I just want to thank you all parents, students and Nancy.

We had a really good time during this trip. We all had a lot of fun and everyday we enjoyed a new aspect of the peruvian culture. I’m glad all students are back home and ready to spend the rest of their vacation with family and friends.

David Barragán

(Author: Nancy Hendryx) All is well, but we have been short on time to write as well as very tired every evening.

We will be leaving Cusco shortly on our way back to Lima. Yesterday we had a long drive through spectacular scenery to the Incan ruins at Moray, which we all enjoyed very much, even if we got a bit muddy. The other high point of the day was a visit to a disco, where Mr. B. & I shocked the group by seeming to actually be able to dance despite our advanced age.

This morning we visited several markets to spend the rest of our Peruvian money and buy presents and souvenirs. It has been a very good trip despite a few bumps, and we will all have many stories to tell!

(Author: Emily) the highlight of my day yesterday was going to the orphanage and meeting the kids that live there. we were able to walk around and see their kitchen, their classroom, their bedrooms, and their greenhouse where they grow a lot of the food they eat. after, we played a soccer game against them which was a lot of fun. as we said goodbye to the kids they kept giving us hugs and thanking us…we knew they really appreciated us being there, playing with them, and bringing them notebooks and other school supplies. a couple of days ago, we visited Machupicchu, which was amazing, and then the next day Robin, Sr. Barragan and i climbed the mountain next to machhupicchu, called waynapicchu…it took us about 40 minutes to climb to the top…it was a lot of fun and the sights were amazing, we had a view of everything below. after getting to the top, Robin and i found a terrace down a little bit from the top where we took a nap for about an hour, which was really nice. after napping, we went back up to the top then all the way down, which was faster, and more fun because we just jumped down from rock to rock. some parts were steep and narrow and we had to hold onto a metal cable, but all in all it was fun. basically the whole trip has been amazing, and Peru is beautiful…i´ve already taken somewhere around 500 pictures and a few videos!!

(Author: Karin)

After our exciting hike in Machupicchu, we returned back to Cusco and toured around the main square.  We visited the main Cathedral where we saw the well-preserved interiors of the church.  The gold lining of the carvings and detailed paintings in the church were preserved very well, leaving all of us in awe.  I personally enjoyed the Peruvian version of the Last Supper as well as the different techniques the native artisans used to include their spiritual beliefs in the Catholic church.

Later that day, Team Peru went to an orphanage called Azul Wasi, or Blue Home.  This orphanage is a home to children from ages 6-16.  We saw the different facilities the children had including their rooms, the kitchen, and their class room.  Although the children were provided only with the necessary facilities, they were all very happy and excited to be there.  They were especially excited to see guests.  We played a game of soccer with the boys where we all forgot about our altitude sicknesses and had fun.  Even our tour guide, Javier, and the van driver joined us.  Our experience at the orphanage was the greatest event on our stay in Peru.  Not only did we have fun playing with little children, but also able to see the different environment people lived in.  We were all glad that we were able to meet these children and some how bring excitement and happiness in their lives.

(Author: Jeanne)

Today, we drove up to an orphanage, Casa Azul, to visit the twelve kids living there. At first I didn’t know the reason for our visit except that we were just to see the kids and tour the facility. However, by the end of the hour-long visit, I was, and still am, very glad that we had visited. Our soccer game, us against the boys, was the highlight of the day as we bonded with the guys (and the one cute little girl). Despite our loss to the highly talented guys who showed us no mercy just because we were girls, we definitely had a ton of fun and it was definitely heart-warming to know that they appreciated our visit as much we enjoyed our stay.

The day ended with many photos and sentimental goodbyes. The little boys were not camera-shy as they bombarded our cameras and even took some photos themselves, messing with the buttons and looking at photos we had taken earlier on the trip. I know for a fact these photos will be hanging on my wall as soon as I get back to school. This experience will forever remain in my heart and I’m so thankful I was able to experience this!

(Author: Nancy Hendryx) I was up at 6:15 this morning, ready to cruise up Wayna Picchu, but news of tummy troubles overwhelmed me and I felt that I really had to stay in town with the kids. Indeed,  I´ve had to break out the Immodium….  I sent David off to hike the ruins with two of the girls – Robin and Emily – and rented two of our hotel rooms for the rest of the day so those who aren´t feeling so great would have a place to rest.

