Tuesday, February 21. We awoke in this Incan village containing some of the oldest continually-occupied homes in the Americas. The constant rain the previous night had us worried that we may not be able to tour two sets of ruins planned for the day, but we were fortunate when,…
Everyone had a good laugh. Monday, February 20. After breakfast with our families in Lucre and Huacarpay we headed through the Andean mountains for three stops on our way winding towards Machu Picchu: Chinchero: Although the remains of an ancient Incan temple and terraces are here, the…
Sunday, February 19. Last night all the students were left in pairs at the homes of Mennonite families in the villages of Huacarpay and Lucre. The guys spending the night in Lucre (whom will not be not identified as Mark, Tyler and Rowan), upon seeing the village’s artificial turf…
Saturday, February 18 Dusti exits a cave underneath the fortress of Pukapukara. During our first full day we visited four places with odd-sounding names — Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Q’enko, and Sacsaywaman – which after the visits became identified with different Incan purposes, designs, construction styles, and histories. After…
Friday, February 17 We left early this morning for a 90-minute flight (vs. a 20-hour bus ride!) to Cusco, the capital of the Incan Empire, whose name means “navel” (as in “the belly button of the Incan world”). For perhaps the first time ever, all the students were pleased…
Wednesday and Thursday, February 15-16 We have safely returned from our epic week of travels in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. On Friday and Saturday the students departed for their service locations on overnight buses. By Saturday and Sunday they had all arrived at the homes of their…
Thursday night and Friday, February 9-10. Climbing the hill to the old cemetery. After the Ballumbrosio family fed us supper they put on a musical show filled with beats and zapateo dancing characteristic of their community. Another popular tradition we followed is dancing around a bonfire,…
Thursday, February 9. Mark has been the only student this year to earn Camilo’s fist-bump award for Outstanding Beginner’s Talent. We took a 2-day field trip to a small community of Afro-Peruvians, descendants of the slave trade. A three-hour ride south of Lima, in the small…
Friday and Saturday, February 3-4 Also grown in the valley are oranges, corn, and peppers. This two-day field trip visited 2 locations with a shared name but separated by 5,000 years of history. A 4-hour bus ride took us past seemingly endless mountains of arid sand and…
Tuesday and Wednesday, January 31 and February 1 The high kicks had the guys in a full sweat, but their tongues weren’t hanging out yet. What is more exhausting than playing futbol? Answer: doing traditional Peruvian dances with Pedro Farias. The dance instructor divided the students into…
