Denver Gorilla Run 2009

Adventures Within Reach is excited to announce that we helped break the Guinness Book of World’s Record for “most people dressed up in gorilla suits”!  Our staff were part of the 1061 record-breaking “gorillas”.

It was a balmy day for the Denver Gorilla Run on October 31, 2009 and quite hot inside the gorilla suits.  The AWR staff were dressed as “safari” gorillas.  In the end, few of us ran in heat — most walked or rode bicycles.  It was a beautiful course through downtown Denver and along the river.

The sad part of the story is that there are only 740 gorillas left in the world. It was a harsh reality when standing altogether and realizing that there were fewer mountain gorillas than people ready to race.

AWR Breaks World Record

AWR is proud to support the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund. This great program has been dedicated to the preservation of the Mountain Gorilla ever since Dian Fossey asked for help back in 1985. AWR supports their efforts to keep the highly endangered Mountain Gorilla alive in the jungles of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

You can still donate to this great cause:

• http://www.active.com/donate/Gorillarun

Adventures Within Reach offers gorilla treks in Uganda and Rwanda.  We recommend a minimum of 11 days in Uganda, which also includes 2 days with chimpanzees.  You can visit the gorillas in as few as 3 days in Rwanda, but a longer is better to really enjoy the country.

Learn more about gorilla trekking in Uganda/Rwanda >>

When your cruise ship docks in Callao (Lima vicinity) or Puerto General San Martin (Paracas), we can pick you up at your dock, provide a day trip or tour and return you at the end of the day, prior to your sailing !

Our guides speak excellent English, vans are large and roomy, your group size can be small: 2-10 persons.

When you book with us, you may then put your tours and prices on your cruise ship’s chat mail or blog and let us know of others who are interested in joining you. We accept payments from the individuals in your group, send a reservation confirmation to everyone…and provide a wonderful tour for your time in Peru!

We specialize in Peru cultural tours and treks, and are most pleased to help you with your plans!

Day Trips For Lima

• 1/2 day tour of Lima (colonial and modern), in a group or private guided tour (08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).
• 1/2 day tour of a Lima museum (your choice of Larco Museum, National Museum or the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology), private guided tour (08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.).
• Full day culinary tour in the Lima vicinity (markets, cheviche and pisco!), including lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant, in a group tour (09:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• Full day tour of Lima (colonial and modern), lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant, tour of Pachacamac Archaeological Complex, in a group or private guided tours (08:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• Add the Hacienda Mamacona’s Peruvian Paso Horse Show, Dinner and Folklorica Dance Program (4:00 – 8:00 p.m.), if you are in Lima on a Thursday, and your cruise ship does not sail until 10:00 p.m.

DAY TRIPS/TOURS FOR PARACAS:

• Full day tour of Paracas National Preserve (private tour) and boat tour of Ballestas Isles (sea lions, pelicans, penguins and dolphins), with lunch on your own (07:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
• Full day to Ica for a Nazca Lines overflight, visit the local Ica museum and Ica shops, with lunch on your own (09:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).

MORE ON CRUISE SHIP DAY TOURS AND PRICING >>

Route to Summit of Mt. Pisco

Climb Mount Pisco! The West Peak of Pisco is 5,752 meters (18,980 feet) above sea level and an excellent mountain to climb for a good introduction and acclimatization to climbing. There is only one difficult 50 meters ice pitch. This mountain has a spectacular view of the mountains in the Cordillera Blanca, such as Chacraraju (6,108 meters), Chopicalqui (6,354 meters), Huascaran (6,768 meters), the Huaydoy’s (6,393 meters) and the Artesonraju (6,108 meters). The first ascension by the normal route to the West Peak was by the SW ridge, in 1951.

Climb Nearing the Summit

There are several itineraries for climbing Pisco. They depend on your previous climbing experience, your physical fitness, and your acclimatization to the altitude. All itineraries start in Huaraz, but you may add the Pisco climb to your 5-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca (Santa Cruz loop), by starting in Cashapampa.

