Ryan’s Trail

One Final Chau!

2009-07-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my time in Peru is over!

It has been such an eye-opening experience. I now have first-hand experience in sports press conferences, interviews, delivery service, teaching English and much much more!

I will definitely miss the South American Country and all the people that I have met along my journey.

Gone are the walks home through Calle de Pizza (a center of nightlife in Miraflores), with it's flashing lights and constant energy of a Salsa/Latino/Disco mix blasting out of the discotheque's speakers.

No more are the juggling, singing and back-flipping street performers at red-light intervals who work so hard to make a few coins.

I will really miss everywhere I was fortunate enough to venture to in Peru, from the monumental peaks of Machu Picchu to the laid back beaches of San Bartolo. These two places are perfect examples of Peru's diversity in landscape and climate.

And no matter where you are in the diversity, whether it be the 12,500 ft. village of Chinchero or the balmy Miraflores you are bound to find someone with a smile on their face, willing to help a lost foreigner. (Trust me I now from experience!)

Since the moment I arrived to Peru I have been in awe of it's rich history, diversity and friendly people and really hope to come back soon and see side of this country in which I haven't even scratched the surface.

Muchas Gracias to everyone at Peru.com (Though hopefully I had the chance to thank you in person if you were not to busy)

I genuinely learned so much and the memories and friendships that I forged here will remain with me forever

Paz y Chau!

Julio 14, 2009 San Bartolo Parte Dos

2009-07-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

I arrived nice and early again today, ready to spend about half of the day with the crew.

We began our day by visiting a pre-school and talking with it's founder about a new school that he is starting in San Bartolo.

He will be starting new school that emphasizes and teaches it's students that they can be leaders in their community and take action instead of waiting for someone else to help them, as older generations believed.

He is confident that his school will thrive and I was inspired by his initiative to encourage these young generations to make change happen instead of waiting for it.

We then taught at the elementary school next door and were once again amazed by how quick the students absorbed what we taught them.

At about lunchtime, it was time for me to go back to Lima and the Peru.com office one last time.

I said goodbye to the Peru crew and thanked them for putting up with a seventh member for a while.

They were all so nice and willing to give me a taste of what their typical day was like, so thank you very much t0 the crew!

I wish them the best of luck in reaching their goals of leadership and change. I'm sure they will and already have made San Bartolo a better place.

Chau

Julio 13, 2009 San Bartolo Parte Uno

2009-07-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Today, (after waking up really early) I went with a reporter from Peru.com to the town of San Bartolo, which is about 45 minutes south of Central Lima.

As I explained in the post for Saturday, the Peru Crew (New England Students) have been living in this oceanside surf town for the past two weeks while helping the tight-knit community.

We arrived at their hostel bright and early and were greeted by the understandably tired crew.

After a short breakfast we headed out for an elementary school close by where we were to teach English. I didn't exactly have a lot of experience in teaching but I was willing to try it out and just help any way I could.

As we entered the classroom to be introduced, we were greeted with a roaring "buenos dias" from the class of about 30 all in unison.

We then separated into groups to teach the different classes, I taught with Cary and Patrick.

We began with "Hi my name is.." and proceeded to cover animals, parts of the body and the object in the classroom. The kids picked up everything so quickly!

It was so rewarding to see the look on a students face when they had remembered a word. At their age, they will definitely never forget this experience and neither will I!

They were so happy to have us in the classroom that when recess came around, they reluctantly went out to play. They pulled us into all their games including a circle game, tag and many more that I do not know the names of. After saying goodbye to the bumbling kids, we headed for our next destination, a school for the mentally challenged.

We brought the group snacks and drinks, which they accepted appreciatively. The school helps mentally disabled locals of all ages, so we were with kids as young as 4 and adults as old as 50. The principal told us about the history of the program and how they assist the disabled. I really admire this man who has devoted his life to helping these people who were greeted us with smiles and were so happy to have visitors.

We then went for lunch at a local place in the "downtown"strip.

After lunch and just hanging out for a while, the Crew had a meeting in which they discussed their goals for the remaining two weeks of the trip.

