a bus to takeyou up unless you want to do the
two-hour on-foot hike to getthere, which is...
No thanks.
No.
terrible we will do it it's likea whole thing but when we got
there we had there there's likea lodge up there like a hotel
type thing and it's just reallyreally fancy but they have a
restaurant so we had full accessto the buffet at that lodge so
(05:16):
like we were since we had towait a couple hours we were able
to eat and just kind of settleand they made sure we had water
and one thing about it is thatthere's nowhere to go to the
bathroom whenever you get upthere so we went like whenever
you get into Machu Picchu sothey made sure we were all like
we had water we were going tothe bathroom all that kind of
stuff so so this is kind of whateverybody was waiting for
(05:36):
whenever like we went to Perubecause Chris told us we should
and the price worked out buteverybody went to see Machu
Picchu and we were not obviouslywe're there we're excited about
Machu Picchu but we didn't knowmuch about it at all honestly
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
it's like one of the wonders of the world seven new
wonders you've seen you've seenpictures of it but
SPEAKER_00 (05:51):
but I see I thought of everybody thinks of it as
being like the mountains and Ididn't think of it as being like
the ruins and so that was justincredible I mean we got to go
we split up into two differentgroups and we had an extra guy
with us that was like from Peru.
And we got to, I mean, we got togo really in depth into the
ruins.
They told us about whateverything was.
I mean, they have done so muchstudy on what, where everything
(06:15):
was, where the palace was, whereagriculture happened.
It was just really, reallyinteresting.
I mean, we learned so much aboutthe Incan culture and about
their defense systems and whythey put it there.
I mean, it's so strategic whatthey did because they didn't
find it for a really long time.
I mean, they never even finishedit because of the Spanish.
But it took them a long time tobe found.
So just the way that they wereable to get those rocks up there
(06:37):
and just the systems that theyuse with like out what we love
to talk about modern technology.
I mean, it was just, it was awonder.
I mean, it is.
It's insane.
It is.
Thinking about how
SPEAKER_02 (06:47):
they do it.
Like it is like a mystery.
Like how, seriously, how didthey do this?
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
It is.
And just to see it firsthand,being there and seeing
everything is, I mean, if wetold you what we were, you don't
know what you're looking at, butsince we've seen it, I mean, it
was just really, reallyinspiring.
SPEAKER_01 (07:02):
So to me, I will say before we even get all the way
up into Machu Picchu, my newworst job ever besides it is now
the people that drive the busesup and down this mountain.
It's just a switchback.
It's like maybe a 20-minuteswitchback journey.
SPEAKER_00 (07:19):
On these huge buses.
SPEAKER_01 (07:21):
Like the huge tour bus size buses, like the big
Greyhound buses.
And there's not really enoughroom to even pass each other
when they pass.
Oh my
SPEAKER_02 (07:29):
gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (07:29):
I'm going to have a heart attack.
There's no guardrails.
There's no anything.
And I have developed a fear ofheights in my later years, I
guess.
SPEAKER_00 (07:37):
Since he's old now.
SPEAKER_01 (07:38):
I don't know where it came from.
But yeah, it was just a flopsweat all the way up and down
this whole time.
SPEAKER_00 (07:47):
And also people are waiting like hours for these
buses.
And we had a VIP bus justwaiting for us already as soon
as we were ready because we'rewith Disney.
So we didn't have to even juststanding there watching.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
Yeah, they're like, here's the line.
We have to wait about four and ahalf hours for the
SPEAKER_00 (08:00):
bus.
Or you're like, meh.
They're like, Jessica.
You're kidding.
You're with Adventures byDisney.
(08:33):
Like, I don't know.
It's just hard.
It's hard.
We felt a lot of that in Greece,too, where we were like what we
were looking at.
We're like we're looking atCaldera and like looking at
volcanoes.
And it was just like, this isamazing.
And that's like that's whattravel is for us to see things
that are worth seeing, you know,more than just our normal
weekend trips.
So that's kind of why we like tolook at other countries.
SPEAKER_01 (08:51):
Yeah.
So after that, we took the trainback into town and it got I
think it was maybe right atsunset or so whenever we got on.
So it turned dark during ourtrain ride and stuff.
And they did the Same thing withthe dance party.
They had the dance party again.
I don't think I did it this
SPEAKER_00 (09:06):
time.
We didn't do it again.
I was exhausted.
We were all tired.
We had been hiking and stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
I did this little fashion train.
This is my new job.
SPEAKER_00 (09:11):
I was asleep for them.
Lindsay
SPEAKER_01 (09:13):
was asleep.
I was like, this is me.
And they had people like runwaymodeling on the train, all
different like Peruvian clothes.
Yeah.
You could buy it
SPEAKER_00 (09:23):
and stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
Yeah, you could.
It was super expensive.
But like Seth and Rebecca weresitting across from us, across
the aisle from us.
And they were doing this thinglike every single time.
Like they would walk down oneway and then they would like
flip the outfit around, liketurn it inside out or like unzip
part of it.
And it was like a completelydifferent outfit.
