Kirsten Oakes The Travel Agent Next Door

11/29/2024

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2026.
This photo is of John, Nathalie and our granddaughters taking part in the “Santa shuffle “ in Toronto last Saturday.
They ran it and Helena and I shuffled!!

11/29/2024

And then ……..the sun came out! And it was glorious. I don’t know who was happier…me or the guide!

11/29/2024

Waking up to the highlight day of our Peru trip. Machu Picchu.
Raining and low cloud cover!
I’d been praying for days that we’d have sun but the previous two weeks had been cloudy and our hikers had arrived at the sun gate in clouds the previous day. Our guide hoped despite the clouds we’d be able to see some of the levels.

11/29/2024

New day: We hopped on the train (Peru Rail) to Machu Picchu.
Two of our party got off at 104km mark and hiked the remainder of the Inca Trail up to the sun gate. 12 km of gruelling steps but they made it. Super proud of them both.
The rest of us went to a butterfly 🦋 breeding program, which was interesting.
We had the opportunity to see a couple of them being released. Beautiful birds too.


-thetravelagentnextdoor

11/26/2024

I’m nearly a week behind with my journey and we’re at a whirlwind of experiences and travel. All amazing and enriching. The G guides are knowledgeable and fun too.
We went to the Planeterra project high up in the Andes where women grow potatoes for families and weave beautiful scarves and other textiles. Had a demonstration of the weaving methods.
Went to several other Inca and pre Inca sites all very interesting. For those who were going on the Hike to the Sun Gate, they had some practice runs going up the stairs to higher elevations.

11/17/2024

So the traffic is something else like many big cities. Lanes are a mere suggestion.
Taxi travel around the city takes forever and maybe seat belts or maybe not. The rule of “use your horn and be as aggressive as possible” seems to work. !!
We visited the Larco museum and wandered the centre of Lima.
The APEC conference has shut down the main historic square so we have missed seeing a few sites.

11/17/2024

Lima’s surfers, the Love Park and Pisco tasting.

11/16/2024

Day 1 in Lima:
Toured with a guide. Challenging for the historic centre as the APEC conference was in full swing so the central square was cordoned off. Traffic of course insane!

11/13/2024

For the last five years and lots of planning, having had to cancel twice….. I am finally on my way to Pearson airport to start my G Adventure of three weeks travelling around Peru, Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. To say I am excited is an understatement.
Promise to post pictures. 😊
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Adventures
-year

08/07/2024

Or leave the following week with us on a private tour.
TICO: 50021282
www.kirstenoakes.thetravelagentnextdoor.com Groups

IN CINEMAS NOVEMBER 8TH.PADDINGTON IN PERU brings Paddington's story to Peru as he returns to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Re...

08/02/2024

I have a small group tour to Machu Picchu and/or Galapagos in November.
If you're interested or know of someone who may be interested, please DM me.
They're with G Adventures and are good value.
You can book either destination or together.

https://www.gadventures.com/quote/006OJ000008OXpRYAW/
https://www.gadventures.com/quote/006OJ000008OPOsYAO/

07/20/2024

Nothing like peaceful garden time with a good book. Don’t be so shocked……I do know how to relax occasionally 🙄😂