Hello from Cuzco!! We have just arrived back to the Incan Capitol last night after an amazing (and completely exhausting) 5 day trek to Machu Picchu. It all started on Thursday night when our tour guide, the legendary Antonio walked in the door of our hostel to give us an overview for the next couple days and a warning to be ready at 6:00 am the next morning. So there we all were, more or less, at 6:00 am in hostel lobby waiting to start our trek with our bags packed (admittedly mine was the heaviest) and waterbottles steri-penned. We loaded up into the van and drove for about 2 hours to have breakfast and then drove for another hour or so to reach our starting point where we broke out the coca leaves and headed up the mountain to check out a lake at about 13,000 feet mas o menos. I´m not sure how acquainted you all are with chewing coca leaves but it´s actually…it´s pretty gross. I did not enjoy it. But we hiked pretty straight up for about an hour to reach one of the bluest lakes I´ve ever seen. After taking quite a number of pictures and knocking my backpack off the ledge, which Antonio, the charmer that he is, hiked down and retrieved, we turned back around to get lunch (all the food  was delicious) and to begin our trek on the Salkantay trail. We had about a 2 hour hike uphill which got pretty freaking hard for a while (we also had some trusty steeds ready whenever we got too tired) until we reached the campsite where we had ¨happy hour¨ which consisted of hot chocolate, tea, and popcorn followed shortly by dinner, some ghost stories (with one that started out kind of scary but then lost all of its momentum when Antonio said the ghost was named ¨the fat sucker¨), a quick constellation lesson and then early to bed…

…and early to rise at 6:30 with breakfast and then an hour uphill hike where we saw saw Salkantay mountain up close and personal at the peak of the trail at about 15,000 feet (i was chewing those coca le

aves like no other). and it was beautiful. We then hiked down to have lunch for about 2 hours and then we hiked up a mountain for about an hour and it was pretty steep. But once we reached the top and we had the most beautiful view of the valley so we took a little break and watched the sunset over the mountains. Unreal beautiful. After that we hiked for another 30 minutes down to reach the campsite for some happy hour (claro que si) and then dinner and bed.

Another 6:00 am wake-up with coca tea and a little bin of warm water to wash your face (at this point, i think we all gave up on trying to stay clean though), and we started probably our easiest day (in my opinion because it was just a half day of hiking) which was a couple hours of downhill hiking. Now, while uphill is challenging because it´s hard to breath, downhill isnt a cake walk: it gets hard on your knees after an hour. We then walked along the road for a while until we met our van to take us to our lunch spot where we ate once again a delicious lunch with some good old fashioned Justin Bieber playing in the background. We then drove to the campsite where we dropped our duffels off at the tents and headed to the hot springs to relax a little bit. It felt SO. GOOD. after a couple hours we drove back to the campsite to have some Lomo Saltado for dinner and then sat around the campfire for a bit and then went to bed.

Sunday: our last big trek day. the day before we reached Machu Picchu: so close!! Of course, we had a HUGE day ahead of us. 3 hours uphill, 3 hours downhill, no horses. big day. There was a point where it did get really challenging and it occured to me that i probably sounded like a dying person because I was wheezing so hard but i made it up the mountain, completely soaked from sweat and still breathing hard, but I was proud. My juicebox at the top never tasted so good. We then reached an Incan site where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. We then had our 3 hour downhill hike to our van and it was pretty killer. My knees hurt a lot but we reached the bottom and drove to our lunch spot and then took our train to Aguas Calientes, the town about 20 minutes from Machu Picchu where we took our first hot shower in 4 days, had a delicious dinner, and prepared to see MACHU PICCHU!!

