El viaje de Jessica... a Peru

¡Hola!

Buenos dias. I'm back in Arequipa (my home here in Peru) returning from my trip to Cusco, and today is my last day here in Peru... estoy triste... I'm sad, but I look forward to seeing my Dad at the airport tomorrow

I know I'll be home super soon, but I wanted to post some pics of my adventures.

Uros Islands... floating reed islands in Lake Titicaca

Sunset from a peek on Amantani Island in Lake Titicaca

Dancing, dancing, dancing... in traditional clothes from Amantani culture... yup that's me... lol

Some more students and I... hay que lindo!

My student, Oscar and I on our last day

There's more pics... especially of Machu Picchu... but, I don't have them saved just yet.

Me gusta Perù... sigh ♥
See you soon!

Hola,

I'm here in Aguas Calientes... just down the mt from Machu Picchu.. sigh.
I'm about to catch my train back to Cusco. It was amazing. No pics because I'm at an internet cafe. But, it was awesome... biking the first day, and trekking for the next three days... to finally Machu Picchu. It's really unbelievable. I don't know how the Incas built the city. It's beautiful. It's surrounded by moutains and definitely the lost city, for sure. My guide and I hiked a lot... an pretty far up... I was a little nervous about the heights for sure... there are some funny pics of my face as I was climbing and hiking. I will post pics... because words can't describe it.

My guide is awesome... more like a friend at this point. I think he might be taking me to more Inca ruins tomorrow in Cusco which is totally awesome. Although, I'm not sure I can hike much more... ha!

Okay, I'm off to catch my train...
sending lots of luv and will be home very soon! yikes!
♥

¡Bueno!

Okay, so I'm back from a crazy Colca Canyon trip. Success! I went to the Canyon to learn more about how tourism is affecting the communities and mostly to ask if they would have me back to study and volunteer there. I needed to get letters of invitation from some folks for the grant application that I am working on... and I did... or should I say, we did!

Everyone was super helpful! In total, I have 3 letters... a letter from the Mayor of one village and a letter from another village's municipality, and a letter from the University of Arequipa inviting me to study with a history professor who did his thesis on the Colca. I may also have an NGO's letter of invitation as well... I'm still waiting for their email. It was super!

I was sorta on my own, but not really because so many folks were helping me. People who I have never met before! My favorite part was getting a letter of inivitation from the village of Tapay. What an adventure! I had to start trekking at 6am with a guide who was terrific. He had loads of patience... the trek was really steep, so I had a hard time breathing- especially with the altitude. Anyways, we arrived at 7am and he tried to find some folks to help me out. Well, no one was around. He had to head back to the tour group and make them breakfast and start their trek for the day. So, I stayed on my own and sat in front of the municipal building for a good while waiting for the office to open... freezing... brrrr.... until an older man walked past and invited me to talk with him. I met his son who I could talk with pretty well because his Spanish was really clear to me... I met his wife, uncle and aunt. It was really nice. I had a hot breakfast with them at their home... they didn't even know me! It was so cold, so I appreciated the breakfast for sure. We had a traditional Inca meal... of potato and maize... really good and hot... I think I mentioned hot already... lol. We talked... well, as much as I could. Then, the son brought me back to the office and I got my letter of invitation!

Then, I trekked back down to meet the guide and tour group. They had already left, so I trekked my way as fast as I could to the next village hoping to find them. I really didn't want to trek by myself in the canyon all day. Trekking down from Tapay was enough on my own. It was sort of a crazy path... I'm thinking that this might be a reason that tourists don't generally stop at Tapay... sheesh. Oh, and by the way, I beat my trek time back up the canyon... instead of a little under 3 hrs trekking up... I made it in 2.5 hr... pretty good, eh?!

So, that's a small part of my adventure... there's more, but I've just written a bunch. Tonight, I'm off to Cuzco... Inca capital. It's supposed to be beautiful. I booked another trek..... to Macchu Pichu!!

lots of luv!

♥ Happy Birthday Dad!

So, I made it to Colca again... I'm in one of the larger villages here. Everyone here is very helpful! I'm here without my volunteer buddies... sigh.. and without a guide... for now- hopefully, that will change by tomorrow.
I am staying with a young couple who run a hostel, restaurant and bar here in a small village in the canyon.
Tomorrow, I hope to trek down into the canyon again with someone who can help me communicate with the families in and some of the town leaders. I'm taking a quick look at how how tourism is affecting the villages here... their culture, their way of living.. etc. My Spanish is so-so... not good enough to be able to use or understand specific vocabulary about tourism, culture and agriculture. On Monday, I have an appointment to meet with the town mayor of this village.

So far, I've learned some interesting info... Apparently, the canyon wasn't accessible to anyone really up until 25 yr ago... folks in the canyon had to walk for two and half days to make it to Arequipa because there were no roads. Now, people can come and go. Well, except if you live in the other villages deeper into the canyon where there are no roads... the only way in and out is by foot or mule. Tourists come, but they don't stay for long- mostly to trek down into the oasis where there is a pool and then to trek back up. Anyways, I'm learning lots. I met with the owner of the biggest hotel here... he's interested in possibly developing a project here for the kids and is interested in how we can exchange and learn about each other's cultures, but without the children losing their own heritage. A number of kids leave the canyon to go to the cities to go to school because there are more opportunities there. As I mentioned in another blog, some of the villages don't have secondary schools, so this makes things tough.

And so I ramble on. lol... But, here I am. Cross your fingers that I can meet up with someone who can help me translate... it should be another fun trek!

sorry again for no pics... soon!
♥

Today is Arequipa Day. It is so crazy. We have been celebrating since last night... the bars never close (although we have to stop celebrating at some point!) and the parade that started this morning is stilling going on now at night. The dress and music is really interesting. We've been walking in and out of the parade for a good part of the day. So fun. Tomorrow they will have concerts... but, I'll be off to Colca Canyon again to do some networking with some of the families and folks there. Wish me luck. It should be interesting.

Yesterday, was my last day with the kids. The student who I spent the most time with followed us to the bus stop and stuck around for a while. I'll miss him for sure. I wasn't sure if I had much of an impact because his learning disability is so pervasive in his learning, so I wished we had gotten more done. But, the fact that he's been coming to the class more regularly is great. In the US, he would've gone to a school for children with disabilties and would've had support in finding work. He doesn't go to school here (he's only 14) because he was bullied ... so, he collects rocks from a huge hill for the construction of new homes in the village. It's really dangerous work. So, really, the only schooling he gets is with us. Another volunteer is going to take over his lessons. I'm going to write up a tutoring plan, so she knows where to take things from here.

Well, I'm off to make some plans for tomorrow's trip. I won't have internet for a few days... but, hopefully by then, the internet at the house will be up, so I can post pics.

Happy Arequipa Day!

And happy be-lated birthday to Aunt Sue!
♥