**Add Cordillera Blanca Trek

• Duration: 3 to 5 days (3-days, 4-days, 5-days)
• Season: May to November
• Prices per person: starting at $620 per person (3-day climb)

FOR EXPERIENCED CLIMBERS: If you have done this climb…or it seems too tame for you…we can offer other climbs in the Cordillera Blanca:

• Urus –same difficulty as Pisco
• Ishinca –same difficulty as Pisco
• Tocllaraju — technical climb, must be well fit
• Alpamayo — technical climb, must be well fit
• Huascaran — part technical climb and resistance, must be well fit

And in the Cordillera Huayhuash:

• Diablo Mudo — this is an easy mountain, usually climbed on the trek of Huayhuash, as part of the program.

MORE ON CLIMBING MOUNT PISCO >>

Patagonia trip offered at the STI aGreen Travel Auction

Sustainable Travel International (STI) is hosting a Green Travel Auction October 15-31, 2009.

STI has a fantastic assortment of eco-vacations, green hotel stays and incredible tours donated by travel and tourism providers across the globe who are committed to responsible travel.

All proceeds support Sustainable Travel International’s mission to promote responsible travel and ecotourism, support sustainable development, and help travelers and travel providers protect what’s best about the destinations we visit.

Adventures Within Reach has donated a 5-night/6-day Kayak Trip for Two in Spectacular Patagonia, Chile, and bidding starts at just $1500!

Don’t miss this chance to get the vacation you’ve always dreamed of, at a fraction of the retail price, and support a great cause!

Green Travel Auction >>

Caral Archaeological Site Tour

North of Lima is one of the oldest civilizations of America. Caral, located in the middle of the desert close to the Supe River, is compared with the cultures and civilizations from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Caral is a monumental and architectural complex, which developed completely isolated from other pre-Inca civilizations. Its economical, social, and political organization became the basis for the Inca Empire. The name Caral, comes from the nearest town to the site.

Caral is comprised of 32 architectural sites with different sizes and functions. To date six buildings and a pyramid have been excavated; a series of medium and small buildings, including temples, residential areas, public squares, amphitheater, shops, shrines,and streets have been identified. Most are still covered withthe rubble of the walls knocked down by the passage of time. A tour to Caral is the beginning of an imaginary experience 3,000 years before our time, where the grandeur, mystery and magic of the pre-Inca civilization will whet your curiousity.

The tour itself: Our tour begins at 7:00 a.m. when our guide, driver and vehicle pick us up at our hotel. The drive to the ruins is 3 hours with stops at Ancon Bay and Pasamayo. At Huaral Valley, we will have a break for refreshments; then on to the Caral Complex. After touring this amazing site, we have lunch at a restaurant in Barranca City. Then we return to Lima, arriving to our hotel about 19:00 p.m.

There is an option to stay overnight at the Chavin Hotel in Barranca, returning the next day. This allows more time at the ruins, time to observing and meeting native people at work on their farms.

MORE ON CARAL TOUR >>

Join Joe Koehly and Backwoods Adventures in 2010!

Joe Koehly is an experienced guide and group leader, who is taking a group to Peru from September 11 to 25, 2010. You will be hiking the Salkantay and Inca Trail to Machu Picchu trek with Joe and a local Peruvian guide! If you would like to join this group, please contact us and we will put you in touch with Joe. This is an awesome trekking experience that you will not want to miss! It is particularly good for one or two individuals who want to have a group leader with them for the entire trip!

Typical 8 Day Itinerary

• DAY 1: Cusco / Tomacaya / Tocobamba
• DAY 2: Tocobamba / Tinkoc / Collpa
• DAY 3: Collpa / Tocto / Sisaypampa
• DAY 4: Sisaypampa / Pampacahua / Paucarcancha
• DAY 5: Paucarcancha / Huayllabamba / Llulluchapampa
• DAY 6: Llulluchampampa / Runkuraqay/ Sayacmarca / Phuyupatamarca
• DAY 7: Phuyupatamarca / Intipata / Wiñay Wayna / Machu Picchu
• DAY 8: Machu Picchu / Cusco

MORE ON SALKANTAY >>

To the top of Africa

Mount Kilimanjaro towers more than three-and-a-half miles above Tanzania. This summer after months of intensive training and preparation, Swindon’s Gary & Barbara Coombs set out to climb it. Here’s how their adventure unfolded….