Monday: Machu Picchu: pretty incredible. we had breakfast at 5:30 to got to MP as soon as possible which is absolutely unreal. Looking down at it, you totally understand why it´s one of the new seven wonders of the world. It´s truly breathtaking. After taking a ton of pictures (read: a ton), Antonio gave us a tour of a Machu Picchu and those Incans…they had it figured out. no joke. We then hiked up Wayna Picchu which, if you have ever seen a picture of Machu Picchu, its the mountain behind it, was pretty tough. It was a lot of stairs. The Incans must have had calves of steel, because mine were burning at the top. but it was beautiful. the view: spectacular. It was the definition of feeling on top of the world. We descended and said goodbye to Antonio and then we all went our separate ways with some of us leaving early for lunch and others sticking around to do some Acroyoga which we learned at the yoga retreat (we got a lot of stares). We then all found our way back to the hotel, grabbed our stuff, and boarded a 3 hour train to Poroy where Antonio surprised us in the van to take us back to the Cuzco. We got back at 9, absolutely exhausted, tired, sleepy, and amazed at how far we had come. In 5 days, we had hiked over 40 something miles. That´s a lot of miles. Safe to say, we all crashed pretty quickly after we got back.

But with us conquering the Salkantay trail and visiting Machu Picchu, that marks the end of our trip. 3 months have gone by and we are going to say goodbye to our leaders and some members of the group tomorrow. pretty crazy. and soon, we´ll be on a plane to LAX and after that: home.

Love,
Katie and Cade

Hello from Cusco otra vez! We’ve survived the jungle!

After returning to our hostel in Puerto Maldonado from Robin’s jungle abode, we all parted ways to drop off our pretty foul-smelling laundry and to find some food. We finally  reunited with Lizzy and Meghan (think  “chariots of fire”), who had prepared everybody some pretty bomb iced lemonade. That night we all went out to one last group dinner with Robin and Brionne, and seeing an all-you-can-eat salad bar after days without the leafy green vegetable was quite exciting.  It was definitely a strange experience to go back to the land of electricity, but I think for many of us it was a welcome change. With the help of the hostel’s DVD player and Lizzy’s selection of DVDs, Eli and Meghan were able to experience The Notebook for the first time ( after the movie ended there wasn’t a dry seat in the house). A pretty great way to end the day.

The next day we all got up and met our jungle guides for our Lake Sandoval tour. A forty(ish) minute boat ride down the Madre de Dios River, an hour walk, and a half hour long canoe ride later, we reached our hostel right on the lake. While staying there we got to hike around the neighboring jungle to see more jungle flora (like the giant Ficus trees, a brazil nut tree, and the strangler fig) and fauna (spider monkeys, parrots, spiders, and the ever-present fire ants). That night we even had the opportunity to go Caiman hunting, and one of our guides caught a baby. Some of the more daring members of the group asked to hold it, and I think some childhood dreams of being the next Crocodile Hunter were fulfilled that night. Back on land there was another late-night option to hunt for tarantulas and snakes, although some opted out in favor of going to bed. The next day, at a lovely 5:30 AM wake-up call, we donned our boots once again to continue the jungle exploration. After lunch we headed back out on the lake, but this time we were going back to Puerto Maldonado to get some rest before flying to Cusco the following morning. On our way out we got one last piece of the jungle: we passed a man fishing for Piranhas, and he gave us one of his caught fish to pass around. One of the guides promptly bagged it and stuck it, still flopping, into his backpack  as a snack for later.

Being back in Cusco has had its ups and downs. The cool and dry climate is sweet relief in comparison to the sweltering sauna of the jungle, but some of us have had trouble adjusting to the altitude again. Tomorrow we head off to the Sacred Valley for our yoga retreat, and then after that all that we have left is the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu! It’s hard to believe that we have less than two weeks before returning to the homeland. Where did the time go? I think a lot of us are really excited to be back home and see our families again. The thought of flushing toilet paper and having a closet is rather mind-boggling.

Until next time!

Kai and Drew

We have just returned from an amazing four night stay in the forest. Not just the forest—the Amazon Jungle. It was incredible. Everything is so much richer there: the air, the smells, the soil, the life. It truly was a sensory overload; and not everything we felt, heard and smelt was totally positive: the mosquitoes, bees and flies buzzing incessantly in our ears, the constant need to scratch our legs, ankles and arms, the sweat dripping down us and soaking our clothes, the stench of BO mixed with molding clothing…

But we endured all of this. And I´m glad we did. I think I speak for at least some of my group-mates (as well as for myself) in saying that this (perhaps coupled with Achupallas) was the most unique and amazing experience of the trip thus far.

