20 students and three chaperones have headed to Peru during Thanksgiving Break to learn about the culture and work on service projects in some of the communities. Throughout the trip we will hear from students as they share about their experiences abroad.
Today's update is from freshmen Jack Yang and Logan Wu:
Today we learned more about Ollantaytambo and hiked to the ruins. Unlike doing service, hiking is a more exciting and arduous work. After a challenging hike and becoming sweaty and exhausted, we reached the top. The beautiful landscape and perspectives from the top were the best rewards for our efforts. This is good practice for the hike to Machu Picchu tomorrow.
Later we took a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes to prepare for our trip to Machu Picchu. During the train ride, I saw lots of vegetation and plants on the expansive hillside. It gave me a feeling of traveling inside the jungle. After arriving and going to the hotel we went to get a hot stone massage. This was good after the service work and hike. After that we went to the town center and walked around a square where there is a statue of the first builder of Machu Picchu, Pachacutec. The town and area was one not touched by the Spanish when they took over the country. We also learned that the town was built around hot springs. Because of the popularity of the historic site, the town restructured its economy and changed to a tourism city which means it is a truly cosmopolitan and metropolitan city unlike the surrounding towns.
We finished the evening with dinner, dancing with people playing music on the street side and eating local desserts and street food. Some even played soccer with people from the town. It was fun. We are looking forward to visiting Machu Picchu tomorrow.
