Summer Travel Plans

A journey to Machu Picchu, Peru. South America.

“Peru Discovery and Service is one of our most spectacular trips, offering the opportunity to perform meaningful service helping the local communities of Misminay and Urubamba as well as explore the most iconic sites of this South American gem! Your rewarding days of service will be spent on projects ranging from aiding in construction projects and farming, to teaching English as a second language. During the service portion of the trip you will be welcomed into Peruvian families and live like a local during your homestay. The rest of your time will be nothing short of transformative as you experience the unique atmosphere of the Sacred Valley. Drink in the mountainous culture of Lima and Cusco as you see the mix of Inca and Colonial architecture around the Plaza de Armas and the temple of Coricancha. You will also peruse vibrant handicraft markets and finally marvel at the mesmerizing fabled Incan city of Machu Picchu. Service, culture, incredible sights and adventure, what more could you ask for in a Peruvian summer!”

June 29, 2018 – Day 1

Departed Oregon for Lima, Peru.  Then on to Cuzco.  We all made it safe and sound and had a great first day!

We all met up in Cusco and traveled to our first destination, Ollantaytambo, a town about an hour outside of the center of Cusco.  Our first stop was Urubamba, where we enjoyed our lunch buffet-style local cuisine. Some even tried the Cuy, which is the Peruvian word for guinea pig! Others had soup, pasta, and salad along with some local desserts and tea. It was great to take some time to visit and get to know each other before continuing our journey to the hotel.

We checked into the hotel and had an hours rest before exploring the little pueblo. Our tour guide, Erikson, showed us some sights and then the group all had free time to go shop around the local markets. We made our way to dinner at a local spot Erikson showed us. We played a fun icebreaker and enjoyed lots of pizzas, burritos, and plates of pasta. By this point, everyone was ready to go to bed so we enjoyed a walk back to the hotel under the stars and all are in our rooms ready for bed!

Excited for a day full of community service tomorrow!

June 30, 2018 – Day 2

Today we were up bright and early for our first full day in Peru! After a quick breakfast, we boarded the bus and headed for the small town of Willoq for a day of service work with the kindergärtners at the school. 40 minutes later we were welcomed by the local community with warm smiles, beautiful flower necklaces, and showers of flower petals.

Once everyone was off the bus and settled, the kindergärtners presented us with an adorable song and dance performance. After the applause, we passed out some candies and snacks as a thank you. Our new friends then brought us inside the school to play games and eat the goodies.

Then it was time to begin the work! We sanded and painted the tables and chairs for the kindergarten classrooms.

Once everything was finished, we said goodbye to our friends and boarded the bus back to the hotel. But we made a pit stop along the way to the hotel to tour around a beautiful rose garden. Continuing, we took the very scenic road back to the hotel for some much-needed rest before dinner.

Later we went to dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal to celebrate all the hard work from today. Everyone is excited to start our day tomorrow off with some more adventures.

Visiting a school for Peruvian children.  Painting chairs for them and giving them snacks.  Teaching some English.

Woman at the door.

July 1, 2018 – Day 3

The Peruvian adventure continues today as we filled our day with site seeing and shopping. After breakfast at the hotel, we were off to the Incan site of Pisaq. We made a quick stop off the bus for some bucket hats and water before our hike up to the top. Once everyone was ready, our guide, Erickson, led us to a viewpoint overlooking the amazing Incan terraces.

Of course, we had to pause and take photos before hiking to the top. The view at the top was even more spectacular than at the bottom!

But what goes up must come down, so we hiked back to the bottom and returned to the bus. We then drove into the town and walked through a hidden marketplace. There we had some free time to explore the shops and buy some authentic clothing or jewelry.

Back on the bus, we showed off our finds and headed to lunch in the town of Yucay. After lunch, we went on another small hike up to view an Incan cemetery. When we came back from the hike, it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready before dinner.

We laughed our way through dinner, watching a local tv show, and stopping for candy and desserts on the way home.