And every time we were justlike, oh, like this dress turns
(09:46):
into a scarf and the scarf turnsinto a sweater and it's like
transformation clothes.
And we just like hyped it upreally big.
It
SPEAKER_00 (09:53):
was
SPEAKER_01 (09:53):
really.
And I was like, you know, if Iever decide like engineering is
not for me, my new calling is tobe a train runway model.
SPEAKER_03 (10:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:02):
I think I could do it, you know, maybe in my next
life.
That's what I'll do is be atrain runway model.
I didn't know that was an optionfor me.
They didn't tell me that inschool.
My parents never taught me that.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
But here it is.
SPEAKER_01 (10:12):
But here it is.
SPEAKER_02 (10:13):
Great marketing because you're stuck there on
the train watching that.
People are
SPEAKER_00 (10:18):
buying stuff.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
They have to look at me.
Yeah, they do.
Unless they're asleep likeLindsay.
SPEAKER_00 (10:22):
I was.
I got out of it.
Well, anyway, we got back and wehad a little bit of a bus ride
by the hotel, but it was thesame thing as like, here's some
restaurants in the hotel.
Just go eat what you want andit's taken care of.
So that was nice.
But this is when everything wentdownhill a bit because Jacob was
like, he wasn't feeling great.
And I was like, I'm going to goon down to dinner and I'll just
come down when you're ready.
And by the time he got downthere, he was like not feeling
(10:43):
good.
So he didn't really eat.
So we kind of cut it short andjust went back to the hotel and
tried to get him feeling better.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
this is
SPEAKER_01 (10:51):
where the whole trip went drastically downhill for
SPEAKER_00 (10:54):
me.
But just for Jacob.
So I'll have to recap the lasttwo days.
But he wasn't feeling good.
So he wasn't able to participatein the next day but I will say
that like we we were changinghotels because we were in the
Sacred Valley this whole time inCusco so we were going to go to
the city of Cusco the next dayand it was about an hour and a
half bus ride which it was justbad timing because Jacob
(11:15):
couldn't just stay in the roomall day and sleep because he had
to switch hotels we checked outlike eight but he was able they
were him and another guy wereboth sick and we don't know if
it was water we don't reallyknow what it was or if it's just
like a traveling something sothey were able to stay till 12
and then they had a private busa private like van come get
Jacob and the other guy his andtake him back to the next hotel
and get him settled and checkedin and then like be good to go.
(11:38):
I mean, they told us that everysingle day somebody gets sick
from the altitude or something.
So like they even have a wholemenu for like gastro issues or
for like altitude sickness, likein all the hotel room services.
So like they're prepared forpeople to get sick because it's
a different altitude.
But I just went on aheadbecause, and that's, that is
this, like even as an agent,this is like my selling point
for ABD because I would not havegone out into Cusco by myself
(12:02):
if, We were on a trip together,just the two of us planned out
together.
I just stayed in the room withJacob and just missed it.
You know what I mean?
Because I just, I'm just not,I'm not big on just as a, as a
girl.
I'm not just out like, you know,exploring by myself with no map,
you know, no matter what I'm areason.
So that was, but ABD, you know,they were like, we'll take care
of Jacob.
Come on with us.
Like I'd made all these friends.
(12:23):
So like Nellie and Young, theywere like, yeah, you're, you're
our kid for the day.
We'll just, you'll be with us.
And I was friends with all thesepeople already.
So it was like nothing for me tojust pick up and, you know,
continue the trip.
And every hour they werechecking on Jacob and Rick and
seeing if they were feelingbetter.
They were sending food to theroom.
You know, they were really liketaking care of them.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
With the sickness stuff, it was brutal.
I'm not going to go into a bunchof details because I know this
is not what the fans have signedup for to listen on your
podcast.
But just to give you an exampleof it, like, it was so bad.
I was, I had to stay withinwalking distance of a toilet for
hours straight.
For two straight days.
For two straight days, prettymuch.
And so the reason I didn't gowith Lindsay and them on the
(13:00):
tour is because they were makingtwo or three stops on the way to
the toilet.
And I was like, I don't think Ican physically make it.
Like, I was like, I almostasked, like, is there somewhere
I can buy like adult diapers orsomething?
Because I don't know how I'mgoing to move.
And I will say the only thingthat practically saved my life
there is they have the bidettoilets.
And so it literally life changerfor me was being able to have
(13:23):
that.
But when we got to the newplace, I couldn't eat and drink.
I hadn't been able to keepanything down.
And I was like, I have to see adoctor.
Like, something is wrong.
And so they brought the doctorin to take my vitals and they're
like, you just need to come intothe hospital.
And
SPEAKER_00 (13:38):
they took him to, they brought the doctor to the
hotel and our Rudy, our guide, Imean, he translated and made
sure we weren't being like, thatwe knew what we were getting and
what was going on.
It was really helpful.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Yeah.
So they took me to the hotel.
They put an IV on me.
They gave me oxygen.