Alpine Excursion

Barbara and the 3,770m Wild Spitze

Our first stop was Austria to make final preparations for the huge physical challenge ahead. We spent 4 days and nights living 3,000m up in the Alps and climbing as high as 3,500m to help us acclimatise to the extreme altitudes we would experience on Kilimanjaro. We ascended 2,800 from where we live to the Alpine Refuge in 36 hours and experienced mild altitude sickness as a result. We recovered quickly but this put in good shape for what was to come. We then hiked back down to civilisation and headed off for Munich Airport, Africa and finally Moshi in shadow of the Kilimanjaro itself.

Kilimanjaro Diary

DAY 0

With David and children at TunaHAKI

Rest in Moshi to recover from 36-hours of travel form from the Alpine refuge. Apart from settling into our hotel we visited the TunaHAKI Centre for Development, a Tanzanian charity aiming to provide a secure future for local AIDS orphans and street children. This was immensely moving and humbling and made us appreciate how well-off we are in the West. The poverty we saw is indescribable – if only we had taken more pictures but we felt the camera was intrusive, so kept it our bag! After meeting our Kilimanjaro guides, Fred and Tino, we settled down to an early night and thoughts of what lay ahead.

DAY 1

Barbara follows Fred through the rain forest

The night was short and we woke early feeling a mixture of anticipation, excitement and a degree of apprehension until we actually start walking at 1pm after getting to the National Park, completing registration etc. The path was steep from the outset and we climbed for 5 hours through the rain forest to 3,000m. Barbara found this arduous but Gary looked at her as if to say, “It wasn’t that bad.” We arrived just before sunset and within 30 minutes it was pitch dark and we settled into our sleeping bags by 8pm.

DAY 2

Gary at about 3,400m with a view back towards Moshi

The path is becoming very steep in places, with near vertical pitches to negotiate. The views down on the clouds are like looking out of an aeroplane. The sunset viewed from our tent at Shira Camp (3,800m) is simply amazing. Barbara feels inexplicably tired. It can’t be the altitude surely as we are only slightly higher than our highest point in the Alps. Again we turn in at 8pm as it is pitch black by then.

DAY 3

At about 4,100m on our way to Lava Tower

Wake at 6:30 covered in black pepper-fine volcanic dust blown in through the vents in the tent which we did not close as everything had been fine the previous night. We climb higher than ever before but Barbara begins really suffering. Her legs feel like jelly and she needs all her mental strength and determination, and a bucket load of encouragement from Gary, to make it to Lava Tower at 4,600m.

After a rest for lunch we descend the steep path to Barranco Camp at 3,900m and into the unique Senecio “forest”, which feels like entering Jurassic Park in the fog. It’s really cold at Barranco and by 8pm, we are snug and warm in our down cocoons and soon asleep.

DAY 4

A less steep part of the Barranco Wall

Wake after a freezing cold night to thick frost and views of the imposing 300m high cliff called the Barranco Wall – the toughest challenge so far. After climbing this cliff and trekking to Karanga camp at nearly 4,000m, we enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the sun with views of Kibo, those clouds below and later the full moon rising over tomorrow’s ridge. As soon as the moon was up we retired to our cocoons and a good night’s sleep.

DAY 5

Agonizingly slow progress on the way to Barafu Camp.

It’s getting serious. It feels very steep right from the off and everyone around is moving very slowly. Barbara feels dreadful: Gary is worried. She digs really deep again and makes it to high camp where we realise she has an infection. All she wants to do is sleep. Timing could not be worse just before the summit push. We spend the afternoon resting at 4,600m with fabulous views, get sorted for the midnight start and try to get some sleep, which finally comes at about 8pm. We wake again at 11:30pm to start the summit attempt.

