Peru Blog

The day started in a bittersweet fashion with hugs and farewells to our host families. We reminisced on the meaningful time we had spent together in Ollataytambo, packed onto our bus, and headed for Cuzco. Passing by countryside and mountains, we made stops at various attractions such as Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, Sacsayhuamán, an alpaca farm, and finally, lunch at the magnificent Tunupa restaurant.

After breakfast with our host families, we all met at Tumy House to walk over to Virgen de Fatima school, where we have been hosting cultural workshops throughout the past two weeks. When we got there, we helped set up the surprise for the students, which consisted of new books, furniture, toys, and materials for their library. This was part of “El proyecto”, where Groton and fellow GEO alumni aid the school with a specific need that they identify.

The day has finally come for us to visit Machu Picchu! We kicked things off bright and early, meeting at the train station around 7 am. Shortly afterwards, we boarded the Inca Rail and began our journey. The 2-hour train ride was an amazing experience filled with beautiful scenery, music, and dance. We arrived in Aguas Calientes around 10 AM, where we boarded a bus and took a trip up the mountain to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World!

This morning, the group set out early in the morning for our cooking class. We arrived at 9:00 a.m. ready to make our lunch. First, we began by peeling green beans, squeezing limes, peeling chicken, cutting celery, and slicing meat into small pieces. Then, we learned that the most efficient way to peel and mash potatoes is to do so while they’re steaming hot — how difficult!

Today, we had a classic Peruvian breakfast with our homestay families before moving on to today’s big activity: basket weaving! For the past week, our wonderful coordinator Pancho has been preparing the sticks for baskets for us to make today. The process involves hiking for hours into the Andes to retrieve the special kind of reeds needed to make our baskets.

Today, we all woke up this morning after a long day of walking and a good night’s rest to go to catholic mass. We observed how Incan culture is incorporated into catholicism here in Ollantaytambo. Then we returned to our homestays before going to our “Pachamanca” luncheon. It is a typical Peruvian tradition where the food being served is cooked with coal underground.

The group woke up to a cold morning at the Pumamarca campsite, watching the sun rise from behind the Andean mountain range. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, fruit salad, yogurt, and mate. Our tour guide, Fernando, took us up to the Incan ruins located a few minutes’ hike from the campsite, where we learned about the significance of rock piles and the building methods of the Incan homes and fortresses we observed.

We set out early this morning for our campsite at Pumamarca, marking the start of our long-awaited overnight trip. Four miles and 1800+ feet of elevation made for a challenging voyage, but the provided snacks and music from Rex’s iPod made it an enjoyable one.

Today, we began our day working various jobs with our families. Some ran errands in the market, some tended to the family storefronts, and some performed manual labor in the field. Our very own, Rafaella, learned how to crochet a llama. After enjoying lunch at our homes, we all met at Tumy House and got ready to spend time with the students of “Virgen de Fatima” again.

Today was the second full day with our host families. In the morning, we all helped out our Peruvian parents with their jobs. Some of us worked in the markets, did construction, helped around the households, and worked in the garden. After we returned to our homestays for traditional Peruvian dishes like ají de gallina and lomo saltado.

Today was the first full day that we spent with our families. In the morning, many of us enjoyed pancakes or eggs before we reunited and headed out to explore “La Zona Monumental.” Amid a full flight of stairs, our tour guides Pancho and Fernando gave us a great deal of information about the Incan religious culture that characterized the architecure of the ruins.

After eating breakfast, we went to the Incan ruins in the mountains. We went with our Peruvian leaders, Señor Fernando and Pancho, to learn about the ancient Incan empire. We learned how the Incas stored food high up in the mountains; the wind and cold acted as a natural refrigerator. We also learned which gods the Incans praised.

The students had an exciting day today, which they will tell you all about tomorrow. 

Everyone enjoyed a restful night’s sleep, much needed after yesterday’s long travel day. We had fluffy pancakes, scrambled and fried eggs, with which we had chicha morada (purple corn drink) and sauco jam. Everyone broke up into groups where we explored and familiarized ourselves with the town.

On Friday, we all took our final exam of the year in Spanish, before departing to JFK airport in New York. Our flight was a red-eye to Lima before hopping onto our second flight to Cusco. When we arrived, the adventure truly began!

We started off the day by working with our families. Each of our families are dedicated to different professions around town. Some of us helped sell things in their stores, while others helped collect crops in the fields, and others helped out with tasks within the home. Then, we ate lunch with our host families and had a bit of free time before meeting up at Tumy House to go over to the primary school. 
 

We started our day today with a religious service, a "misa", as they call it here, at our local church in the main plaza of Ollantaytambo. We discovered the differences between local services and services in the United States – while people here are equally, if not more, devout Catholics, there were vast differences in the music and decorations, with more innovation and nature.
 

Greetings from Peru! Today marks our first full week in the Sacred Valley. Our time here has been filled with lots of adventure, laughs, and Spanish speaking. Each day of the GEO a different pair of students are chosen to be leaders of the day. At the end of the day, those leaders have write a summary or our experiences. Below you can find summaries from this past week. Enjoy!