They gave me a bunch ofdifferent medicines and kind of
got me back up to speed enoughthat I could start to drink like
their electrolyte mixture thatthey gave me just to try to
survive.
And so they ended up getting meback to like living.
And then I went back to thehotel.
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
I wasn't going to die, but yeah, it was really
bad.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
I mean, honestly, like I was so dehydrated.
It could get there.
SPEAKER_00 (14:14):
It was like six or seven bags of fluids I put in
him.
SPEAKER_01 (14:17):
Yeah.
I couldn't drink or eat or doanything.
And so I went back to the hoteland then I hung out there the
entire next day while Lindsayagain went out with the group
and I would just order food,electrolytes.
The guys are checking on me thewhole time.
Yeah.
It was, it was a really roughexperience.
I can't imagine what it wouldhave been like if we were alone.
SPEAKER_00 (14:35):
And also like Nellie and Young, they like came and
picked me up from the hospitalbecause I didn't want to Uber by
myself.
And so like they came andchecked, even though the guides
would have done that, but theywere, everybody was like, how's
Jacob doing?
What can we do?
And like some of the kids hadgotten sick.
Like there was, I think fivepeople total that got sick while
we were there.
So we're all just taking care ofeach other, like a little
community, you know, making sureeverybody's okay.
People are asking me if I'mgood.
People are getting, I misseddinner because I was at the
(14:57):
hospital with Jacob.
So they're like bringing mefood.
You really make friends withthese people.
I at the end of it when you'reit's a different type of
experience because people reallyreally care and they're all
there they're all there to seesomething and to experience
something really amazing it'snot just to see the sights it's
to like develop relationshipsand get immersed fully into the
culture so that was reallyreally cool
SPEAKER_01 (15:17):
yeah so that was the end of the trip for me waddled
to the airport and just survivedto getting home
SPEAKER_00 (15:23):
I was like I don't care what happens you were
getting on that plane we weregoing home
SPEAKER_01 (15:27):
yeah so that was that was a rough end for me
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
and when we got home he went to the doctor and we got
all sorted out and it was funYeah,
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
it still took me a couple of days after I got home
to get back to normal, but.
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
But he didn't miss water water rafting.
He didn't miss Machu Picchu, so.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (15:39):
I got to see the stuff that I really wanted to
do.
I'll let Lindsay fill in all thegaps, but that's it for me.
So I'll let y'all, if y'all haveany questions specifically for
me.
SPEAKER_00 (15:47):
Yeah, maybe we should answer those.
SPEAKER_01 (15:48):
We can do that and then I'll let Lindsay finish it
out.
SPEAKER_02 (15:51):
I think he kind of answered it earlier on.
We had a question about, youknow, the first trip, Lindsay
kind of had to talk you into,or, you know, she had to do some
schmoozing to get you to go, youknow, on the Greece trip.
And for this one, you know, didyour perspective change where it
was, you were all in, like,yeah, we're going.
(16:11):
And there wasn't any kind ofhaving to talk you into it this
time around to go to Peru.
SPEAKER_01 (16:16):
No, this one, it was just figuring out where we were
going to go, not whether it wasgoing to be ABD or not.
Like I was, there wasn't anyhesitation because I guess all
my hesitation was answered inthe first trip.
So to me, it like actually beinga good trip that has everything
that I wanted in it that wasconfirmed I think the only
hesitation was like I kind ofhad this weird doubt like maybe
(16:37):
Greece was special maybe that'snot how it always is and maybe
that's the best trip thatthey've ever done we happen to
be a part of it and now we'resuckered in always chasing that
trip but this one was just asgood in different ways
SPEAKER_00 (16:50):
you made probably more connections this trip
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
yeah maybe more connections this trip it was
really good so I didn't have anyhesitations going into this one
I won't have any hesitationsabout ABD into the future ones
either just a matter of whenwhere and if we can get the
price to match mm-hmm
SPEAKER_02 (17:06):
If you could do any of the itineraries, what are
your top two on your list now?
SPEAKER_01 (17:11):
Right now, really, I think South Africa and Egypt are
some of the top ones on us.
South Africa, I think we'retrying to plan for like 2028
with some friends.
That
SPEAKER_00 (17:20):
have kids already.
They're our kids' ages.
SPEAKER_01 (17:22):
Yeah, trying to get the kids old enough.
I would love to do that one.
I actually just talked to a guythat I play pickleball with, and
he said he went to South Africa,not with ABD, but he was telling
us how amazing it was.
Seth and Rebecca just did the
SPEAKER_00 (17:34):
ABD.
With their kids, yeah, and theywere 10.
They said that like, the lodgesyou stay at are like the nicest
hotels I've ever been to becauseyou know people worry about that
like going on safari and beinglike intent but it's not like
Disney has it all ready for youalso we were talking about like
Iceland or Switzerland becauseeverybody we know that's been to
Switzerland for like a quickcruise stop has been like it's
amazing breathtaking so we justwe like we like going to we
(17:55):
liked that we went to a newcontinent this time so we're
kind of interested in hitting anew continent which is why we're
so big on Africa as far as Egyptor South Africa goes yeah Egypt
might be one that the kids maynot care about as much So
they're much, much older.