The group would like to inspire and develop youth leaders in the San Bartolo community and give these leaders confidence in their initiatives.

The Peru Crew will spend their afternoons with the students of the local high school. The main theme of these meetings will be leadership and solving the most important problems of the San Bartolo Community. At the beginning of today's meeting that I attended; the San Bartolo students were asked to write down seven problems that exist in their community. (On seven different note cards.) Then they were asked to pick the most important, least important and the toughest problem to solve. The chosen problems were then put on a board so everyone could compare the choices of the different members of the group. This made it easier for everyone to decide which problem’s should be focused on and addressed first. This is called the “Seven Problems System.”

Both the crew and the local students were incredibly enthusiastic and stimulated when discussing which problems were most important in the community and how to solve them. The kids are open to everyone's opinions and ideas, and this openness will be key when trying to find solutions. I wish the crew and the native students the best of luck in making their community a better place!

Chau

Julio 12, 2009 EL Clasico!

2009-07-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Crazy fans, 8,000 policemen and one huge soccer game were all part of my continuing adventure at Peru.com today!

Juan Francisco was kind enough to take me along with his family to the Clasico, the biggest soccer game in Peru.

We left hours early to try and beat the outrageous traffic, and driving to the 80,000 fans capacity stadium was an experience in itself.

We passed police tank after tank, and on-foot police in full body armor looked around nervously, aware of El Clasico's history of violence. Luckily, today was a different story and no major violence erupted, much to the relief of the thousands of policemen who had been gathered from all areas of Lima.

El Clasico is a game between Alianza Lima and Universitario, the two biggest soccer teams in Lima.

All of Peru watches the game, regardless if they have ever even been to Lima or not. Peruvians from outside of Lima support their local teams and also pick either Alianza or la "U" to support.

We sat up high, so we had a fantastic view of the field. From our seats, Juan Francisco explained to me the different seating sections of the stadium.

Straight ahead of us across the field was "occidental", a section for modest fans who enjoy to watch the game while sitting down for most of the time. Because we were at "Estadio Monumental" (Universitarios home stadium) most of these fans don the red and white for la "U".

To the left of them is "EL Sur" a section designated for crazy fans of the opposing team (Alianza) who spend the entire game chanting on their feet and sending fireworks and streamers in the air. Across from them is "El Norte" a similar fanatic section but for the home team's fans.

I was shocked by the entire atmosphere of the game. It made any large scale sport's event in the US look pathetic. All two hours of the game were filled with opposing team songs, jumping fans, confetti and banners. The fans are so passionate and will cure a player for the slightest mistake.

This is another experience that again I thought I would only get as close as to watching it on TV, but Juan Francisco's kindness has given me this awesome opportunity.

When we first arrived at our seats (the game had not even started) the fans were already cheering as if a goal had been scored. And when the players entered the field, the stadium erupted into cheers, noisemakers, flares, fireworks, confetti, streamers and much more! All of these contributing factors lead to a colorful fog that covered the field for a while so heavily that we could not see the field!

And in the US if confetti or a thunder stick were to make it's way onto the field the game would be paused, but in El Clasico players run right through these and are sometimes even tripped up by such objects.

Universitario won 2-1 in a thriller which had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I am so grateful that I was able to witness such a spectacle that I would have never seen had I not adventure down to Peru.

Can't wait to go to San Bartolo tommorow!

Chau

Julio 11, 2009

2009-07-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Today I spent my day with Peru Crew (I'll explain a little about this group in a bit) and about 25 native San Bartolo students on a city tour of Lima.

We visited many of Lima's historical and popular sites including the Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace, Lima Cathedral, San Martin Plaza, San Francisco Convent and ended the day at the oceanside mall Larcomar.

The Peru Crew are six students that are part of the Peru Collaborative 2009 of the Crossing Borders and Changing Lives program.

The six students are from all over New England and go to Phillips Academy, Governors, Central Catholic and Notre Dame.

There are three boys, (Michael, Manny and Patrick) and three girls, (Nelly, Celia, and Cary) and they are spread out across age, grades, and backgrounds.

