Update #1:
The group touched down on election day in Peru. The new president is now Ollanta Humala who won by a mere .8%. We came back to La Castellana Hotel in the Miraflores district for a tastey breakfast around 8 am. Looking around at all the tired faces we thought it best to give the kids 2 hours to catch up on their lost sleep. By mid-day we had introduced the Harvey students to our trip and were on our way to lunch–Embarcadero 41. A restaurant that cooks Peruvian “fusion” cuisine. That is they take traditional plates with a new age culinary twist and what you get is fusion. Being close to the coast we opted for a few fish dishes: ceviche (sushi grade fish slightly cooked in lemon and lime, but on the edge of raw) and arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood). Though most students went with the pasta option nervous to branch too far out on day 1. A few of us had the sweet corn drink, chicha morada with our lunch and then we were off for a city tour with our guide Alberta.
After 4 hours we were back at the hotel after visiting cathedrals, catacombs, ruins, and plazas. A walk through the lively Limeñan streets brought us to Luigis for pasta dishes. Our whole group was quite tired and we “hit the hay” by 9 with a wake up at 5:30 the next day!
By 10:30 we touched down in Cusco, the ancient Incan capital and modern day gateway to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. At 11,000 feet you immediately note the altitude and it feels best to go down in elevation. After a quick lunch at Victor Victorias right off the Plaza Mayor that is exactly what we did. By 4 we were in Urabamba meeting up with the home stay families. They gave us all a warm welcoming with drinks, cake, and scarves. The kids were all excited but undoubtedly nervous. This is always the students favorite part of the trip. I suppose some of the most memorable moments are any time one steps out of their comfort zone. We look forward to hearing their thoughts tomorrow morning
An early night rest and we are all off to raft the Urabamba river all day tom. Should be fun!
Update #2:
Miercoles 8 de Junio
Roosters, mototaxis, megaphones…these are the sounds many students awoke to this morning in the bustling town of Urubamba in the heart of the Inca´s Sacred Valley. The people of Urubamba are up and about early in the morning before the fierce sun rises above the hills surrounding the valley. We met at the school anxious for our adventure rafting down Urubamba river. Before we loaded the bus, we shared some funny and awkward stories about our first night in the homestay. Some memorable ones include: stepping on a guinea pig, endless games of Jenga and stumbling and struggling trying to communicate in Spanish. Our bus ride was short to the river put in. Upon our arrival we quickly dressed in wetsuits, helmets and life jackets, slathered on some sunblock and hit the river! The river was perfect combination of excitment and relaxation! We paddled in sync while obeying our raft guides instructions. The views down the valley were incredible, snowcapped peaks cut into the blue sky rising above the endless green rolling hills. Trains headed for Machu Picchu passed, Inca ruins spotted the landscape. After about 2 hours on the river we were treated to a delicious lunch of chicken, potatos and Inka Cola, a Peruvian soda we are all learning to love. The bus ride back to Urubamba was a nice siesta and we returned to school to plan the English lessons we will teach teenagers of the community later this week. We headed home to enjoy another night with our families, hopefully with more fun stories to share tomorrow!
Jueves 10 de Junio
We had an earlier start today! No sleeping in on work days. We met again at the school and divided into two groups. One group started with jewelry making and others started with community service. The jewelry making was a special experience. Joana and Mario, a local artisan family met us at the school and walked us up the valley about 30 minutes to their home nestled into the hillside. They are silversmiths and artists. They invited us into their home and taught us how to make rings out of silver. Making and selling jewelry is their livlihood. Their jewlery makes its way to vendors in Cusco, Machu Picchu and Pisac. And here we were at getting to see and buy it all first hand! it was so cool to see them working and generous of them to show us. We also had the chance to shop and make bracelets as well. The community service we took part in today was also exciting. Its about time we all got our hands dirty with some manual labor! The school we have been working at had several projects they needed help with. They were simple, but our hard work proved to make a difference. We painted several walls around the school, used plaster to clean the walls around the courtyard, painted basketball hoops and scraped old paint off of bricks to prepare for new paint. Though it is hard to feel like you have made an impact in one short day, we were able to see some progress, which is a good feeling. Tomorrow…market day! Finally we get to spend some of our hard earned Soles on Peruvian textiles, art, jewelry and more!
Update #3:
Friday 10 June
Today was a much anticipated day. Market Day! Throughout our trip we have seen endless street vendors selling jewelry, art, textiles, toys and more. The vibrant colors and persistency of the vendors has been tempting. But Sam and Stephanie insisted that the Pisac Market, in the heart of the Sacred Valley was worth the wait. We pulled into the markets square and small tables with heaps of goods lined each walkway as far as the eye could see. Definitely worth the wait! From bags to hats to scarves, baby toys silver, Peruvian goods may be the most beautiful in all of South America! We spent hours shopping in groups, bargaining for a better price. Some of us were better than others, but the prices were always good compared to New York City! We ended the day at an Alpaca Farm. Alpacas have the finest fur in the world. We were able to pet them and feed them. Their goofy eyes and slow mouths made for great photo taking opportunities. The evening ended with some time with our families. Our evening Despidida! All of the families and students met at a restaurant to celebrate our time together. Each student had to write a letter in Spanish to our homestay families and read it out loud. We were a little nervous, but they certainly understood our Spanish as they smiled and embraced us with a warm abrazo.
