Registration Info:
To reserve your space in a PhotoExperience workshop in Peru, a deposit of $350 is required at the time of registration. We cannot hold space in a workshop without a deposit. Once your deposit has been received you will be admitted to the workshop of choice and we’ll send you a detailed itinerary. We will send you a statement of your account, with the balance due, 60 days prior to the start of the workshop, though full balance can be made at time of registration. Final payment of your balance will be required 60 days prior to start of any workshop. We will accept no further registrants after January 15th, 2010 due to Machu Picchu travel restrictions. We will limit number of registrants to 15. Please email Adam for further information.
Dates: April 8th-15th 2010
Fee:
$2900 includes all instruction & materials, lodging, first & last dinners, all breakfasts & lunches, entrance fees and transfers within Peru. The initial flight to Cusco is not included. $350.00 deposit accepted any time prior to hold space in workshop with final balance due 60 days prior to commencement (February 8th, 2010). The permit fee for photography in the ruins of Machu Picchu, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and the Q’enko & Sacsayhuaman above Cusco is included. $450 charge for single room supplement and a $2,200 charge for a companion who is not a photographer who would like to accompany our group.
Extra expenses would be individual excursions outside of group activities or entrance fees to museums or some churches in Cuzco, taxis, mid-course dinners, any and all drinks as well as tips for our guides and drivers. You may expect this to total between $35 and $50/day depending on personal preferences.
Portfolios & Film/Digital on-site:
For all PhotoExperience workshops, we ask each participant to bring a selection of previous work with them – either on a compact flash, thumb drive, CD or printsParticipants can choose to photograph with 35mm C41 print film either color or black-and-white (silver gelatin developing and 120 film or larger is not able to be processed reliably in Cusco); or you can work digitally. If working digitally, please bring digital camera, laptop for back-up & editing, batteries, transformers/adapters and memory stick/cards or other portable device to transfer files; it is highly recommended that you have a digital wallet or portable external hard drive/player for image back-up.
Machu Picchu Info :
The Machu Picchu excursion includes roundtrip transport on VistaDome class train service on the Orient Express (sometimes this service is not available and we will adjust accordingly to make the experience fully worthwhile); additionally includes a private English-speaking guide during the first few hours in Machu Picchu with thorough historical and architectural knowledge of the site; transportation, daytime meals, fine lodging, trail and Sanctuary entrance fees, as well as the professional camera equipment fee at the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu are all included.
Travel/Lodging:
Daytime meals and transportation are included. All lodging is included at Adam L Weintraub’s family B&B, Panza del Artista. If Panza fills early (usually due to single-supplements), further registrants will be very happily lodged at a place similar in amenities and convenience to Panza del Artista – close by, comfortable and safe. Single supplements and rooms at Panza will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
All lodging is included once you arrive to Cusco for the nights of the workshop. Additional nights need to be arranged and reserved in advance and all workshop participants will receive 15% off the published Panza del Artista rate for nights not covered during the actual workshop (but you MUST reserve these nights in advance!).
Travel to/from Cusco (via Lima) is not included. Flight arrangements to Cusco can often be arranged from the United States (or your country of origin) but are significantly cheaper if arranged directly from Peru. You may contact Raymi Travel or Luis Calderòn (more info below) in Lima for best fares and ask them to arrange Lima to Cusco RT airfare for you. Raymi Travel also has a very convenient and clean hotelMami Panchitanear the Lima airport for an overnight prior to leaving on an early-morning flight to Cusco. If you spend more than one night in Lima, I recommend staying in the Miraflores suburb.
A note: If you arrive in Lima towards late afternoon or late evening, there are no flights immediately to Cusco and you’ll need to spend the night in Lima. You may opt to spend the overnight at the airport in Lima, as 4-5 hours wait at the airport doesn’t seem like much. I highly discourage this for one small reason: the cost to stay at a hotel near the airport is minimal compared to the lost day you’ll have in Cusco after not sleeping at the Lima airport. Thus, if you’re arriving into Lima late at night, you should arrange for airport transfer and hotel to the safe & clean Mami Panchita through Luis Calderon or directly through them.
Additionally, either Luis Calderon or the folks at Mami Panchita can purchase a mid-morning 11am Lima-Cusco ticket for you which will be cheaper than purchasing it in the States (usually $120-$180 vs $250-$300). You’ll be well-rested for arriving at altitude in Cusco and will be able to enjoy a leisurely day getting to know Cusco instead of sleeping in your room.
Peruvian Expeditions is a great new partner of ours for all your Lima, Nazca or Coastal needs beyond the Cusco area - from surfing along the North Coast to colonial Arequipa and the natural marine sanctuary of Paracas to the South. You may contact Luis Calderon, to book internal flights in Peru, organize a few days along the coast or a Nazca fly-by; he also offers Lima City Tours and roundtrip airport-to-hotel service for a safe ride. He'll even arrange an airport-hotel-airport overnight for a very reasonable fee. He tells us you can also feel free to give him a call - he speaks great English!