And
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
I would love to eventually hit Asia, but I
think...
SPEAKER_00 (18:10):
Yeah, we're going to go to China because it hits both
of the Disneyland's.
That's a great place.
That's a great way to go to theChina Disneyland.
SPEAKER_01 (18:18):
That is not my intention.
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
It is my intention.
SPEAKER_01 (18:21):
You
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
need to get on the adventure cruise ship, Jacob.
SPEAKER_03 (18:27):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (18:28):
yeah.
He promised me already, we willgo on every single cruise ship
in our lifetime.
So I'm ready.
I want to do it like this year,but he's like, in our lifetime.
SPEAKER_01 (18:36):
Yeah.
So I eventually want to do Asia,but I think that's a little bit
out of our travel culture andwhat we're ready for.
SPEAKER_00 (18:42):
ABD would be the way to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:43):
Yeah, ABD would be it.
I want to do that, but probablynot until we do like another one
or two.
That's not in the immediatefuture, but in the distant
future.
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
Cool.
Well, thank you, Jacob.
SPEAKER_00 (18:54):
Yes, thank
SPEAKER_01 (18:54):
you.
Sorry, I have to cut it short.
Y'all enjoying your time
SPEAKER_00 (18:57):
with Lindsay?
That's okay.
I'm famous anyway.
SPEAKER_01 (19:00):
I mean, you're no Tupac.
SPEAKER_00 (19:01):
That's true.
See y'all.
Have a good one.
Bye, Jacob.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Okay.
So since you heard all ofJacob's situation, he did not
come on the next few days.
So I'll just kind of coverthose.
But again, I felt reallycomfortable going because I was
with my friends, you know, and Iwas with the guys and it was,
everything was still plannedout.
(19:21):
So, I mean, just like our friendMelissa went to Greece by
herself, you don't have to havea big group to make it work.
So that was really cool.
So this is one I was really sadJacob missed because it was, the
whole day was like called Locofor llamas.
So he went to this.
Oh, he missed the llamas.
He missed the llama, but we hadseen llamas.
was a thousand times on thetrip.
But it was, I think it wascalled like the Camelid Center.
And it was basically where likeyou got to go see another place
(19:43):
where they use the differentwool to do the weaving and the
demonstration.
So we got to see that.
But we also had like a Kipurepresentation ceremony where
they just, it just talked aboutlike, it's more religious as far
as Peru goes.
And we got to see kind of howthey worship.
They call it Pachamama.
And that's like their mothernature version.
And so you're supposed to giveback every time.
(20:04):
So like if you take a sip, youjust give a little back to
another nature or if you'recooking in the ground that's
part of giving back to mothernature it was just that was
their big kind of ceremonialjust their religion i guess but
it was just part of it so theirspiritual circumstance i guess
so that was neat to just be ableto see that they gave us these
souvenirs and it's just likeyarn but it's not yarn but it's
made out of something butthey've like tied knots so like
(20:25):
every time they would experiencesomething cool they would like
tie a knot and it wouldrepresent something that they
experienced kind of like our wayof taking like having like photo
albums it's like a kind of anancient ritual that they would
do so you know you have thislike keeping and it's like this
is this this represents thistrip to Greece and this is this
not represent this stuff so it'sjust like a really neat way for
them to just savor theirexperiences and then we went to
(20:46):
a restaurant in Peru in Cuscoand it was just like a
restaurant they've gotten toknow really know the owners of
the restaurant and they wereable to just feed us all this
different food I mean it's a lotof it's always going to be like
a bunch of different meats abunch of different vegetables
that are all like local to Peruand then they would have like
tamales or all the differentbreads and desserts and stuff
like that so it was just All thefood was really, really good.
(21:07):
These last two days were verymuch just like exploring the
city and doing littleexperiences.
So I kind of told Jacob, if youhad to miss two days, these were
probably the days to miss.
They weren't like lesser by anymeans.
They just weren't like, itwasn't Machu Picchu.
You know what I mean?
It wasn't whitewater rafting,stuff like that.
So we did a lot of that as faras like sightseeing, going into
different restaurants, goinginto this bar to kind of see
(21:30):
some of the drinks that theydrink.
And a lot of times they do barsduring the beginning of the day.
So it's like they kind of justsit there and drink all day and
then because they all go to bedearly so they have a big dinner
and go to bed so nobody's likehung over the next morning it's
just a different type of culturesimilar to Greece and how all
their meals are like it's a it'sa it's an event the meal is the
event for the day it's not justlike a quick you know eating at
your counter getting the food inyour body real quick so you can
(21:52):
move on to the next thing it's amuch more it's a very hard
working culture but they are asavoring type culture if that
makes sense yeah okay so therewas a city called it's called
Saxomon I can't remember exactlyhow to say it but Rudy would say
And it literally sounded like hewas saying sexy woman.
And he was kind of doing it onpurpose because it was like sexy
woman.
(22:12):
And but it's like we keptjoking.