After I got everyone settled – and once again insisted on lots of hydration – I headed out for a walk up (literally pretty vertically) to the hot springs. The town we´re in is called Aguas Calientes, which means “Hot Waters.” There is a series of pools at the top of the path that runs alongside one of the three rivers in this town. I got the scoop on using them. They´re very tourist-friendly and several places, including the hot springs themselves, offer swimsuit and towel rentals.

I moseyed back down to our hotel. Along the way I saw municipal workers breaking up rocks in the river that runs by the hotel. I´m not quite sure what the idea was, but I´ll check back in on that activity later on to see if some clear notion of the purpose of their work emerges.

At the hotel, what do you think I found? All of the kids were sound asleep!!! They had gotten up, eaten breakfast, and piled back into bed. It was 10:30 a.m. already, for goodness´ sake! Hmmmmm. Do you think maybe all of this tourism, plus the thin atmosphere, plus a touch of Atahualpa´s Revenge, plus a little dehydration (despite my nagging) might have worn them out?!

When I get back to the hotel and see how everyone´s feeling, we´ll make a plan for the rest of the day. Hot springs? Artisan´s market? Museum? An interesting local cemetery? Our hostess at the hotel has suggested we visit the local botanical gardens, where there is also a Macchu Picchu Museum. In the meantime, I thought I´d post an update to let you know what´s happening.

An aside – on the way back from the Internet Cafe last night, we decided to check out a disco that had been recommended to us. I think it was Mr. B., Kiana, Karin (whom we have taken to calling “Karina” because of a travel agency typo), Chris, and Katherine who were with me. We walked in to find some loud dance music and two – only two – patrons, two Americans. One male, and one female. The girl made a beeline for Chris and tried to pull him onto the dance floor, but he refused her. “Oooooh. Burned!” she said. I think that phrase is destined to be repeated often during this trip. We all sidled back out the door, and the boy followed, looking for us. “Oh, come on in and dance!” he pleaded. “You already HAVE someone to dance with,” I countered. “That´s my SISTER!” he responded, woefully. We respectfully sympathized, wished him well,  and headed back to the hotel, saying “burned” more than once.

More later. I keep asking the kids to post something because I know you´d rather hear from them than from me, but…I guess they have been too tired! I´ll nag them again tonight, right after I insist that they drink more water….

(Author: Nancy Hendryx) Machu Picchu was great! Some of us may be going back for more in the morning. If it doesn´t pour rain tonight AND if we´re not too sore AND if we can pry ourselves out of bed early enough, we would like to hike up Wayna Picchu, the big sugar plum mountain you can see in all of the usual photos of Machu Picchu.

We started the day with a train ride from Ollantaytambo that lasted a little over an hour, then rode a bus up a big series of switchbacks. It took about half an hour to get up near the entrance of the park, then our guide, Javier, herded us around the main sights until a couple of the kids were about to drop and everyone was talking about how hungry they were. Karin had a headache and Meg was dizzy. I kept telling them, drink! drink! drink! Drink that water! I felt like an H2O pusher. There are no port-a-potties at Machu Picchu, so I think everyone was afraid to drink too much, so they were drinking too little.

We ate at another lavish lunch buffet by the entrance of the park, and after lunch the vote was to go back into the ruins for an hour. The park closes at 5 p.m. and we were done with lunch at 2:30 p.m. Javier had already abandoned us, so we were on our own. Everyone did their own thing for an hour…or more. Mr. B. and I hiked up the mountain above the ruins.  I  suggested a hike to the ¨Inca Bridge¨, and I´m glad we went, because it was different from the last time I was there. Restoration work had been done, and it was nice to have a little quiet time away from the masses, meaning our not very massive group of eight kids. And we did a little yoga along the way. We both like to do yoga, and it seemed like a great spot, eh? So we had a little fun with that…and set a fine example by arriving at our meeting point twenty minutes late. ALL of the kids were there, waiting for us.  What a great group of kids!

By then everyone had had enough walking up and down like mountain goats, so we hopped on a bus and hairpin-turned it back down the mountain to the town of Aguas Calientes and our hotel. Most of us -maybe all of us – showered and napped.

