FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Sacred Valley, Peru
February 29, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Sacred Valley, Peru
Day 16 – Sunday, February 19 – Cusco to Sacred Valley – blue skies mixed w/light clouds – 60’s
Alpaca Thread Dying
- Good News – wake up to sunshine!
Carnaval in Pisaq
- Good News – full day excursion starts @ 9:30 (whenever we want!)
- 1st stop – Puca Pucara – a small fortress – might have been some sort of storage facility, lodge or perhaps guard post on the road from Cusco to the villages of the Sacred Valley
- 2nd stop – Awanacancha – farm w/llamas, alpacas, vicunas & guanacos – relatives of the camel – alpacas have thick wool & most commonly used – vicunas are small & delicate w/fur considered the finest -see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving styles & dress
- 3rd stop – town of Pisaq for market
- Really Good News – today is Carnaval! the whole town is decorated in colorful balloons, streamers & huge bouquets of tree branches & flowers
- Good News – main town square filled w/locals, music & native dancers
- Lunch stop – Sol y Luna hotel – eat traditional BBQ
- Good News – see Peruvian Paso Horse show – instead of a trot, they perform an ambling (four equal beats) lateral gait – there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground
- 4th stop – Tambomachay – known as “Baths of the Inca” for its fountain, falls, and streams
Incan Ruins
Ollantaytambo
- 5th stop – Ollantaytambo – more Incan ruins – 250 steps straight up to top – massive pink granite rocks brought from top of mountain on other side of valley – amazing!
- Bad News – fear of heights, narrow trail on edge of mountain & no railings!
- Good News – make it down – easier than I thought
- Dinner – Lino’s on the plaza
FF – (FUN-facts) – Guinea Pig is considered a delicacy in Peru & eaten on special occasions.
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #395: Creative
February 29, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #395: Creative
Creative – the ability to use your imagination.
Do you feel creative at work? Are you encouraged to share your ideas? Do you have a creative outlet in your personal life?
This is the sixth in the series of WOW’s from my book, “The FUN-Damental Secrets of Service: How to have FUN and make your customers feel good about spending their money!” The C in SERVICe stands for Creative. And when it comes to service, it means being able to see beyond the surface and the obvious. To look past what the customer says in order to find what the customer NEEDS.
Ask any salesperson whose income depends on his or her ability to get around objections and blocks. They know that what looks and sounds like a NO can often be a MAYBE in disguise. A MAYBE that some creative thinking can easily turn into a YES!
Wildly Creative
Creative also means being able to change your presentation to fit the needs of your customers, guests, members, or clients. If you are a manager, I can’t tell you how important it is to role play. One of your jobs is to help your staff create their own personalized presentations. That way they will sound more sincere and real, instead of canned or phony, and who are uncomfortable using someone else’s words.
When it comes to servers increasing check averages, always refer to it as “helping your customers, guests, members, or clients,” and not “Suggestive Selling.” If you want to be successful making suggestions I personally found that you should always:
1. Be Specific
2. Offer Two Choices
Making Suggestions–It has been proven that servers can influence customers, guests, clients or members easier with a nod and/or a smile. And a whopping 78.3 percent of the time they will go along with the servers suggestion if they feel a sense of trust. And this brings me to my:
FUN-damental Service Secret #4
“Give The Customer Not What He WANTS,
But What He Really NEEDS.”
This week think about how creative you are. Do you enjoy being creative and using your imagination? Do you feel more creative at work or at home? Do you ask questions to find out exactly what your customers, guests, members, or clients really need?
FUN-travel: South America: Lima to Cusco, Peru
February 28, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Lima to Cusco, Peru
Day 15 – Saturday, February 18 – Lima to Cusco, Peru – cloudy w/intermittent showers (never lasting more than 10 minutes) – mid 60’s
Cusco
- Bad News – only 5 hours of sleep
- Flight departs 9:30 am – get to airport 7:30
- Good News – ticket agent doesn’t weigh carryon bags
- Bad News – Baggage Nazi’s @ gate in full force! tell us they are checking our carryon bags – we both say “NO” repeatedly – after much arguing I start taking all of my personal items out to show her & finally she allows us
Not so FF – I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT FLYING LAN! I will only do so if it is the only airline available.
- Good News – arrive Cusco on time @ 10:45 am
- Bad News – total fiasco @ customs (once again – not enough staff)
- Good News – we are picked up by Metropolitan Touring – driver & English speaking guide
- Good news – Casa Andina San Blas Hotel is only 15 minutes – have time to eat light meal & acclimate to altitude of 11,150
- Good News – no headache or sickness – only a little light headed
- Bad News – tired & force myself to stay awake
- Good News – Danny our guide is wonderful! Doesn’t repeat everything
Saqsaywaman
- Good News – only half-day tour scheduled from 2 to 5 pm
- 1st stop – the main town square & Cathedral of Santo Domingo – incorporates the foundations and some walls of the Inca Temple of the Sun – and contained shrines to a variety of other gods – Incas regarded it as a sacred site and was used as an astronomical observatory.
