Blogs from Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 8
September 5th 2007
Just thought Id put a few pics of school up so everyone can see... we met the plumber today and hes starting on the bathrooms tomorrow and they should be finished in two weeks which is great. he has to pretty much take them apart and start from scratch with the floor, walls, plumbing, toilets, etc. and now were going to put tiles on the floor, a drain and make a shower in there as well. its pretty exciting cause we were all feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much this is all going to cost and we werent sure how much we´d be able to get done, but now its all happening i think we´ll be able to do heaps. in other news, i had banana pancakes and hot choc for dinner last night and ... read more
September 4th 2007
Were a month in now which is crazy cause already a third of the way through our placement.. Teaching has been good but bit frustrating at times with the little kids who cant even remember 1 2 3 after 2 hours... plus no matter how long you stand there trying to look angry with your hands on your head they just run around Were really getting into construction projects too. There´s so much to do, completely fixing bathroom plumbing, cement, new doors, paint, etc., flattening earth of field and clearing all the rubbish off, buying 200 new chairs, putting wooden floorboards in all classrooms, buying about 20 bins for around the schooll, classrooms and bathrooms, and painting the entire school! so we have heaps of work to do but I reckon we´ll get most of it ... read more
Cusco and the Sacred Valley
Published: September 28th 2007South America » Peru » Cusco » Sacred Valley
September 4th 2007
Cusco - Pisac - Urubamba - Ollantaytambo - Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu) - Cuscu We arrived in Cuzco the with same intentions as the thousands of other travelers who visit there, to see the Sacred Valley and visit the famous and mysterious site of Machu Picchu. Cusco was susprising; chock a block with trendy cafes, resturants, bars and the usual artisian fare.... no doubt due to the many visitors it receives day in, day out. We soon discovered that it wasn´t going to be cheap getting to and from machu picchu directly. So being wary of overpriced travel agents and budget conscious, over a plate of the local fave (roast guinea pig) we divised an economical travel route through the Sacred Valley. Early the next day we left town and headed to Pisac. The Tourist informaiton ... read more
August 21st 2007
Sooo we´ve been living in Calca for a week and a half now, Tam and I are with a really funny single mum Patricia who laughs at us all the time and calls us her babies, her 13 yr old daughter Daniella (who speaks pretty good english which is great for us with our bad Spanish) and their 9 year old slave girl, Yoni - a bit weird to deal with since she looks about 5 but shes gorgeous. We havent had any awkward moments with the language barrier cause of Dani, and also we have a disctionary with us constantly so have some very funny convos. Last night dinner conversation revolved around nudist beaches and discoteccas. Our house is connected to the pizzeria which our mum runs by herself. We are trying the pizza for ... read more
August 17th 2007
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe and sound and back in the United States. I returned on Monday, August 13th, two days before the earthquake struck. From what I understand, people in Cusco felt the tremors of the earthquake, but Cusco sustained no real damage. I appreciate the concern many of you have expressed for my well-being and for the well-being of the people of Peru. If you would like to help earthquake survivors in Peru, please follow one of the following links to offer your support: https://secure.ga4.org/01/peru_earthquake https://donate.oxfamamerica.org/02/peru_earthquake?qp_source=07fy%5fdo%5fgo%5fperu&gclid=CPv1mOCC%5fo0CFSasGgodz2pEMQ https://secure.ga3.org/03/DRIdonate06 https://www.kintera.org/site/c.ivIYIjN3JyE/b.3124887/k.EC55/Peru_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?kntaw17859=C76069C1651B4609A4A17AB80B5F427E If you would like to su... read more
July 25th 2007
Unfortunately, not a whole lot to write about for day 25.... I woke up at 9am with the intention of going on today's excursion, but the one and a half hour bus ride was not too appealing, and all that walking again!! Soooo, spent the day at the lodge relaxing, trying to add some pics to the blog, and hanging out. Since tomorrow is our big trip to Machu Picchu, not to mention my 28th birthday, I want to be well-rested and ready to rock one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Day 26 will be much fuller, I promise! And the pictures will be awesome. (if I can ever manage to get them uploaded) !Hasta mañana! Alyssa... read more
July 22nd 2007
Ok, had a great first night at our lodge in Sacred Valley. We are really in the middle of nowhere here! Enjoyed a quick breakfast at the hotel of eggs and toast, and then we were off for a day of excursions. Our first stop was to Ollantaytambo, a town in Southern Perú known for its ruins, and the only major site where the Incas defeated the Spaniards in battle. Because I was not feeling 100% and have been stuffy and conjested for the last couple of days, I stayed back and did not take the hike to the top of the ruins. I was concerned about altitude sickness and also afraid I might experience a bit of vertigo. But my faithful roommate Natalie took my camera with her so I would have some pictures ... read more
July 21st 2007
Leaving Chiclayo today, so we met in the lobby to head to the airport at 9am. Really gonna miss the tour bus we had here! Only 10 minute drive to airport, and thankfully the whole group got there at the same time! On an unfortunate note, my two bags weighed an excess of 10 kilos so they charged me an additional 20 dollars... US dollars, not 20 soles. I will pack a bit more strategically for the next flight! We had some time in the airport before our flight took off, so Natalie and the boys and I played a few games of Uno. I won 2 or 3. Somewhat of an upset for those seasoned players! When we got to Lima, we had all of 15 minutes to get off the plane and run through ... read more
Virgen del Carmen festival, Sacred Valley, horseback
Published: July 20th 2007South America » Peru » Cusco » Sacred Valley
July 20th 2007
Well the past week has been fairly busy. My class made another trek up to Saqsaywaman on Saturday. We had our teacher along this time which made things more interesting. After lunch at the ruins we played a game of soccer with some local peasant children then hit the trail on our horses. Probably the slowest, laziest horses I have ever seen, but we had an awesome time. We were able to go much higher on the mountain and get a better view of the city and the Saqsaywaman ruins (refer to pic). On Tuesday we headed to the Sacred Valley (45 mins from Cuzco) to check out the Pisac ruins in the morning and the Virgen del Carmen Festival in the afternoon. The Pisac ruins are by far the coolest I have seen thus ... read more