I am trying to encourage the kids to contribue to this blog, but the days are long and full. The important thing is that all of us are happy and healthy. All is well.

(Author: Kiana Cateriano) “We went to Machu Picchu and it was really nice to see a 100 percent inca architecture and an incan city that was untouched by spaniards and foreigners”.

(Author: Nancy Hendryx) Peru, Day 2.

We were all out of bed by 5:30 this morning and on our way back to the Lima airport by 6:00. Peru is such a mountainous country that bus and car travel (and even train travel) is largely impractical. To get from one city to another, most people fly. There are hourly flights from Lima to Cusco, possibly more often. The flight is short – only 55 minutes.

Our new guide, Javier, and new driver, Wilfredo, met us at the Cusco airport. We found a quiet spot at the airport and packed smaller bags for our two nights outside of Cusco in the Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu, then Javier drove to the hotel we will be staying at on our return to Cusco (3 nights), and dropped our suitcases off. From there we drove up, up, up, and out of Cusco and through the highest point of our trip, about 12,000 feet if I remember correctly. We did make one stop to buy bottled water, as everyone has impressed upon us the need to stay well hydrated in order to avoid altitude illnesses.

We drove through the beautiful, terraced hillsides and saw many different animals: llamas, vicunas, cattle, horses, chickens, dogs, pigs, and guinea pigs. Apparently, cattle, horses, chickens, and pigs were brought to the Americas by the Spaniards, and the only native animals were the camelids – llama-like animals, guinea pigs, pumas…. And that the animals most sacred to the Incas were condors, snakes, and couguars .

Three days a week the town of Pisaq opens its vast market – most of which is an artisans´ market that caters to tourists. Sunday is one of those days, and we spent an hour intensively shopping for jewelry, textiles, etc. Personally, I spent more than what I suspect is the average annual salary in Cusco on weavings. The last time I was in Peru (three years ago) I had regretted not buying more, and I was not going to make the same mistake this time. So I went a little crazy, and ended up buying nearly everything from the same vendor, who swore that her husband had designed and made everything in her stall. I´m not sure I believe her, but by the time I finished shopping we were best friends. Ana Cruz. Her daughter was playing with another little girl underneath the tables that held the wares. Dogs trotted through the market underneath the tables, too, seemingly without a care in the world. The markets are interesting, exciting places and a rich feast of all of the senses.

We stopped for lunch at a magnificent old villa along the Urubamba River. There was a buffet with everything imaginable, and beautiful gardens that stretched down to the bank of the river, where the kids played at being monkeys by climbing out onto a large branch of a much larger tree above the swiftly-moving river. We were also hounded (pun intended) by a big black dog that simply would not tire of playing catch. There was a nice breeze – the weather was simply perfect this afternoon.

I asked the guide about some red bags, balloons, and banners I had observed at random houses along the way: “Are those, by any chance, chicherias?” Well, yes, they were. I asked if we might stop at one of them, and he said that he knew a good place that also had guinea pigs. Great! I was very pleased at his flexibility and willingness to accommodate us. A chicheria is a local cultural phenomenon. It is a social center that one could liken to a pub. It is a place where ¨chicha¨ is produced. Chicha is a drink made from ground corn steeped in boiling water that is allowed to ferment, and it turns into a kind of very weak beer over the course of two days. It is an ancient drink of the Andes, and is served in gigantic drinking glasses. It is also produced in two styles: plain, and mixed with pureed fruit.

In the courtyard of the chicheria were numerous little game tables with one drawer, about 16 inches by 20 inches with tallish sides and a tall back. Prominently in the center of each table was brass frog with an open mouth, and there were some holes on the top and back of the tables. The drawer was full of big brass ¨coins¨ and partitions with point values. The idea was to stand about six feet from the table and try to toss the coins into the frog´s mouth to get the most points. You could also get points for tossing them into any of the holes. After you finish tossing your coins, you have to open the drawer to see how many points you earned by tallying the point values of each partitioned receptacle.

We all, of course, tried our hand at it. I was definitely the worst, and my vote is for Robin as the best. Everyone else was pretty good, too. But no one got a coin into a frog´s mouth.