- 2nd stop – Koricancha – important Incan temple destroyed by Spaniards who turned it into the Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo
- 3rd stop – Saqsaywaman – an Incan walled complex built at an altitude of 12,142 feet – it is the most common starting point for the three-day, four-night hike known as the Inca Trail
Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo
- 4th stop – Kenko – more ruins at top of hill – one of the largest holy places – naturally occurring rock formations – believed to be place where sacrifices and mummification took place
- Good News – Danny recommends Ciccolino for dinner & reserves for 7pm
- Good News – lay down for siesta
FF – (FUN-facts) – Cusco was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Really cute with European influence. Balconies & French doors with clay tile roofs and narrow cobblestone streets.
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru
February 26, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru
Day 14 – Friday, February 17 – Galapagos Islands to Lima, Peru – via Guayaquil & Quito – hot, humid, high 90’s – lots of sun
View From Top of Isabella Island
- Bad News – 6:15 wake up! Bags have to outside room by 6:30!
Valentine's Day King & Queen!
- More Bad News – have to be off ship by 8:30
- Last Excursion – take zodiac to town – to take bus to see Los Gemelos Craters (more stuff to pass time) – then take ferry to Baltra Island where airport is
- Really Bad News – a totally wasted day! flight is at 2:00! sit at airport in humid, 90 + degree heat for 4 hours!
- Bad News – not on direct flight to Quito – get on that plane and have to get off – arrive Quito 4:45 pm – transfer to LAN for flight to Lima, Peru
- More Bad News – Baggage Police in full force! ticket agent weighs bags – two big ones are OK – carry on too heavy – Chris’ bag is all camera equipment & after pleading she allows his – I start transferring items & told to carry laptop – what is the point? Weight is weight!
- Good News – put it all back in my carryon
- Bad News – this is a domestic flight & still takes over 2 hrs from check in to gate
- Good News – depart 8:55 on time – arrive Lima 10:30 pm
- Bad News – takes an hour to get through customs
- Good News – Ramada Airport Hotel – right across the street
- Bad News – finally get to bed at 1 am
FF (FUN-facts) – I got to swim with “The Galapagos Big 5” – sea lions, penguins, sea turtles, sharks & stingrays in the wild!
Larry the Lava Lizard
FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 9 & 10
February 25, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America – Galapagos Islands – Day 9 & 10
Day 12 – Wednesday, February 15 – Floreana Island – sunny, 90’s, high clouds
Land Iguana in the Wild
- Bad News – same 6:30 wakeup drill
Valentine's Day Towel Art & Sweets From Staff
- 1st Excursion – 8:30 to 10:30 – go to Post Office – 1793 sailors left letters – other sailors arriving delivered them – people still leave letters – some they want delivered – others left for friends to retrieve when they visit the island
- Next stop – lava tunnels – created during a lava flow – outer lava cools while inner keeps flowing
- Bad News – down steep steps into pitch black w/bugs!
- Good News – we pass!
- 9:30 to 10:30 – snorkel – 2 sea lions surfing & jumping like dolphins in the water
- 2nd Excursion – 3 to 6 – Punta Cormorant – 1 hr walk
- Good News – see flamingos in salty lagoon on way to other side
- See stingrays in the surf & nests from sea turtles (big, deep, holes in the sand)
- 2nd stop – deep water snorkel at Devil’s Crown
- Really Good News – see more fish than ever – schools in the hundreds & one at least 1000!
- More Really Good News – at end of snorkel 5 reef sharks (6 to 8 ft) circle below us!
Female Vermillion Flycatcher
FF (FUN-facts) – Marine Iguanas eat algae & seaweed. The high salt intake is forcibly expelled by frequent sneezing. Land Iguanas eat prickly pear cactus fruits & pads.
More FF – Tortoises live on land, turtles live in water.
Flightless Cormorant Drying His Wings
Day 13 – Thursday, February 16 – Isabella Island –
- 1st Excursion – 8 to 11:45 – Puerto Baquerizo, San Cristobal Island
- Bad News – have to take bus ride
- Good News – see lots of tortoises in semi captivity
- Good News – have time to see town
- Bad News – not much to see or good shopping
- Good News – back to ship for good lunch
- 2nd Excursion – 4 to 5 – Playa Ochoa – beach walk & snorkel – after yesterday pretty much a letdown!
- Good News – back to ship for happy hour & farewell party
Tortoises in Semi Captivity
FF – Flightless Cormorants adapted to their environment by trading their ability for flying for a more better streamlined body for swimming.