DAY 6

Time for Gary and Fred to leave Barbara and Tino

We set off at shortly after midnight. Barbara feels really rough and two hours into the climb Fred suddenly gives us just 30 seconds to decide whether to follow his advice and send Gary off on his own or insist we push on together. It’s gut-wrenching but we part. We each watch the other disappear into the darkness and wonder what the night will bring.

Gary pushes on but finds the going extremely tough. It feels as though someone is sitting on his chest, gagging him and asking him to climb a 500m sand dune while blindfolded. After six hours of toil and with the summit in sight he has nothing left and just stops. Digging really deep he manages to get going and makes it to the top, where all that pain ebbs away even though the victory is somewhat hollow without Barbara. Thoughts turn to her. He has no idea where she is. Is she OK? Has she turned back or might she still make it? All he wants now is to get back to camp and make sure she is OK.

6:58 and Gary is on the summit

For Barbara the going is hideously tough. She can hardly lift her legs and each step moves her forward by no more than 10cm. She can hardly breathe and stops every few metres to recover. Two hours after she and Gary parted company she has nothing left. She knows she’s done. Confused thoughts flash through her mind, “With enough time and frequent rests surely I can get to the top”, she thinks but then reality kicks in, “Don’t forget you have to get down in one piece too”. The simple fact is, the mountain had beaten her and she had to turn back for her own safety. “Dying up here is not an option” rattles through her head. She talks with Tino and they turn and climb equally slowly back down to camp where she rests and waits for Gary to return. Although she had no doubts he would make the summit she did worry about his fate on this most unforgiving of mountains.

Tino said to expect them back at midday but just after 9am Gary and Fred emerge from a cloud of dust and Gary trudges exhausted, thirsty but triumphant into camp having descended the 1,300m from the summit in just under 2 hours.

DAY 7

Celebrating with the team

We’ve spent our last night on Kili. It’s all over. Just 1,400m to descend through the rain forest. In less than four hours we’ll be back at the hotel.

Was it all worth it? Yes but we’ve had enough of big mountains (for now).

Donate

There have been many life-changing elements to this adventure. The TunaHAKI experience is one as is the extent to which you learn to dig really deep and achieve the impossible but the support of family, friends and colleagues is right up there and we would like to thank everyone who donated and helped us raise over £1,600 for Comic Relief.

To find out more about what we did in August 2009 go to www.kilimanjaro2009.co.uk. If you would like to donate go to www.myrednoseday.com/kilimanjaro2009.

Adventures Within Reach will be joining the Denver Gorilla Run this Halloween (October 31, 2009) to raise money for the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund.

Gorilla Run Fundraiser

This is a 5.6k run through downtown Denver with everyone dressed up like gorillas!

This year’s race is particularly special as the race is attempting to establish a new Guinness World Records™ currently holding at 637 “People Dressed as Gorillas.”

The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund has been dedicated to the preservation of the Mountain Gorilla ever since Dian Fossey asked for help back in 1985. AWR supports their efforts to keep the highly endangered Mountain Gorilla alive in the jungles of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

You can help!  You can donate to this great cause on-line with your credit card, or you can run with the AWR team in Denver!  Donate here and list “AWR” as who you are supporting:

• http://www.active.com/donate/Gorillarun

We’ll post our “gorilla” pictures in early November.

Learn more about gorilla trekking in Uganda/Rwanda >>

Zanzibar Island Tanzania

AWR is excited to announce our new Zanzibar Hotel search engine!

You can now search our database of Zanzibar hotels by location, hotel size, price, star rating, and certain amenities such as a swimming pool, spa, diving, nightlife, families, and luxury.

Zanzibar Island is a great excursion after a safari in Tanzania.

• Relax on the beach
• Go on a spice tour
• Snorkel with wild dolphins
• Scuba dive
• See the Red Colobus Monkeys in Jozani Forest
• Explore the narrow alleys of Stone Town

http://www.adventureswithinreach.com/tz/zanzibar/zanzibarhotelsearch.php

AWR has just posted a new video with some great shots of Kenya and Tanzania!