There was also a big room (dirt floor) full of guinea pigs. Those pigs were not going to be anyone´s pets, however. They were surely destined to be dinner for some frog-pong-playing chicha drinkers!

We got back into the van and drove to our next destination: Ollantaytambo, the site of some spectacular Incan ruins. We walked up 300 very tall steps and had a commanding view of the Urubamba River valley and the town of Ollantaytambo. We took a close look at the masterful stone masonry of the Inca and marvelled at the seeming impossibility of moving some enormous stones from a rock quarry located at the top of a neighboring peak, down that mountain, and up the one we were standing atop. It is just unimaginable without the use of massive hydraulic equipment. Impressive is an understatement.

We are spending the night at a beautiful little resort with gorgeous blooming grounds that is in sight of the ruins we visited. We walked into town in search of sustenance, and all had satisfactory experiences. Mr. B. and I happened upon a restaurant with a wealth of vegetarian options that was founded two years ago by a retired Englishwoman to fund projects that benefit children in the Urubamba Valley. The kids went to a nice Peruvian restaurant where they were serenaded with music typical of the Andes.

It is now about 9:00 p.m. and I suspect that most of the kids are already in bed. We have all been a bit short of sleep of late, and being at a high altitude is especially tiring. We have been pushing water and drinking coca tea (tea made from coca leaves, which helps with altitude adjustment), and no one has complained of even a headache, so that is very good news.

Tomorrow, we visit Machu Picchu!

(Author: Nancy Hendryx) Saturday evening, March 7. We have just ended our first full day in Peru, and it was so packed full that, as I write about this morning, it feels like this morning happened yesterday. Well. Let me start at the beginning. We left Westminster at 3 p.m. Mr. Ruiz drove us down to JFK and we arrived at the airport about 6:30 p.m.

While we were waiting in line at the LAN desk, Chris´s dad, Mr. Echevarria, arrived for a little visit. Everyone but me got through the check-in without incident, however there was some problem with my ticket and the LAN agent asked me to wait off to the side while he made some phone calls about the mysterious ticket problem. This little story turns into a three-hour saga of non-stop phone calls by Mr. Barragan and me, and by our children, Ania and Nico, from NYC and Simsbury respectively, via Skype, to Peru, Florida and Connecticut to try to resolve what was our travel agent´s terrible little mistake – simply not giving me my ticket number. For some completely inexplicable reason, the airline was unable to find that number, despite having a seat reservation in my name. Without the number, they said, they had no proof that I had already purchased a ticket. Nico´s sleuthing turned up our travel agent´s home phone number…but she wasn´t home. It was another of many dead ends. We were unable to reach anyone at the travel agency or anywhere else who could or would help me with the situation. LAN insisted that my only possibility of getting on the flight would be to cough up $2100 and then only IF there were still a seat for me at 9:25…for our 10:30 flight! So I would have to pay through the nose and then sprint to the gate. Which I did. Mr. B. and I raced to check my bag and get to and through the inspection line. Surprisingly, we made it quite handily, if a bit out of breath.

The flight itself, thank goodness, was fairly unremarkable. My seatmate (of course I wasn´t seated with the group, after all that nonsense) was a 30-ish woman who is a fashion buyer for Falabella, a chain of South American department stores which she likened to Macy´s. She lives in Lima but was on her semi-annual buying and scouting trip to NYC. We had dinner on the plane about 11 p.m., then a few hours later those of us who were conscious when the cart came around had a breakfast-ish snack

We had an unremarkable journey through immigration, and in customs we discovered that we could rent a Peruvian cell phone for $10 and use it to make in-country calls at the rate of 69 cents per minute, so it seemed like a good idea. It turned out to be a very good idea, because we needed to use it later in the morning. Stay tuned for that story.