Tomorrow we are headed for a new destination, Aguas Calientes in preparation for Machu Picchu. Excited for this bucket-list experience!

Now everyone is resting in their rooms for tomorrow’s adventure in Aguas Calientes.

July 2, 2018 – Day 4

This morning, Erickson took the group out on a hiking tour of the Incan ruins of Ollantaytambo. The first of our two hikes was to explore Incan remains overlooking the valley. There were many look-out points and beautiful views, which made it all the more worth it.

Once we were back to the bottom, we headed across town for our second trek. On this hike, we climbed alongside Incan terraces and visited the Temple of the Sun. Erickson then explained to us how the Incas built the incredible structures, which left us with a newfound appreciation for these buildings.

By the time we were finished walking through the grounds of that site, it was time for lunch. We ate back at the hotel before heading for the train to Aguas Calientes. We all watched from the windows as the landscape turned from a high elevation to jungle canopies.

When we arrived it was dinnertime. At the table, we chatted excitedly about tomorrow’s adventure, Machu Picchu. We couldn’t wait to see and experience one of the big wonders of the world in person!

July 3, 2018 – Day 5

Machu Picchu at last.  The bucket list day finally arrived, everyone was so pumped up!

We had an early morning breakfast at the hotel before leaving for the bus to get to Machu Picchu. The ride was stunning through the jungle mountain range, making us anticipate what was to come even more! Once we were through the gates, we walked out to the postcard-worthy view of Machu Picchu. There was some time for photos before going to visit a bridge leading to the Incan trail. On our way to the trailhead, we ran into llamas! There were so many llamas roaming the terraces, which made this experience all the more unique. After some llama selfies, we headed to the trail and visited the Incan bridge.

When the group returned back to the main grounds, Erickson shared the history of the creation of Machu Picchu. We then went back in time as we walked through the ruins and really got to see what it was like for the Incas to live in their time.

Back in town we grabbed a quick lunch and walked into the town square. We joined the locals watching the World Cup game before we had to catch our train back to Ollantaytambo.

After the train ride back, we checked into the hotel and had some time to rest before dinner. As we ate we talked about the exciting day we had, and the next destination, Misminay. We’re very grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity to visit this wonder of the world and humbled by its beauty.

Just to let everyone know, we will not have internet access until around Saturday evening. Consequently, we will not be sending out any emails or pictures until then.

We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow so we have got to rest up!

July 4, 2018 – Day 6

After a good night’s rest in Ollantaytambo, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel before heading off for some new adventures!

Our first stop was to Maras, an amazing sight to see all the work the Incans did to gather salt from the earth. It was breathtaking and spectacular to imagine how much planning and work the system must have been. We then continued on to Moray, which is a historical sight of terraces built in meteorites. Again, it was fascinating to picture all the thought that went into these structures and crop planning. Our guide Erikson really makes the history come to life!

Maras

We then made it to our destination for the next few days, Misminay. Here we are volunteering in the community and staying in the homes of the locals. We were welcomed with dancing and singing and enjoyed a delicious meal together in one of the homes. We then got into some work clothes and got dirty rebuilding walls of some of the adobe houses! Everyone had too much fun getting into mud games!

After cleaning up, we all met up for dinner in the main house where we experienced a traditional meal. We then had a bonfire with our host families, who shared stories that had been passed down from generation to generation. We shared marshmallows around the fire and we laid down looking for shooting stars in the clearest night sky.

Now everyone is back in their rooms for well deserved night’s sleep.

July 5, 2018 – Day 7

We woke up to a pancake breakfast and hot tea and coffee. It was a relaxing morning watching the sun rise and waking up a bit more before heading into the day’s service. We split into a few groups so that we could help in installing kitchens in multiple different houses. All the campers had to bring the materials to the houses and help build the installation from scratch with guidance from the hosts and builders. Everyone really was put to work and able to see what they accomplished after!