The experience began with a five or six hour boat ride down an Amazonian river. We arrived in the afternoon at Robin´s property. Robin is twenty-nine year old dude who grew up in Concord, Mass (about a mile away from Walden Pond). After high school, around the age of nineteen, he came down to visit Peru. From a young age he had been interested in medicinal plants and in nature. He had come down here seeking the wisdom of local medicine men and healers. After his first journey down here, he was so certain that this was the place from him that he came back a few months later—to stay. He has owned this current property for six years now and has started his own organization: Camino Verde (literally translated ´green path´).

After stopping by Robin´s, we continued another ten minutes up the river to our lodgings: five sturdy but plain bungalows, compete with mosquito-net-beds, and scattered around the central dining hall. In anticipation of our first day of work, we retired to beds quickly, soothed by the roaring of the river and the singing of the insects. The next morning began at 5:30, with breakfast 6:00. We gobbled up our eggs and fried bananas before heading down the river to Robin´s. We arrived and immediately and set out on a two mile hike (through mud puddles and pools over water, over streams on wobbly ´bridges´(scrawny tree trunks), over biting ants, and amongst the noblest, most stately trees I´ve ever seen. We were walking through the Amazon Jungle- a seemingly endless sea of green, complete with flirtatious bird calls and unrecognizable animal tracks. A primordial, instinctual emotion rippled through me. I felt so much at home, thousands of miles from Connecticut.

We arrived at the work sight and began clearing a trail that would be used to monitor and care for the land, and keep out unwanted visitors (like poachers and tree-cutters). We spent the next four hours machete-ing and axing, getting blisters and calluses, falling in mud and off ´bridges´. I even had to take my fire-ant-infested pants to escape their biting. We trudged back three of four hours later, exhausted and ravenous. We inhaled our lunch. The consensus was that a plate of rice, beans and sour kraut had never been so delicious. This was our morning routine for four days, even down to the rice, beans and sour kraut. Our clothes got smellier, our faces got dirtier (despite our races to the showers every evening) and we got even more exhausted. Our afternoons were filled with different activities: transplanting vanilla, learning about carbon offset, touring the farm and woods, chopping open coconuts, planting trees, covering un-canopied soil with a cover crop so that it did not dry out and turn to desert.

We spent our last night in the Amazon at a lake in the middle of the jungle. We saw spider and squirrel monkeys, lake otters, tarantula, caimans, and many types of birds. It was a lake unlike any other I´ve seen before: deep, shinny blue surrounded on all sides by tall thin trees. It was a great way to spend the final night—more time to just observe and relax instead of use axes and machetes.

I really want to return this jungle one day.

-Max

Ayyo Ayyo what up what up once again!

After finishing the last week of spanish school with a Samana Santa grub festival, mostly fish (almost traumatic), but also delicious ceviche with our spanish teachers. Teaching all of the group, teachers included the game el hombre lobo (werewolf?) or Mafia was definitely an experience. Each time i stay in a homestay or just sit down with someone new, different color of skin, different, mentality, different past, just listening and learning is my favorite part of learning a new language. To be honest, my spanish sucks and having not just a teacher, but also a friend there to not correct what you have to say, but teach you a new set of customs and explain new culture. A few nights ago during dinner the awesome and spontaneous host mother “Manchi” sat down and talked to me. With my broken spanish i managed to explain the drug cartels and illegal immigration from Mexico to Arizona, my spanish sucks but thats progress right? On a side note, sorry about the unorganization of my writing, similar to me telling a story, I forget the origiona

