Category Archives: 2011 Peru Immersion

“Eventful” only barely manages to describe our last week. After finishing our service project on Wednesday – and eating a delicious meal provided by the parents of the students from the school – our next focus was on our trek to Machu Picchu, though a surprise party put together by the hosts mothers that night did take our minds off of the looming hike for a little while. There was an equal amount of nerves and excitement when we woke up at 3:30 Thursday morning to hop on vans to Santa Teresa, where we would start our hike. The windy mountain roads, though excellent lookout points, weren’t always friendly to the stomachs of some of the students, but everyone pulled through and started the hike together after breakfast. The hike was definitely challenging, but eventually everyone found their pace and stuck with it. We familiarized ourselves with various different types of terrain, hiking on trails carved into the side of the mountain, walking on paths through tall grasses, and even crossing the Urubamba river 3 at a time in a small-but-sturdy pulley cart. Our reward for the day of hiking was our stop in the hot springs, but even after the relaxing baths at the end of day one, we were all ready for the sleeping bags that awaited us in our tents at the campsite. The strong sunlight made the next day of hiking challenging in its own way – at least before lunch. However, following the PeruRail train tracks after lunch made up for the tough morning. We walked in the shade of the cloud forest and crossed bridges over what seemed like an unlimited number of pretty little rivers. That night we had some well-appreciated pizza for dinner in Aguas Calientes and got ourselves to bed so we could be ready for our early morning wakeup for our hike to Machu Picchu.

Though we were duly warned beforehand that the hike was virtually all uphill, it didn’t make it any easier once we started. Unfortunately, not everyone was feeling well enough to hike that morning and some students took the bus up to Machu Picchu, but we all entered the park together. Our first stop once inside Machu Picchu itself was Waynapicchu, the peak from which we could get a complete view of the archeological site and its namesake mountain. The hike up to Waynapicchu made some of us never want to see a staircase again, but it was worth it once we got to the top and had a complete view of not only the incredible ruins but also their extraordinary surroundings. The sights of the tree-covered Andes, the rivers between each mountain, and the snow covered peaks in the distance were worth all of the morning’s exertion. After carefully returning to the base, we met our tour guide Javier, who taught us about the names of the mountains, the traditions of the Incas, the purposes of the buildings, and the importance of animals like the Condor. Fun fact – Machu Picchu means “old mountain” and its opposing peak, Waynapicchu, means “young mountain”. Both the well-preserved sundial and the perfectly situated Temple of the Sun demonstrated to us the significance of the sun and its patterns to Incan life. Though it would have taken hours more than we had to really see everything, we left with a feeling of accomplishment and a lot of new knowledge about the Incan treasure.

After a quick lunch we hopped on the PeruRail to Ollantaytambo for a last afternoon with our host families. We packed our bags, ate our final meal, and said a sad goodbye to the parents and siblings who had warmly welcomed us into their homes and to whom we owe our great memories of Ollantay. With the thought of our next destination – the Amazon – in the back of our minds, it was a bittersweet night. We had plenty of time to reminisce on our 11 hour bus ride – enough time to make us all grateful to finally get to Puerto Maldonado, our first stop in the Amazon.

Though it was very humid in the jungle, we all got adapted pretty quickly. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, and our excursions were awesome – from taking a boat at night to go searching for wildlife to eating a local dish on the shores of Lake Sandoval before swimming for a little while. One thing that our group had to get used to was some new wildlife – both the good and the bad. From giant spiders to scheming spider monkeys, our group experienced brief moments of suspense but at the same time, constant amazement. Around our bungalows we found everything from parrots to bats to plants that are used for anesthesia. After a month in a beautiful country, our stay in the Amazon solidified the sadness we feel about our impending departure. Though our trip has ended, we are left with incredible memories and a new love for all of the people we met and all of the places we visited.

Blog Written by Emma Neiman