We then all met up at lunch where we enjoyed a traditional meal with soup, rice, beans, and chicken. After lunch, we all had time to clean up before learning more about the culture’s harvest. We paid our respect to mother earth and helped prepare corn. We then all had some tea and ate popcorn while watching the sun set.

When dinner was served everyone was really excited about the noodle soup and chocolate pudding dessert! We watched for some shooting stars before getting to bed early for another big day tomorrow.

July 6, 2018 – Day 8

We woke up in Misminay to an amazing breakfast with omelets and cornbread. We then had time to relax in the sun before learning and helping create the Pachamanca, a way of cooking vegetables and meat in the ground with hot stones! It was fascinating to watch the preparation as it took all morning. Between stages of the preparation, we played with the children and helped prepare the tamales and corn. We went back down to witness the next steps to the Pachamanca when the food is placed between the preheated stones and then buried beneath the dirt. While it was cooking underneath the ground we played cards on the grass.

When the food was ready, we all watched the locals dig it back out of the ground. It was a fascinating process to watch each layer come off and smell all the flavors. We brought baskets to help gather the food and bring up to the house to eat. It was the best meal of the trip! What made it so special was how it was prepared and that we got to see how much work went into it.

After lunch, we had time to relax until we got to help do some work on a few more houses in the neighborhood. We helped install a tank in the houses to filter the rainwater from the roof. Eventually, these tanks will also be utilized as drinking water. It was an eye-opening experience to see how much goes into each step of making this town more and more comfortable for the people.

Before dinner, the women of the town prepared a textile lesson for us. We got to learn how all of these beautiful patterns are made for the scarves, table runners, etc. We all got to volunteer during the lesson to see what it would actually be like to create each piece. After they made a display of all their work for us to shop around and many of us bought more souvenirs. It felt more meaningful to see the work behind the scenes so these souvenirs have a more special place in our hearts.

Our last dinner in this town was served with some pudding! It is so cold outside they were able to put the putting outside the kitchen for 30 minutes for it to be cold enough! We finished the night with another bonfire sharing songs, stories, and our gratitude for this unreal experience.

July 7, 2018 – Day 9

Our final morning in Misminay was unforgettable.  As soon as we arrived to breakfast, our host families dressed us all up in their cultural attire – handmade textiles that they made! Skirts, hats, shawls, vests – everything! It was so fun taking pictures and dancing around in the outfits.

We shared our last meal together and danced and sang with the locals before saying our final goodbyes.

Adios Floral!Floral, the host of the hosts, said a very touching goodbye and the whole town sang as we got on the bus.

Departing Misminay for Cuzco by bus.

July 8, 2018 – Day 10

We can’t believe that it’s day 10 already, and some of our little family are headed home. Thank you so much for taking this journey with Travel for Teens! We loved every minute we spent with your kids!

This morning Erickson took us on a tour of Cusco before lunch. Our first stop was to the Incan site of Puka Pukara. We got our tickets punched and walked around the ruins, while Erickson gave us a history of the Incas in Cusco.

The next stop was Q’enqo, another Incan site. There, we went into the caves and found tunnels that the Incas used to travel from place to place, it was so cool!

After Q’enqo, we drove to a viewpoint overlooking the city of Cusco. At the lookout point, there was the historical statue of Cristo Blanco, which was quite the sight, as He stands 26 feet tall!

Our last stop of the morning was to Saqsaywaman. At this stop, we had loads of fun taking photos and going down the natural rock slides. It was a perfect way to end our morning before lunch.

Then we headed back into the center of Cusco for our last lunch as a big group. There was a bittersweet feeling when we finished our meal, as we were excited to continue on our own separate adventures, but wished we could still share our experiences together. So we said our thoughtful goodbyes to each other, and the remaining six waved goodbye to those leaving for the airport.

July 8/9, 2018 – Day 10/11

Coming home!  CUZ -> LIM -> MIA -> DFW -> PDX -> EUG