July3, 20|13

July 3, 2013

This is Aison coming to you guys from Ollantaytambo. It’s been a long time since the last blog so now it’s my job to do all the catching up. After a long day in Ollanta (and losing my camera) we woke up early Sunday for a hike in the Andes mountains, starting in the village of Patacancha all the way to a hot spring about 18 miles away. The first day we covered tons of ground, at least 12 miles. Everyone really stepped up to the challenge on this hike, and even the slowest of us got to lead at some points. We also saw many sights, such as the snow-covered mountain peaks from 12,000 feet, and rolling hills littered with Alpacas and Llamas. That night we camped out in the freezing cold with little but our sleeping bags and each other’s body heat to warm us. Luckily, we had some top-notch cooks to help make our day a little better with a great lunch and dinner.

The next day we were able to sleep in and complete our hike to the hot springs in Lares. Everyone was relieved to have a few hours off to relax after non-stop hiking. On the way back to Piscacucho that night, we had a bit of a strange experience. Our bus ride was delayed over an hour due to a truck that had fallen on its side in the middle of a one-lane road. After we were back on the road, we stopped in Ollantaytambo for a great dinner in a neat little café. I speak for everyone when I say it was refreshing to have a more American meal one night. After dinner, we slept for the last night in our homestays, and the next day we were greeted by a nearly finished kitchen and a thankful community. All of the students got to commemorate