So we found a sign that saidthat's all the girls like took a
photo in front of it, you know.
And it was like there are thoselike 200 ton stones.
They were they were like movingthem miles and miles of no
modern machinery.
And they were explaining likethe ruins.
And we were able to see likepanoramic views of it.
And we even got to there wasthere was like an old amusement
(22:33):
park type thing with like slidesand stuff.
And we got to like.
actually get up there on therocks and slide down and just
like play and have fun.
So that was a cool way of seeingthe ruins.
They always like, they reallyincorporate what the people were
doing, what they did for fun,what they were doing to eat and
to sleep and how they, just howthey lived.
So that was really neat to seethat.
And then we wandered around overto a man's house where they had,
(22:55):
they have just like a contractwith him.
He played like over 26 differentinstruments and he had made, he
made instruments.
And yeah, like his whole life hedid that.
His son was with him because hedidn't speak English, but he
would like show us an instrumentHe made and he would play it for
us.
And it was just anything fromlike shaking something to like
hitting it a little bit to adrum to like these huge flutes
and guitars.
I mean, just all these things.
And then we got to make theseflutes.
(23:17):
They were had like fivedifferent little sticks.
And then there's someone on topand they showed us how to play
like happy birthday.
And just that was really, reallyneat just to sit there and kind
of have like a mini concert witha man who had taught himself how
to create and play all of thesedifferent instruments.
And that was just neat.
It was in his home.
It was just on the terrace ofhis home.
And although That's sointeresting.
(23:37):
Yes.
How do they find these randompeople?
They just do so much.
I mean, because Disney just goesinto these cities and they
really find the experiences thatare going to actually make you
feel like you were a part of itor a part of the culture.
You know, I feel like it'snothing that I would ever just
you can't just Google like Peru.
It's like ChatGPT is not goingto throw you this man's house to
go.
(23:57):
Right.
Yeah.
And it's so great like being atravel agent because it's like
it makes me look deeper intothese destinations and it makes
me really seek out experiencesthat are once in a lifetime
because we may never go back toPeru but we will always have
these memories and we reallyfeel like we we went there we
saw we did and we experiencedyou know and that's that is so
(24:18):
meaningful when you're whenyou're paying the money you're
paying you want it to be youwant to feel like you got the
whole package you know
SPEAKER_02 (24:25):
yeah
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
and then pretty much the rest of the afternoon was
kind of on our own so we went wewent swimming at the hotel and
hung out and just did a few dida few of those things just to
kind of hang out with each otherand Jacob was so I'm just really
not feeling good so I waschecking on him and everybody
was checking on him we were likethey were coming we had people
were bringing him like Zofran inthe middle of the night I mean
it was just oh that was huge Imean and I hated they got sick I
(24:46):
mean it was terrible but if hehad to be sick on a trip Disney
taking care of you on that tripwas I mean it was just there's
no words to describe how much Iappreciate people checking on us
and taking care of us and thesame with like Rebecca and Seska
had been got sick and we're alllike is he good everything fine
like how are we doing you knowit's just they had oxygen at the
ready for people that needed itit's just they know that we're
(25:07):
like we're from the UnitedStates so like the altitude I
mean there's altitude issuesplaces in the United States but
nothing like this you knownothing like this 11,000 12,000
feet and they just prepared usso much even the first few days
they were like drink a ton ofwater don't drink any alcohol I
mean they prepare you for thetrip yeah so that I mean this is
pretty that's pretty much whatwe did when he was gone and then
the last night was our our bigdinner it was our Peruvian feast
(25:31):
but it was like in the hotel andit was in this huge like
conference area and they broughtin like dancers and there's
there's always like there'salways like god type dancers and
like kings or queens and likeprince and princess and warriors
and like they came in and theydid all these dances and this
production for us just for usit's like a private show we got
to like take pictures with themafterwards they pulled all of us
up to dance and do a limbo andjust play you know and it was
(25:54):
just a big celebration of ourtrip and that's the same the
thing they did in greece they wehad this a bunch of dancers and
performers and then we got tointeract and play and dance it
was just a big celebration ofour time together and there were
a relationships we had built andthe culture we had experienced
and just I mean it's just awhole different setup and the
food was buffet style so it wasjust amazing any kind of meat
(26:16):
you think of huge salad barsvegetables and just something
for everyone I mean you couldand we were just bursting at the
seams we were never even hungryfor meals it was like we had
just eaten so much at thebeginning at the meal before but
it was like yeah let's do thislet's experience but it's also
such it's such whole it'sthey're all whole foods and it's
all organic and it's just likelocally sourced and grown.
(26:37):
So you just don't feel liketrash.
You feel very full, but youdon't feel like you're
preserved, like the body, yourbody's preserved with processed
food.
You don't feel
SPEAKER_02 (26:43):
like inflammation, like
SPEAKER_00 (26:45):
that.
Absolutely not.
No, no.
And it goes away and then you'reready for the next thing, you
know?
So it's just a different way ofeating.
And there's just, there's ahealth factor there.