They are in San Bartolo for about a month and will be working with both elementary and high school students.

Whether teaching english or promoting leadership and change, I really admire this group and the compassion they have to be doing this. I will explain more about what their specific activities and goals are after I spend some time with them on Monday and Tuesday! I can't wait!

The tour was a great way to meet all the kids, both from the Crew and the natives of San Bartolo.

The San Bartolo students were nice, super friendly, and really seemed to be enjoying the trip. I was also told that some of these students had never been to Lima before, which really added on to the excitement.

The Peru Crew had really become part of the San Bartolo students group and it was great to see how quickly so many friendships had been forged between the two groups of students.

We ended the day at Larcomar, a sprawling outdoor mall embedded in a cliff overlooking the ocean. Everyone was treated to lunch, and the kids had a little free time to roam around. most of which was spent in the mall's arcade.

I had a great day with everyone and can't wait to spend time with them next week and become involved in the program and learn more about their initiatives.

Chau

Julio 10, 2009

2009-07-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Exclusive photo shoots, expensive soccer shoes, and camera flashes were all part of just another extraordinary day at Peru.com!

Today I arrived at work ready to work on my next assignment, which I soon found out was to attend several photo-shoots/press conferences of the players of this Sunday's Classico, the biggest soccer game in Peru.

We would be going to the events in a team of 3. One journalist would interview the players while the other taped with a large video-camera; and I would take pictures of each player we interviewed and pictures of the events in general.

The first event was at the Lima Adidas Store, which is luckily just down the road from the office.

I still really had no idea what was going on when we arrived, and was shocked by how many journalists, photographers, reporters, and lucky fans in the know were waiting in this rather small shop. As we set up and began waiting for most of the players to arrive, I noticed

two young guys decked out in Adidas clothing head to toe casually checking out an expensive pair of soccer cleats. Occasionally a journalist would saunter up to them and have a friendly comment which would usually result in laughter and a photo. I soon realized that these men were two of the players here for the photo-shoot!

I couldn't believe how polite the Peruvian press were, if this store were in America, I would think these players would be flocked and not given any personal space.

But, journalists continued to make casual conversation and leave them alone to look at which shoes they wanted to wear for the shoot.

After all the players had arrived, they posed with their cleats and soccer-balls for a flash-filled couple of minutes.

By this time, quite a crowd had gathered of curious pedestrians who had seen the commotion inside and wandered in to find some of their idols! They seemed shellshocked and frantically searched for something for the players to autograph. While the press usually pushed these autograph-getters away, they usually managed to be successful.

I felt like such an insider as the other press members respected my space while taking pictures and would politely push past me for a shot.

After the store shoot, we headed to our next location.

We took a taxi to what look like a normal residential area. I wondered silently "what are we doing here?" and was really confused, but eager to see what was next. Suddenly we entered a small door in the middle of a long stretch of a tall concrete wall.

Inside the complex I was completely surprised to find a small soccer and photo area filled with press members and players. (I guess at this time it was tough for much to surprise me after being at this internship full of wonderful new things every day.)

Here we interviewed even more players, although this was a pretty exclusive event, with heavy security and no random fan could wander in for autographs.

I still cannot fully believe what I am doing and how lucky I am to have been going to these events I would for sure always just see on TV and say, "I wish I was there"

Chau until my next adventure!

Julio 9, 2009

2009-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Daniel Nestor
Peruvian Team
Schedule of the Matches

Another press conference today, but with a new twist!

I was greeted by another surprise after I arrived at the office this morning; with Kike telling me that I would be going to a Press Conference that would mark the beginning of the Davis Cup matches between Peru and Canada. (The Davis Cup is the premier international team tennis tournament)

I was thrilled to hear that both the Peruvian and Canadian Teams would be at the conference.

And a little shocked after hearing that I would have the chance to ask questions to the Canadian Team! With the conference being only two hours away, I was a little thrown off guard and tried to come up with questions to ask the players.

It was clear that my target on the team for a question was two-time Wimbeldon Champion and former world#1 doubles player, Daniel Nestor.

