Last Day of Class Before Winter Vacation

Yesterday was the last day of class before Winter Vacation, and we celebrated Richard and Cristian's birthdays with food and dancing. Below you can see the teacher, Tania, and one of the birthday boys, Cristian.

 Below, everyone is about to sing Happy Birthday (in English!) to Richard.

Weekend #3: Chinchero Sunday Market

This Saturday I stayed in Urubamba to recouperate from being sick (2 out of the 3 weeks I have been here), but on Sunday I went to the Sunday crafts market in Chinchero, which is about 30 minutes away.

 Another volunteer, Jackson, was looking to buy some of these toritos de Pukara. I also want to buy some, but hopefully I will be able to go to Pukara where they are made to buy them there! It is near Puno and Lake Titicaca, so maybe I can stop by when I go there...eventually.

 The vendors are very aggressive and call out to you to get your attention. It is also a very common practice to bargain with one another. One of the volunteers, Tamara, has a gift for bargaining, but I don't quite have. I can usually get them to lower the price a little bit, but not nearly as much as she can!

It has been a rough week since I have been sick and today was very hard, but this next week will be better since we are going to go to Machu Picchu! We are going on the short Inka Jungle Trail, which lasts 3 days and 2 nights. We start at Ollantaytambo on Thursday with a 4 hour bike ride with stops at two archeological sites, Inkatambo and Huamanmarka. We will spend the night in a hostel at Santa Teresa. On Friday, we will hike from Santa Teresa up to Aguas Calientes, stopping to visit an Inkan sundial (Intiwatana). Early Saturday morning (4:00am), we will get up to hike to Machu Picchu, arriving at 6:30am for a tour. Hopefully we will be able to hike up Huayna Picchu, a mountain that overlooks the ruins (only 400 people are allowed to hike up per day). Finally, we are taking a train back home that evening.

Weekend: Moray, Salineras and Cusco

 These circular terraces at Moray were used by the Inca to grow crops. Each level has its own "microclimate." There is a temperature difference of up to 25 degrees fahrenheit between the top and bottom.

 These salineras or salt mines have been functional for more than 400 years. Each pool is managed by a single family, and the salt is sold throughout the Sacred Valley and Cusco.

 This is the cathedral in Plaza de Armas in Cusco, which is the center of the tourist area. The hostel we stayed at was about 2 blocks from here. At this hostel, I ran into someone with whom I went to high school, Matt Boitano. It is a small world.

The ruins of Sacsayhuaman, which was an Incan fort, is HUGE. Some of the boulders used to make the walls are more than 8 meters tall.

Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, and Sickness

This weekend we went to visit the ruins at Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. The fortress at Ollantaytambo was the location of a famous victory of the Incan rebels led by Manco Inca over Spanish conquistadores in 1536.

Chinchero has a very beautiful Spanish church that was built on top of an Incan temple. It is very intersting to see the huge blocks of foundation with adobe on top.

Between Chinchero and Urubamba, we stopped to take photos of the beautiful scenery. It is very strange to have so much snow on the mountains at this time of year, but it was so beautiful!

Sadly, on Sunday I woke up with a bad cold so I was not able to go to Pisac with the other volunteers. However, I will be here for 9 more weeks, so hopefully I will be able to visit it before I leave!

Urubamba: Week One

 Tarwi with plantains and rice for lunch.

 The family dog, Killa.

 My 2-year-old sister, Killary. She likes to beat me up.

 The Wednesday Market in Urubamba.

The view from the ProPeru office.

It has been one week since I left from the US. While I do miss my friends, family, and Robert, I have quickly become close with my family and the other volunteers here. I am working with a second grade class at a public school near my house, and so far it has been wonderful. The kids are exhausting, but very affectionate and playful.

Tomorrow I am going to Ollantaytambo with the other volunteers to visit the ruins there. This will be our first excursion from Urubamba, and I am definitely excited.  On Sunday we are going to Pisac, which also has ruins but is more known for their craft market.

Cuzco

I have been in Cuzco for about 6 hours sitting in the ProWorld office with the other people in the program. Hopefully we will be leaving soon for Urubamba so I can meet my family! And go to sleep...

Departure

I am officially on my way! Well, I am at the San Francisco airport and I am waiting for my flight to LAX. I am amazed at how much money I have spent preparing for this trip. Hopefully I will be prepared for everything!