Longtime readers of our blog will know that Ben’s birthday always falls during our big summer trip. Today was the day and we were determined to do something memorable. What better way to celebrate 16 years of life than to risk it all by hanging off a mountain face?!

Not far from Ollantaytambo, Natura Vive offers such death-defying experiences to those with a hankering for them. After signing your life away, you can take a round trip tour 400 meters both up and back down the local cliff face. Of course, the down is much faster than the up – we travelled by zip line in six installments, racing with the cars on the road below. Most of the traverses were solo but the longest one (700 m) was done in tandem to ensure enough momentum to reach the far platform. The views along the Urubamba river valley were striking from all directions.

The way up went more slowly but was a new experience for all of us. Called “via ferrata”, the route consisted of some 900 steel rungs drilled into the cliff face with a steel safety cable running alongside. Each of us – outfitted in climbing harness, helmet, and rubber-grip gloves – was attached to the cable by two spring release carabiners that we transferred one at a time each time we passed an anchor point, approximately every 5 feet. With this equipment in place, we were able to scale the sheer cliff face safely even though none of us is an expert rock climber.

The return to Cusco took the rest of the afternoon but we had several more treats in store. The hotel Midori Cusco, where we had stayed before, treated us as old friends this time and gave us the best rooms in the house. After sharing presents with Ben, we made our way to a long-awaited dinner reservation at Chicha, which had been recommended to us on our culinary tour in Lima. The highlight of the dinner was the “miraculous bomb” dessert, a showstopping treat nearly the size of Ben’s head, made only slightly less impressive by the waiter’s repeated fumbles in attempting to serve it. After dramatically cracking the shell, he proceeded to spill the shards off the plate onto the table – not just once but twice while mumbling sorry. Apparently you need to be a professional to do these sorts of things! We ate it anyway and it was delicious. Happy birthday Ben!