Final Report - July 11, 2009

 

Sorry for the delay in the final update the computer in the Cusco hotel and the email weren't working well together.

 

But now we are back in Lima at our favorite hotel Kasa Kopling.

 

The last few days have been much more "touristy" then our previous ones. Nonetheless it's safe to say that they’ve been enjoyable just the same. Thursday morning we got a very early start waking up at 3:30 to catch our plane to Cusco. It's just a short flight and one that was quite entertaining due to the Candid Camera like show that was played during our flight. Many of our group seems to get quite a kick out of watching others get pranked. The rest of the day was dedicated to shopping and relaxation in Cusco. The group seemed to like the bartering and bargaining with vendors. However, the toughest bargainer was clearly Sally who seemed to have her way with any merchant she dealt with. Many great purchases were made and we’re sure that many people who are reading this will be on the receiving end of these presents. However, most interesting may have been a purchase not made. Evan looked over a Peruvian knife with a blade that was longer than a foot before deciding he’d rather use the money to be able to buy food for himself for the rest of the trip. We enjoyed a nice dinner out together before hitting the sack in anticipation of Machu Pichu the next day.

 

Friday started out with a bit of a rush (probably cutting our train departure a bit close) and a little excitement on the platform when a member of the group had forgotten their passport at the hotel but quickly found a copy of it in their bag. It was a scenic ride to Machu Pichu in the train. The time seemed to pass quickly as we conversed and played many games of` "Mafia" a fun travel game consisting of killing innocent people, deception and mistrust introduced to us by Amy.

Once we arrived we took a short bus trip up the mountain to Machu Pichu. There we were astonished by the breath taking views and enchantment of the city. Unfortunately we weren’t able to Wanapichu due to a rule that only allows 400 people to climb it each day. This was disappointing but we were still able to have a good time.  We participated in a guided tour that some people (Jen, Amy and Nathaniel) cut out a little bit early on. We had quite the time with an Australian tourist who was kind enough to take a group shot of us. He managed to do that fairly successfully however when he asked Nathaniel to in turn take a picture of him it took a good 20 minutes until he was satisfied with the shot. After that we enjoyed having a bit of time to discover Machu Pichu for ourselves. A train ride back that allowed us to catch up on some needed sleep and dinner ended a fantastic day at Machu Pichu.

 

This morning we relaxed around the hotel and city allowing us to do some final shopping in Cusco. We then caught a plane back to Lima. While waiting for our bus to the hotel after we land some intense hackie sack was enjoyed by John, Nathaniel, Tom, Martin and Evan. We won’t say who the best player is but just ask Evan why he’s being offered professional contracts when he gets home. We went to the Fair Trade store and learned from our mission partner Alexandra Buck about the importance of the alternative market of fair trade because it demands just wages and is concerned with more than profit but entire communities. We had a final Peruvian feast with our Joining Hands friends and went through reflection about partnership and continuing work in Peru.

The trip has been one of a lifetime in a unique and different way for each member of Peru Crew V. We hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventure and there’s much more to come once we get home. See you tomorrow!

 

Desde Peru con amor,
Peru Crew V

 

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