l point of the story. Anyway the committment to religion in Cusco is astonishing, on Monday there was a procession I thought it would be cool to go and see it, then it started to rain, didn’t really stop for the rest of the day, straight pouring for the rest of the night, the plaza was filled. I went to an internet cafe and the Plaza De Armas was on the tele just packed. As for this upcoming Monday off to Puerto Maldonado woot woot! 90-100 degrees with 100% humidity and mosquitos ohhhhh yea I’m ready for that! I am excited to be in the jungle and to finally purchase a machete. I told my brother when I was in Otavalo that I needed to buy him a little knife because you never know when a family brawl will break out. Tomorrow off to Stadium Garcilaso, oh! Also this week I made more money playing soccer than I have in my life. A grand total of five soles equivalent to less than two American dollars. Also, to whom it may concern, but thank you for everything, I’ve noticed people aren’t appreciated enough and I just wanted to let you know that you are appreciated. Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.

Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

-Cade

Hello friends and family! 

We’ve just returned to Cusco after our week of free travel. After weeks of discussing and some planning, we chose to take the 10 hour overnight bus to Arequipa, and have the city be our home base for the week. We spent the first couple days hanging around the city, going to museums, markets, and eating far too much gelato.

Our second stop was the small beach town of Mollendo. For two days, we had the hectic schedule of laying on the beach, getting in the ocean, and sitting on the beach again.  Somehow we managed to squeeze in some time for eating meals ranging from ceviche to pizza; trying emoliente, a herbal tea concoction, and queso helado, cold creamy cubes native to Arequipa; and wondering around the market and panderías. Some explored the abandoned El Castillo de Forga and went a little crazy with our cameras. In all seriousness, our time in Mollenda was a nice, slower change of pace.

We then came back to Arequipa just for enough time for a couple hours of sleep before we were woken up at 3 a.m. to head to to Colca Canyon for our two day trek extravaganza. Some people chose to take the 3 hour hike down to the bungalos we were staying in for the night, where others of us hike through the canyon for about 7 hours. Our exhaustion was worth it, for the cayon was unbelievable.   The next morning, we were very aware that the hike back would be arriba, arriba, arriba (up, up, up) and that it would be another early morning. Some of us took mules which was an experience in its own. They brought us up to the top of the canyon, and after a bus ride back to Arequipa we took yet another night bus back to Cusco. With the amount of unknown plans we had at the beginning of this trip, our free travel week turned out awesome. Never the less, we’re glad to be back in Cusco and back to our spanish teachers.

Much love                       

Ciao, Ivy and Seth

 

Hello from Cusco! Or Cuzco, depending on how you spell it. Today is our last day in the city before heading off to Arequipa and the beach for our week of free travel. Our week in Cusco has been incredible! On Monday we met our respective host families and began our Spanish classes at FairPlay language school. The school employs single mothers in an effort to break the cycle of discrimination and poverty that single mothers face in Peru.

Our classes are split into two sections: two hours of Spanish grammar, and two hours of practicing Spanish out and about in the bustling city. With Kai´s  Spanish Practice teacher she has gone to the bus station to inquire about tickets, a market to try ´picarrones´ (a fried ring of bread with honey sauce, rather like a superior donut), a church with an incredible view of Cusco to talk about its history, and a chocolate museum (quite a tasty experience).  Emily´s teacher has introduced her to the wonders of some special Peruvian bakeries, and has taken her to tour a few fruit markets to satisfy her daily craving for pineapple juice. With the Spanish school we´ve also tried our hands at Peruvian cooking- On Tuesday night we learned how to make ‘Rocoto Relleno’, a stuffed pepper filled with meat, spices, vegetables, and raisins and then covered in dough and fried. Needless to say, it was delicious. Although, much to Ivy´s horror, an ‘ava’ bean managed to make it into the mix.  A little memory from Achupallas!

This week we’ve had mornings before class free to ourselves to wander the city or meet up with friends, and we’ve used the time to get acquainted with the best spots to obtain waffles and french toast, even if we join the masses of Gringos. For anyone visiting Cusco soon, The Meeting Place, Papillion, and Jack´s are some of our favorite haunts.  Several establishments are starting to recognise us (for our incredible ability to eat several slices of cake…each).  Also, after several days of searching, the girls finally found a place that offers yoga classes! Kai was quite excited to try yoga for the first time, and the experience didn’t disappoint.