Home +51-1-578-4942 OR mobile: +51-1-9983-44763 or +51-1-9951-86818
Cancellation Policy:
We rely on your attendance to make important arrangements, so if for any reason you need to withdraw, please notify us at least 60 days before the start of your workshop. At that time we will refund your deposit, less a $150 cancellation fee. If notification of cancellation is made between 30 and 60 days before the start of the workshop, we must retain 50% of the workshop fee. If notification of cancellation is made less than 30 days before the start of the workshop there will be no refund - for these reasons we highly recommend Travel Insurance as explained below. PhotoExperience reserves the right to cancel a reservation if full payment has not been received by 45 days before the start of the workshop, your deposit would then be forfeited. PhotoExperience is not responsible for cancellations due to medical emergencies. In the event that a workshop must be canceled due to inadequate enrollment, all fees and deposits are refunded in full or may be transferred to another workshop within 12 months. PhotoExperience is not responsible for reimbursement of non-refundable airline tickets in the event of a workshop cancellation.
If for any reason you wish to transfer to a different workshop, please notify us at least 60 days before the start of your workshop. We reserve the right to allow or disallow any transfer. There are no exceptions to our Cancellation Policy.
Travel Insurance:
We strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance. We recommend Travel Insurance Services of Walnut Creek, California for this purpose. Their phone number is (800) 937-1387 and their Web site is http://www.travelinsure.com/cobrand/select/photoex. With this insurance you can protect you against unforeseen circumstances that might prevent your attendance. We suggest a plan which offers coverage for medical and dental emergencies, lost baggage, missed connections, and trip cancellation should you unexpectedly need to cancel. PhotoExperience is not responsible for cancellations due to medical emergencies nor reimbursement of airline tickets in the event of a workshop cancellation.
Lake Titicaca and Altiplano Extension:
There is much variation which revolves around the lake culture of Titicaca and a rural Puno alternative that includes the Chulpas de Sillustani; the colorful colonial town of Lampa, with its stunning stone cathedral and replica of the La Pietá; the Tinajani “stone forest”. Puno is, along with the Himalayas, the only region in the world where high-mountain agriculture is capable of flourishing. It is here that early Peruvians cultivated potatoes, quinoa and now-ubiquitous camelids.
In this first-ever extension to Lake Titicaca, we take some real time to dedicate to this very unique terrain with incredible vistas, unique geological formations and the lake culture unique to this zone. We’ll see some of the more distinct geological structures Peru has to offer (and Peru certainly has a few!). The Circuit of the Bosque de Puyas de Tarukani and the “stone forest” of Tinajani comprise one of the most interesting elements of the Andean south. Tarukani is a forest of Puyas Raimondi, massive prehistoric plants that grow as high as 3 meters (10 ft) and known for the thousands of small flowers they produce and pollinated by legions of insects and hummingbirds. The Puyas flower just once every 100 years, producing an enormous spike that shoots 10 meters (30 ft.) high, after which the plant dies.
The Stone Forest of Tinajani is a huge extension of rock and canyon formations with secretive pre-Incan burial places. Pucará, a small village between Lampa and Ayaviri, is the birthplace of altiplano civilization with the Pucará culture. There’s a small site museum and an important archaeological center. Pucará is known for the “toritos de Pucará,” small ceramic bulls placed on the roofs of houses.
We’ll draw on the very best perch from which to observe sunrise and sunset over the highest navigable lake in the world – Isla Suasi (as described below). We’ll have a full 2 days and 2 nights to ourselves on this relatively deserted island, staying at the Casa Andina’s private lodge. We’ll head back to Puno via private launch and visit the other lake islands with their unique cultures – both Isla Taquile (Takile) and the famous floating islands of Uros.
Casa Andina, Isla Suasi:
In the north-eastern region of the Lake lies Suasi, a private 43-hectare island where everything is different: dawn, rain, storms, twilight. A solar-powered ecolodge on remote and uniquely beautiful Isla Suasi—the only private island in massive Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable body of water. Featuring panoramic lake views from every room, surrounded by terraced gardens and designed with native materials (stone, adobe and thatched roofs) to blend into the island, the lodge is committed to being green.
Suasi is a magical, and for many, mystical place to disconnect from the world. Spot rare vicuñas, hike to Itapilluni Hill to contemplate colorful high-altitude sunsets (or visit the earthy spa for massages and steam saunas with eucalyptus leaves), a candlelit gourmet restaurant, bar and game room, the lodge is the perfect place to relax after a day of high-altitude photography.
