All Moved In!

After 24 hours of travelling last Saturday, my dad and I finally made it to Cusco! 
We spent a week travelling and site seeing before I had to move in with my host family and begin my volunteer program. During our awesome week together, we saw many of the incredible Incan ruins in the Sacred Valley and the surrounding areas, including Machu Picchu! We were fortunate enough to have a driver and a guide to help us navigate around the area and discover the great secrets of this beautiful land.

During my week with my dad, I got to ...

Feed llamas and alpacas...

Learn how the beautiful woven textiles from alpaca wool and natural dyes were made...

Admire the Incan architecture at sites like Ollantaytambo, Pisac, and Pikillacta...

Enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the terraces and water canals of Tipon...

Pretend to be archaeologists searching for tiny pieces of ancient pottery (we even found some!)...

Visit local markets and try many new, incredibly delicious fruits...

Discover the great methods used to harvest salt from pools fed by a very tiny, very salty stream in Maras...

Marvel at the agricultural ingenuity of the Incans as they used concentric circular terraces to create micro-climates and allow plants from different areas to adapt to the climate here...

(and befriend our guide Juan Carlos and our driver Samuel!)

Eat an assortment of delicious Peruvian cuisine such as lomo saltado (like beef tenderloin) and alpaca steak...

 Sample a few Peruvian drinks such as chicha, which is a traditional beer brewed from corn (it was gross!)...

Take the train through the Peruvian mountains to the town Aguascalientes in order to visit Machu Picchu...

Marvel at the incredible beauty of the flowers and landscapes of the cloud forests of Aguascalientes...

Wait in a VERY long line for nearly 2 hours to get on the bus to go up the mountain to Machu Picchu...

 And finally made it to the top and got to explore the wonders of this ancient Incan city...

 

I had a wonderful week together with my dad and I am so thankful that I have been given this amazing opportunity to see such a beautiful part of the world. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends and family back home and to my dad when he headed back to the states on Saturday, but it is absolutely worth it in order to be able to meet these amazing people, see their amazing country, and become Peruvian at heart.