Unfortunately, not all of us had the opportunity to explore Cusco. Poor Eli was struck down by a triple-wammy of infection and disease that left him in the hospital for a few nights. He still managed to keep a positive attitude about the whole ordeal, calling his hospital room his ‘penthouse suite’ and enjoying the view and the TV. The girls and Seth paid him a visit to see this sweet pad of his, and to practice our Zumba routines in the spacious hospital room. He recovered quickly enough to join us in our awesome Salsa lessons at the school though!

We’re looking forward to returning and learning more Spanish in Cusco, although our week of free travel in Arequipa and on the beach is going to be amazing too!!!

Ciao!

-Kai and Emily

 

Another week has gone by and we have reached the half way point! After leaving Achupallas with a tearful goodbye, we arrived back in Otavalo for some hot showers and retail therapy! We were really successful, especially Kai who is now the proud owner of 2 hammocks and a hammock chair. The next day we took about a 2 hour bus ride and arrived in Quito to explore the city for a couple days. It was definitely a shock to arrive in such a huge city after living in Achupallas where the whole community welcomed out us with open arms. On Thursday, we had the day to explore, with many of us checking the Basilica in the morning and the botanical gardens in the afternoon. We also had a girls night where we went to a cuban restaurant which had amazing food and some salsa dancing, while the boys stayed in a played card games. The next day we visited the center where Megan volunteered for 2 years in 2003 and 2004 and then headed to the Mitad Del Mundo where we learned about the effects of being directly on top, to the north, or to the south of the Equator. We then checked out a shopping mall and the headed back to the hostel. With today marking our last day in Ecuador, Megan and Kai booked us a reservation at the Secret Garden while we devoured some delicious food and reflected on our time in Ecuador and got excited for the next 7 weeks in Peru! We then woke up at a very early 3:20 am to board a plane to Cuzco where we settled into our homestays, checked out the Plaza de Armas and began our Spanish Classes at Fairplay School! During classes our teachers took us out to explore a little bit and see a market where we bought Tuna Fruit (which has no relation to the fish), which was super tasty. Ecuador was amazing time and we are looking forward to Peru!!

Much Love,
Drew and Katie

(photos to come!!)

It´s been a while since the last blog post. We spent ten days without any internet in Achupallas- a very rural community in the mountains above Otavalo. Otavalo famous town with one of largest outdoor markets in the world. They sell everything– blankets, jackets, instruments, jewelry, food, hammocks, hats, etc. After the time we spent there before and after our rural homsetays, the twelve of us could probably open up a little market of our own with the bags of stuff we bought. We stayed one night and two days in the town before heading up to Achupallas.
Achupalls was an amazing experience- the favorite spot thus far for many people in the group. Everyone had their own host family. The families were so warm and hospitipal. The people are ingigenous and still speak Quichua- the language the Incas spoke 600 years ago before the Spansih even arrived in Peru and Ecuador.
Their lifestyle is very rural, and based around agriculture. Most families have a farm or garden and grown their own food. Even the families without much land are bound to own some vacas and chanchos (cows and pigs). I (Max) would get up every morning around four or five o´clock to help my family feed the pigs. Then my host mom made me breakfast (usually reheated soup from the night before).
At 8:30 the group met up to work on our volunteer project- building a greenhouse. Deforestation is an obvious problem in the area and the greenhouse will be used to farm trees to reforest Ecuador.
We started the project from scratch. We had had to level the area, classify wood, paint the wood, elevate land, dig holes and trenches, etc. Basically we worked mostly on all the ¨dirty work¨that needs to be done before the structure can actually be put up. But by the time we left 10 days later most of the framework had already bee constructed.
The leader of the construction project was Mateo- a wizzened, jolly old indigenous man who´s land and livelyhood had been taken away from him by the government without any good reason. It was fulfilling to know that he now had complete control over this land and that the governement could not take it away because it was protected by USINCI- an organization for indigenous rights and improvemennts.
The entire experience was amazing and rounded out by some amazing side adventures: a hike to a volcanic lake and a boat ride around it, a visit to Abuelita- a ninty-two yearold indigenous healer who actually rid one of us of bad energy on the spot; a day making dinner with Claudia- a chef who has traveled around South America perfecting her rescipies (several people bought her cookbook after tasting the unbelievable food we created with her guidance.
But the most beautiful and rewarding part was the relationship we developed with the community. It was the first time Achupallas had hosted a single foriegner and they were so excited to have us. It is an experience that the Achupallas community and us travelers will never forget.