Once through customs (Chris and Kiana had their bags checked. The rest of us were apparently respectable enough to not be bothered) we emerged to find a representative from the Peruvian travel agency waving a sign with ¨”Westminster” handwritten on it. He led us out into wet, bepuddled world and into a lovely yellow minibus which delivered us to our hotel. We were greeted by a doorman and Mr. B. and I went to the desk to make arrangements with the hotel clerk. The bus driver brought in the bags and a bellboy proceeded to mark our room numbers on our bags in chalk, and to deliver them to our rooms before any of us even had room keys. Someone helped Chris remove his daypack through the chaos of people, passports, and luggage. Suddenly, Chris noticed that his backpack was gone…and he was pretty sure that the bellboy had not taken it to his room. This sent everyone on a search everywhere, but his backpack was GONE. It had apparently been stolen right out from under everyone´s noses, including that of the doorman. And this is a small hotel!! He lost his laptop, but the most upsetting thing was losing the FILES on his laptop, many of which are practically irreplaceable. As you can imagine, it was quite upsetting for Chris, not to mention Mr. B. and me!

After that unpleasant experience I took charge of everyone´s passports, and insisted that no one leave anything in their hotel room that they could not bear to lose. To the other students carrying laptops I suggested they email any important files to themselves at gmail or yahoo. And Mr. B. spent the morning trying to get the hotel staff to take responsibility (they have NOT) and writing a police report, on the off-chance it might be possible for insurance to replace Chris´s things or for the police to put some heat on the hotel.

In the meantime, the seven girls and I went off driving around Lima. We visited the ocean and some rather extensive Incan ruins to the south of Lima along the coast called “Pachacamac.” It was a very enjoyable visit. Speaking for myself, it was great to be out in the sun in the beautiful weather and a lovely ocean breeze. Our guide, Ofelia, was very informative and frank about everything we saw. We passed some slums – many slums – Lima has nearly 9 million inhabitants. She was able to explain that the slums don´t have running water, that the people who live in most of them are squatters, but that the government had begun to provide some services and infrastructure to them. Most are on steep hillsides on the far reaches of the city, and most have no water supply. Water trucks make regular stops in the neighborhoods to supply water. For the most part there are no streets, so they can´t stop very nearby, but they get as close as they can. They have no sewage systems, either, so the people did a hole and cover what they put in those holes with lime, which exists here in great abundance.

So we visited an important Incan archeological site that housed priests, was the site of many animal sacrifices, and had what amounted to a very exclusive boarding school for virgin girls who were wives-to-be of the priests…and I focus on social issues. Well. That shows where my interests lie.

Mr. B. just came to see if I was done writing the day`s news. It´s only 11:30 p.m. and he´s tired. Imagine that! The truth is that I´m exhausted, too. So I`m going to wrap it up. What else did we do? We visited a Franciscan church and the catacombs full of bones underneath it (an estimated 25,000 poor people are buried there). We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that is at the end of a long pier. We all bought bottled water so we could brush our teeth without risking our health. Some of us did a little shopping at a Mercado nearby. Others of us got a little sunburned (Meg and I). We had a good day and our heads are full of new ideas, information, and images. Tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. we leave for Cusco and the Andes!

Greetings!

Now that classes are over we can focus on final trip preparations. I have put together a packing list for myself that I want to share with you (attached). Let everyone know if you think I have overlooked anything! We can each take up to two bags (50# each). You might want to pack a “light” one and put it inside a larger (otherwise empty) bag. That way you’ll have a big bag for all of your souvenirs.  If you don’t have a second bag, you’ll be able to buy a soft-sided one there that has llamas or something similar on it.

MP3 players: please do not bring them with you; let this be an experience in which you pay attention to your environment with all of your senses.

We have a photocopy of everyone’s passport; if you’re bringing along any credit cards, ATM cards, or driver’s licenses, etc. photocopy them and pack the copies separately from your originals.

Phones: I will have my cell phone with me; please do not bring yours unless you’re not coming back to campus. If you do bring it, do not plan to use it in Peru. Mine will be available for emergency use, but it’s expensive to use in Peru: $1.69/minute. Texting is less expensive, 25 cents per message, so if someone has an important non-emergency message to get to us, they can text me:

860.930.4691 – give this to your parents for an emergency – also the numbers below
Mr. Barragán’s cell phone #203.518.2246

Hotel phone numbers (no swimming pools!)