That's as far as our food goes,as far as like just eating the
whole foods that that'ssomething that I missed.
Like, and I, me and Nellie werejoking.
Like I was like, I only gainedone pound while I was gone and I
ate enough food for like 10people every day.
And it was just, it's just causeit's different.
(27:05):
I mean, it's the pace here isjust different in America than
it is in other most othercountries so that was really
neat then one of my favoriteparts of ABD is we went to this
they had this other room withlike a projector set up the same
thing as in Greece so Lauren andRudy had taken pictures and
videos of us the entire time andlike they'll go off and they
(27:25):
make this video it's like a 10minute video maybe 15 minutes
but it's got all the picturesall the videos all the
experiences and we get to justwatch our whole trip all
together as a group you knowwe're all crying and we're like
laughing and loving each otherand we're cheering when somebody
comes up on the screen and likewe're oohing and aahing when the
cute people because they havethe couples kissing a lot you
know just being sweet and thekids playing and having fun so
(27:47):
we just got to like see a recapof our trip and they give you
that video at the end so we gothome and showed our kids
immediately and they wanted tosee everything and they're a
little too young to go on a lotof them but they love watching
the videos and that's they doevery I mean as far as I know
they did it for every ABDbecause we did it in Greece and
we have that so I mean it's ahuge keepsake I mean not having
to take your own photos and thephotos are good quality I mean
(28:07):
they're professionalphotographers and they they just
I don't know how they guide ustake care of us make these
videos put it all together inthe end for us to do it on the
last day but they do and they doit flawlessly and it is it's so
special but we stayed in therean extra like two hours Jacob
did come to dinner because hedidn't eat but he came down they
brought him some like speciallike specific soup and some like
(28:28):
um keiko tea just to kind oflike see if he could get
something in his system becausehe didn't want to miss the last
day and he struggled throughthat last meal because he was so
sick I mean he wasn't taste oranything so you could hang out
and it was it was just reallygreat and we stayed another like
two hours to just talking topeople and not wanting to say
goodbye not wanting to leave andwe were getting up the next
morning like really early on thefirst bus with everyone and then
(28:48):
there was a big group thatstayed and took like a later
flight because I will say withPeru you have to fly either
overnight like seven at nightlike to the next morning or you
have to fly like super superearly and then get there so like
it's basically like I mean wedidn't have a time difference
we're central time and they aretoo but like we had to fly from
Lima from Cusco to Lima thenLima to Atlanta then Atlanta to
Birmingham because we always doDelta and they are Atlanta's
(29:10):
their hub so we had a whole dayof flying so we left and then a
lot of them stayed after andwe're all in our WhatsApp group
and they're talking about lunchand we're like oh we have FOMO
we wish we were still there youknow and so now every time like
I was at HomeGoods the other dayand I saw like a couple of like
Peruvian things and I like I wasjust like send a picture to the
WhatsApp group we all startgoing off and talking to each
(29:31):
other and oh there's one morething I didn't talk about before
the dinner we had gone to thisother market it's not a farmer's
market it was more like a goodsmarket like a little Chinatown
and we they were like we'regonna play white elephant so
here's 20 soles and he was likejust find something like some
kind of souvenir and we'll do itand then at the at the farewell
dinner we like we played thewhite elephant or the secret
(29:52):
Santa whatever you want to callit and so everybody would pick a
gift and we would steal and soeverybody got like a little
keepsake that somebody else hadpurchased and some of them were
like funny like a bull like welike we bought like a bull and
like a mirror and then somebodypeople bought like a Cusco hat
and some people bought like amug I I mean, so you've got like
a cool souvenir and that waslike just like a fun game.
It was like having Christmaswith your family, you know.
So we have all those littlekeepsakes to remember.
(30:13):
And I mean, we probably talk.
I mean, I talk to a couple ofpeople separately, but like all
the time.
But we probably talk in thatgroup at least once or twice a
week still.
And it's I mean, it's beenseveral weeks since we left.
So I think it'll be we were alltalking about where we all want
to go.
We're all going to try to do ittogether the next one if it
works every schedule.
So it'll be cool just as we dothese ABDs to just, you know, we
(30:33):
have friends all over the UnitedStates now.
And from there, we have themfrom Greece.
Now we have more.
So it'll be cool to get ourGreece friends and our Peru
friends, you know, just meshpeople because it's kind of my
thing.
I
SPEAKER_02 (30:43):
think it's very, I don't know what the word,
poignant maybe, that the wholelike dinner at the end and one
of Walt's things was tyingemotion to, you know, your
memories.
And that's how you make greatmemories.
And that's how you keep peoplecoming back to whatever it is.
(31:05):
whatever the experience is thatyou're offering.
And that although it's notDisneyland or Disney World, it's
still using that foundation thatWalt Disney set that he wants to
tie emotion into the experienceso that you truly enjoy it and
you truly remember it forever.
It's
SPEAKER_00 (31:25):
true.
And that's what they do.
I mean, that's why the price tagdoesn't scare us anymore.
I mean, because we know thatthere's value there.