Love Max and Lizzy

What up what up!

Hello as well as goodbye from yours truly Cade, this past week has been a journey nonetheless. From Switching schools for volunteering to one of the best ego building experiences of my life.. futbol with the kids at the new school. Being a gringo ( such a surprise i know right?) i feel as if i was underestimated, and my the end of the recess my name went from Gato (the 3 and 4 year olds coulnd’t really pronounce Cade so cat is close enough) to el gringo loco. Only having four short days was tough, building relationships with children who constantly love life, smiling, laughing, embracing each moment as if they will never grow up. I decided to work with the 3 and 4 year old children because to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what i would be able to teach them. I didn’t come on this trip to teach i came to learn, and that is exactly what i did. Just observing how happy these kids are each and every day taught me that as much as we all have our lives to live, who are we to spread negative vibrations to another, to restrict them of thier own happiness? Seeing the smiles on these kids face will remind me in times that we think there is no hope, keep it simple and be grateful for the little things in life. After an intense P.E. session of stretching and “running” which was more like hearding sheep, i was on the bottom of a 4 year old dogpile, and between my gasping breaths of suffocation all i could do was smile. Goodbyes are always hard, but i have come to realize it isn’t the end, only the beginning to a new journey called Otavalo. From zip lining to searching the streets of Baños for well respected art on walls around the city this adventure is coming to the end, but another one is about to begin…

Cade

 

Tomorrow morning we are all powering through a 4 AM bus ride as we say goodbye to Banos, leave our host families, and head to Otovalo and then the Tundanga Foundation for a little over a week of volunteering in a tree nursery. New host families, new adventures, and new fun times lie ahead!
But today it´s hard to say goodbye. Kai and I recieved homemade bracelets and a huge bag of bread and cookies from our group of English students who have suffered through our attempt at teaching our own language these past two weeks. After struggling every day to remember grammer rules and spelling of irregular words, it was actually really sad to say goodbye. They had so much patience with us, and tried to hard to learn the lessons we were teaching, that I´ll be sad to not have to act out different verbs (falling and tripping were the most fun) again. Teaching English was one of the hardest things I´ve ever had to do, especially when I entered the classroom with Kai thinking we´d be teaching fourth or fifth graders and realizing immediately that we´d be teaching 17-20 year olds. The idea that a guitar and teaching head-shoulders-knees-and-toes would be sufficient went flying out of the window. Coming up with lesson plans and explaining concepts over and over again made me appreciate my teachers and professors so much more.
I also had to say an emotional goodbye to Mayra, my Spanish professor for the past two weeks. She and I have had many silly moments of total miscommunication (confusing the word for embarassed, embarasoso, with the word for pregnant, embarasado… oops), and great discussions about our families at various cafes around town. I´ve made more progress with Spanish in the last two weeks than I have in three years of Spanish classes in the USA, and I´ll miss my professor and our classes.
I´ve enjoyed my experience learning more about the daily life of Ecuadorians in Banos while living with a host family, as well as getting to know the other group members while hanging out in Cafe Hood, Rico Pan, and around the school. Rock climbing near the river and ziplining over the waterfalls with the group have also been once in a lifetime opportunities.
Adios Banos, I´ll miss you!
Emily