MARIEL HOTEL (Lima)
(511) 444-2829
†
PAKARITAMPU (Sacred Valley)
(51-84) 204-0201
†
LA PLEQUEA CASITA (Machu Picchu)
(51-84) 211-153
†
AMERINDIA (Cusco)
(51-84)255-092

Internet cafés are common and inexpensive, so accessing email will not be difficult. And we will have a blog for family and friends to read about our trip. Be sure to give them the URL:

http://davidbarragan.wordpress.com/

Please let us know if it is not okay with you or your parents to post your photos or first names to this blog. (We will not use last names.)

I have an information packet for everyone. Please look for me tonight at dinner or before the festival and I’ll give you yours. If you can’t find me, you have my cell phone number now, and it will be in my pocket.

We’re meeting in front of Cushing tomorrow, departing at 3:00 p.m.  Mr. Ruiz is driving us to JFK.

Let me know ASAP if you have any concerns or need me to buy anything for you before the trip!

Ms. Hendryx

General Advice

The official currency in Peru is the Nuevo Sol (S/.), which is divided into 100 centimos. The currency includes coins for 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimos and 1, 2 and 5 sol coins. There are bills in the denomination of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Nuevos Soles. It is recommended that you try to avoid the larger notes so much as possible, as it can be difficult to obtain change.

The US dollar is widely accepted in tourist areas, and the use of credit cards is becoming more common in major towns and key tourist areas.

Money Exchange

It is relatively easy to exchange US Dollars or Euros throughout the main towns and tourist areas of Peru, but less straightforward to exchange other currencies. If you plan to get off the beaten track, plan accordingly.

Note that due to forgeries, it can be very difficult to exchange marked or torn notes, particularly in high denominations. Brand new bank notes can also be treated with suspicion.

To exchange money in major cities and tourist areas, there are four main options:

1. Banks.

Rates of exchange advertised clearly and generally safe, secure environment.

2. Tourist hotels and shops.

Some offer this service, although rates of exchange are often poor.

3. Casas de Cambio.

Usually located close to key tourist areas, these are usually secure and professional exchange bureaus that often offer a reasonable rate of exchange.

4. Cambistas.

In certain streets of most large Peruivian towns and borders, you will see people with their hands literally full of Soles. Cambistas often offer the best rates of exchange, but this is not always the case so make sure you check. Whilst the majority of cambistas are probably honest folk, there are regular reports of people being cheated, so you should watch out for forgeries or inaccurate calculations and remember that if changing money in a public place you do not know who is watching.

Plan ahead: Decide how much money you wish to change, have this money to hand, have an idea of what rate ‘tipo de cambio’ you expect and be sure to count that you are given carefully. To avoid accepting fake currency, check the watermarks and holograms and make sure you are aware of the latest fakes in circulation, which are often displayed on posters in public places.

In order to keep your transactions private you could invite the cambista into a hotel lobby, although this is unlikely to go down well if the hotel offers its own exchange service.

 

In Miraflores, Lima, official Cambistas are often dressed in a blue waistcoat with a large dollar sign on the back.

ATM Availability

ATMs are readily available in the larger towns, and this is the easiest way to get money. This is not the case in smaller settlements, so visitors plan accordingly.

Although generally reliable, like anywhere in the world, they can be temperamental – especially on weekends and public holidays. Where possible use machines that are located inside a bank, supermarket or building.

ATMs accept international credit cards and will often offer US dollars or soles.

For more information check the Visa ATM locator, the MasterCard ATM locator or the American Express ATM locator for the addresses of ATMs around the world.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are increasingly accepted in major cities and larger hotels, but smaller shops and restaurants will expect to be paid in cash. Be aware that there can be a hefty charge for credit card usage, so you should check before you spend. Remember to keep all receipts and before signing check that the amount is correct. Credit cards and debit cards should always be used with caution due to the potential for fraud and other criminal activity.

Travellers Cheques

Travellers’ cheques are one of the safest ways to carry money in Peru. Be aware though that not all banks, casas de cambio or cambistas will cash these. Rates of exchange and commission levels tend to be less attractive than other forms of currency exchange.

Travellers’ cheques are accepted in some large stores, restaurants and hotels in urban areas – however it is always best to check with the individual establishment beforehand.

Other Information

As US dollars are widely accepted in Peru and because it is relatively easy to change currency into Soles, many travellers choose to change up small amounts of Soles often and keep the bulk of their funds in US dollars.