Saturday 11 June
Today was an early morning! We had to meet at the school at 7:30 to help the students make a sand art photo in the middle of the street. The community of Urubamba has been preparing for a religious festival for weeks. There was going to be a festival of folklore dancing, music and a parade. We didn’t really know what to expect, but the experience proved to be one of the most authentic of the trip. Peruvians from all over the south of Peru came to Urubamba for this parade. The parade started and we were all in awe. Thousands of people marched down the street, some in bright colors, some wore masks. They all danced. We were really lucky to be a part of something that was authentic and not for tourists! We must have taken 1000 pictures between the 20 of us! Following the parade we taught English to the students at Sagrado Corazon. Following this we went to a local ceramic shop to paint and design ceramic tiles. Everyone was able to make their own. Lastly, we spent the last hours of the day with our families before catching the train to Machu Picchu in the evening.
Sunday 12 June
This is the day we have REALLY been waiting for! Machu Picchu! Not everyone is as lucky as us to be able to see one of the 7 wonders of the world. Machu Picchu opened at 6 am. We decided as a group that we wanted to be there as early as possible to have some time before the clouds and for the best photo opportunities. Thus, we had a 4 am wakeup call! As we all stumbled downstairs we ate what we could and started walking to the bus at 4:45. The first bus up to Machu Picchu left at 5:30. We were on the bus by 6 and slowly climbed the steep switchbacks up the side of the mountian. Machu Picchu sits on the top of a mountain above the town of Aguas Calientes. It’s pretty amazing to climb back and forth, slowly, and you can’t even imagine what Machu Picchu is really like until you have seen it. About 5 people decided to hike up instead of taking the bus. The rest of us thought the bus sounded like a better option. We entered the site and immediately went up the famous spot to get the classic Machu Picchu picture. At 6:30 am, it was still obscured by a blanket of clouds. But slowly as the sun rose in the East, the clouds burned off and revealed a magical sight. We spent quite a long time taking in its beauty and snapping as many photos as possible. We actually learned it is impossible to take a bad photo of this place! Following these serene and special moments we started our tour. We learned about the Inca and discovery of Machu Picchu. The most interesting thing we learned is that no one really knows to this day exactly what Machu Picchu was used for. The Inca were an incredible civilization and left us all in awe. After a long day at the site, we said goodbye and boarded a train back to Cusco. When we got to our hotel the air was thin and crisp. Only 2 days more, which is hard to believe! Tomorrow we will have a chance to explore Cusco before flying back to Lima, then New York on Tuesday!
Friday 10 June
Today was a much anticipated day. Market Day! Throughout our trip we have seen endless street vendors selling jewelry, art, textiles, toys and more. The vibrant colors and persistency of the vendors has been tempting. But Sam and Stephanie insisted that the Pisac Market, in the heart of the Sacred Valley was worth the wait. We pulled into the markets square and small tables with heaps of goods lined each walkway as far as the eye could see. Definitely worth the wait! From bags to hats to scarves, baby toys silver, Peruvian goods may be the most beautiful in all of South America! We spent hours shopping in groups, bargaining for a better price. Some of us were better than others, but the prices were always good compared to New York City! We ended the day at an Alpaca Farm. Alpacas have the finest fur in the world. We were able to pet them and feed them. Their goofy eyes and slow mouths made for great photo taking opportunities. The evening ended with some time with our families. Our evening Despidida! All of the families and students met at a restaurant to celebrate our time together. Each student had to write a letter in Spanish to our homestay families and read it out loud. We were a little nervous, but they certainly understood our Spanish as they smiled and embraced us with a warm abrazo.
Saturday 11 June
Today was an early morning! We had to meet at the school at 7:30 to help the students make a sand art photo in the middle of the street. The community of Urubamba has been preparing for a religious festival for weeks. There was going to be a festival of folklore dancing, music and a parade. We didn’t really know what to expect, but the experience proved to be one of the most authentic of the trip. Peruvians from all over the south of Peru came to Urubamba for this parade. The parade started and we were all in awe. Thousands of people marched down the street, some in bright colors, some wore masks. They all danced. We were really lucky to be a part of something that was authentic and not for tourists! We must have taken 1000 pictures between the 20 of us! Following the parade we taught English to the students at Sagrado Corazon. Following this we went to a local ceramic shop to paint and design ceramic tiles. Everyone was able to make their own. Lastly, we spent the last hours of the day with our families before catching the train to Machu Picchu in the evening.
Sunday 12 June
This is the day we have REALLY been waiting for! Machu Picchu! Not everyone is as lucky as us to be able to see one of the 7 wonders of the world. Machu Picchu opened at 6 am. We decided as a group that we wanted to be there as early as possible to have some time before the clouds and for the best photo opportunities. Thus, we had a 4 am wakeup call! As we all stumbled downstairs we ate what we could and started walking to the bus at 4:45. The first bus up to Machu Picchu left at 5:30. We were on the bus by 6 and slowly climbed the steep switchbacks up the side of the mountian. Machu Picchu sits on the top of a mountain above the town of Aguas Calientes. It’s pretty amazing to climb back and forth, slowly, and you can’t even imagine what Machu Picchu is really like until you have seen it. About 5 people decided to hike up instead of taking the bus. The rest of us thought the bus sounded like a better option. We entered the site and immediately went up the famous spot to get the classic Machu Picchu picture. At 6:30 am, it was still obscured by a blanket of clouds. But slowly as the sun rose in the East, the clouds burned off and revealed a magical sight. We spent quite a long time taking in its beauty and snapping as many photos as possible. We actually learned it is impossible to take a bad photo of this place! Following these serene and special moments we started our tour. We learned about the Inca and discovery of Machu Picchu. The most interesting thing we learned is that no one really knows to this day exactly what Machu Picchu was used for. The Inca were an incredible civilization and left us all in awe. After a long day at the site, we said goodbye and boarded a train back to Cusco. When we got to our hotel the air was thin and crisp. Only 2 days more, which is hard to believe! Tomorrow we will have a chance to explore Cusco before flying back to Lima, then New York on Tuesday!