And I will say that I havepriced out different ABD trips
like hotel and because you stayat like five-star hotels, so
hotel versus food versuseverything.
And I mean, it's not worth it tome to save$500 to$1,500 and not
do the Adventure by Disneyexperience.
(31:46):
You know, it's just, it'sdefinitely worth it to me to
upgrade to something that'sgoing to be, that's going to
change our lives, not just goingto entertain us for a week, like
you said.
SPEAKER_02 (31:55):
Do you have any favorite
SPEAKER_00 (31:56):
moment or
SPEAKER_02 (31:57):
pinch me experience?
SPEAKER_00 (31:59):
I think that when we, when we thought we were
buying food for ourselves tocook and we were trying to be
funny, like what will go, whatwill we not go together at all
and be silly and then we endedup it was taking care of that
lady and getting to know her Ithink that was just huge like
that has stuck with me that thedifference in a tourist and a
traveler has just really stuckwith me since then you know and
even in my life like I don'twant to be a tourist in my own
(32:19):
life you know I want to travelthrough my life and make a
difference and impact people ina good way so I just thought
that was a really good just Imean Disney gives back so much I
mean say what you want to sayabout whatever you don't like
about Disney or whatever you dolike but they do give back and
they do so many things thatimpact communities and impact
people.
And so that I just, it was justa really good reminder of that
(32:40):
for me, that, that pinch meexperience.
And then, I mean, just seeingMachu Picchu, I mean, we've
seen, we've seen several of thewonders where we shouldn't
realize it, but that, I mean,it's almost like you're seeing,
it's almost like you're in likea secret, you know, because it's
like, it was a hidden city forso long.
And then it's like, how doesthis work?
And it's like, you're part ofthis community of people who've
seen it, but still don'tunderstand it, you know?
(33:01):
So it's just neat.
I mean, it really is a wonder.
So those moments were reallyIncredible.
SPEAKER_02 (33:06):
Also about the makeup of your group, like how
many people, were there a lot ofkids, just a couple of kids,
were there single travelers?
SPEAKER_00 (33:13):
Okay, so there was 21 of us, not including the
guides, so 23 total.
There was two guides.
And then, so we were, Jacob andI were a couple without our kids
with us and Nellie and Youngdidn't have their kids with
them.
There were, there was a family,Seth and Rebecca with their two
kids and they were 10 and 12.
And then there were Rick andAnita with their son, Sean.
He was 15.
(33:33):
That was one thing.
He was a little bit, he waswishing there were more
teenagers there and he was theonly one.
But like our Greece trip, therewere like four or five teenagers
that were friends.
So it kind of, they kind of tryto put you with them.
It just depends.
We were a small group.
And then there was a family, twosisters with their, with their
niece and her son.
So like just a different mixedfamily.
And then there were two othercouples.
(33:55):
They were kind of a family.
It was like two sisters withtheir dad and then one of the
sister's husbands.
So like that, there was justlike a little bit of a
multi-generation there.
So that was kind of our makeup.
I would, say there's you knowthere's three families that had
kids with them and then likeseveral of us just couple you
know so it was a really good mixof people but that's why we hit
it off so good with Nellie andYoung because they were 55 but
(34:16):
they were by themselves theirkids weren't there and we're
their kids are like 26 and 28 sothere's they're like we're Jacob
and I are 36 and 38 so just agood dynamic they're just like
good just like high energypeople so it was really fun
group none of the kids wereobnoxious they were all really
sweet and fun and they were theywere all interested in what we
were doing did and causeproblems.
And that's a big deal.
You know, no parent wants totake their kid on a trip like
(34:38):
that and then have an issue.
So once they told us that, youknow, our kids are, you know,
our kids are, well, Chloe justturned six last week, so six and
seven.
And they're like, we wouldaccommodate your kids, even
though if it says eight and up,they'll still let them come.
It's just, you know, your kids.
So they'll take care of yourkids.
But, you know, it was kind ofnice for me to know that,
especially for different clientsto say like, you know, your
kid's seven, it says eight,we'll figure it out.
(35:00):
You know, like Disney wantskids, they really want kids
immersed.
And Lauren even said, you know,look at it, Look at your parents
and tell them thank you becauseeverybody doesn't get to go on
trips like this.
Every kid doesn't get toexperience something like this.
And it was really moving for thekids to realize that just
because they have that lifedoesn't mean everybody else
does.
And so having that culturalimmersion, I think that'll be
really good just as they grow.
SPEAKER_02 (35:20):
Would you recommend Peru as a first-time ABD
experience?
Or do you feel like going toGreece first or doing another
type of trip first and thendoing the second?
was really kind of the betterway to do it
SPEAKER_00 (35:38):
for me since I'm not outdoorsy I think that it was
better for me to do Greece youknow it's just a little bit
easier to be in Europe becausethey speak a little more English
and it's you know it's justeverybody hears about Europe
that's where we want to go inthe United States we all want to
head to Europe you know and Ithink for me it was really good
to see Greece if you're lookingto do something out of your
comfort zone like South Americaand you just don't know how to
(35:59):
do it then yeah I mean that'sthe best way to do it because
you're you're they just tell youwhere to be and what to do so
that's For me, though, yeah,going to Greece first, I was
just like, if we only get one, Iwant to make it a big one.
And Greece was a big one.
And Greece was a good bit moreexpensive and it was longer and
stuff like that.
So I would say Peru is a secondor later trip for sure.
(36:20):
Unless you're like, because ifyou're like real outdoorsy and
like, I would almost sayNational Geographic is so
similar to ABD, I would say,hey, if you're down for whatever
and you're real active andstuff, then like, I mean, hit
that up.
Because that's where you'regoing to like be hiking and
being all, being in the terrainwhere they don't have to hold
your hand, you know, because,you know, they got to make sure
you're good and ABD, more family
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
oriented.
I did have a question about withJacob getting sick.
Did you guys have travelinsurance?
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
So we don't have travel insurance and it ended
up, it was like$375 for the IVsand all the different, the
oxygen and all the stuff he hadto do.
And they told us that ahead oftime.
They were like, here's your menuof options on how to treat this.
I think we will get travelinsurance going forward just in
case because it could have beenreally bad that he had to be
admitted to hospital and thingslike that.
(37:06):
Because we were in Peru, theconversion rate is in our favor.
So it wasn't as expensive.
Then we've never gotten travelinsurance.
But also when we got back, ourdoctor, we have a primary
doctor, and he said ourinsurance would have worked
there.
Our health insurance would haveworked.
It would have just been aprocess to get it figured out,
you know.
So I think we're probably goingto buy like an annual policy.
I mean, we fly three or fourtimes a year.
We, especially me, I mean, I'mon like my 10th or 11th trip of
(37:28):
the year, you know.
So it probably will make sensefor us to go ahead and get a
travel policy just annually.
I would probably not get travelinsurance on an ABD because it's
really expensive for one trip.
It just says, if I'm just beingcompletely honest.
Do
SPEAKER_02 (37:40):
you have one piece of advice for someone choosing
between destinations or planningtheir first ABD now that you've
seen a couple?
SPEAKER_00 (37:48):
Yeah, use a travel agent.
I think it matters.
Price matters a lot because welooked at this trip.
I mean, it came down to about$1,000 a person from when we
first looked at different stuffto when we booked it, you know?
So I think price is a big deal,especially for your first one.
Like you don't want to, youdon't want to just like break
the bank.
(38:08):
And then, you know, it's forsomething you're not, you're not
ready for.
Like we would pay whateverbecause we know it's worth it
now.
But I think that price is a hugedifference, a huge difference.
And then time of year, like wewent to Greece in the heat of
the summer and it was miserablyhot.
Like had Greece not been soamazing, that would have taken
away a lot of it.
So I think just realizing thatlike, like Peru, we were there
at the end of winter so we couldwear like jackets and pants.
(38:29):
Like it was nice to know that weweren't going to like just sweat
profusely.
If you're going to do a bunch,price and time of year.
If you're going to do one, thenit's destination.
Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_02 (38:41):
Yes, it does.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
This has been such a funconversation.
I love hearing about all of theexperiences.
I have an undergrad degree inSpanish, and so I had a lot of
classes that were South Americanhistory.
So all of the things that youwere talking through, it just
sounds so interesting to me.
And I would love to be able togo and experience South America
(39:04):
in general.
And to be honest, I've alwaysbeen a little hesitant because
they have a lot of politicalunrest in general.
And going with Adventures byDisney, I would feel comfortable
going.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
We even asked that about Egypt because there's a
lot of political unrest inEgypt.
And they were like, we have asecurity team.
They'll go with you anytimethere's an issue.
It's just like they are notgoing to let anything happen to
you.
SPEAKER_02 (39:28):
Where can people find you on social media?
Just as a reminder.
SPEAKER_00 (39:33):
Yeah.
On social media, on Facebook, Iam fantasticalvacationsbylindsay
with an A-L-I-N-D-S-A-Y.
And then on Instagram, I'mcastlesandcoastlinestravel.
And then I have a website.
It'scastlesandcoastlinestravel.com.
And that's where I do recaps ofdifferent trips and just explain
different things.
So that's a good resource as faras reading.
And apparently on your podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (39:56):
We love having visitors.
We love having other agents comeon and talk about their
experiences.
I feel like we have such afamily culture you know at our
agency and we
SPEAKER_00 (40:06):
love that reminds me of these ABDs is like the
financial vacations groupbecause like we're all friends
all over the United States andit's like same thing with
Adventure by Disney justextending your friend group you
know real people not justfollowers you know
SPEAKER_02 (40:19):
well we love you guys and we appreciate you so
much for coming on and recappingyour trip and thank you we
appreciate it of course it wasfun can't wait for the next one
we hope everyone enjoyed thisepisode as much as we did and
everyone have a fantastic week.
We'll talk to you next week.
Bye! Thanks for tuning in toanother episode of Wonderlust
(40:51):
and Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
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