The conference was held at the Lima Lawn Tennis Club, and was in an exclusive VIP tent.

I went with the journalist Aldo, who was going to film the event and try to get post-conference interviews with the players and coaches. Luckily, we got front row seats.

The conference began with the heads giving an intro, and welcoming everyone to the tournament.

Then came time for the Canadian Team to field questions from the press.

I was able to fit in one question to the entire team, and then one to Dan!

I asked two of the five questions given to the press and was the only person to ask a question in English.

After the conference, we managed to get an interview with the Peruvian Coach, and I resumed my job as photographer. I was surprised the players/coaches were so relaxed, but I guess for them this is just another press conference.

As we drove back to the office, I was a little overwhelmed (in a good way!) by all that I had learned and experienced over the just the last couple days!

I can't believe I forgot to mention that Kike has made a press pass for me so I can get into all these exclusive events. It was so generous of him to take the time to make it and I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me thus-far.

Today was a dream come true!

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

(The video of my questions made it onto Peru.com and the link is on the right.)

Chau!

Julio 8, 2009

2009-07-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Another packed and interesting day!

I spent the day with IQuiero, the online store at Peru.com(or Peru-Punto-Com)

IQuiero allows Peruvians living outside of Peru to send gifts to their families and friends living in Lima and other major regions in Peru.

The store literally has anything you would need to send to someone!

Beyond the most popular items of cakes and flowers, you can send refrigerators, washing machines, flat screen TV's you name it.

One of my favorite items was an order where you send a traditional Mariachi band to play in your receiver's front yard. I thought that was truly unique to this site, and that is not something you will find on a big site like Ebay.

I first met with Manuel, who is the head of the IQuiero delivery department. I also met Vicky, Elias, Javier and Mauro who are all involved in delivery/inventory.

I took a quick tour of the delivery office and inventory room, which is filled with objects ready to be delivered.

Adter the tour, I set off with Mauro to make some deliveries around Lima.

While driving around in the delivery van with Mauro we made our way through the neighborhoods of Miraflores, San Isidro, San Martin, Los Olivos, Magdalena Del Mar, Pueblo Libre, and San Miguel!

In just a few hours, I was able to experience all of these neighborhoods in a way that even most natives will never be able to. It was definitely a very unique tour and view of Lima. Mauro was great and told me about all the neighborhoods we visited and how to find locations that he was not familiar with, although he amazed me in his ability to name almost any street we drove on.

I accompanied Mauro throughout all his deliveries and one in particular in which Mauro took a picture of the receiver with their gift. (This is a confirmation service than can be requested by the sender.)

This was a great experience and I felt as if this delivery trip was an added bonus to an internship that had already introduce me to the world of travel agencies and press conferences. I'm sure more awesome experiences await me over the next week as I continue my internship at Peru.com.

Chau

Julio 7, 2009

2009-07-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Back At the Office!

Today, I began my return to Peru.com with Kike, the editor of the website.

At the beginning of and throughout each day Kike's inbox is filled with articles of journalist's hoping that there piece of news will make the current events or even frontpage!

Kike showed me how selects these articles and how he makes a post/headline on the homepage of Peru.com.

The main headlines of today seemed to be the funeral of Micheal Jackson and the recent decisions of current Peruvian President Alan Garcia.

After my lesson with Kike, I headed up to the deportes/futbol section (Sports and soccer) that would provide experiences over the next couple days that I would never forget.

One of my goals going into this internship was to be involved in the sports section of the site, because I am a huge sports fanatic.

I had barley settled down in this new section of the office when I learned that I would be accompanying a soccer journalist to a press conference with the Heads of the Peruvian Soccer Players Organization.

I was thrilled to hear this, and even more excited to learn that I would be responsible for taking pictures of the heads.

So, we left the office at about noon and after a short taxi ride arrived to a plain, white apartment building that had no press signs or anything on it's exterior. Not exactly what I had imagined where a press conference would be held, but it makes sense that they want to keep it low key for security reasons.

After reaching the room of the conference, it was much smaller than I had imagined and was packed from wall to wall with journalists, photographers, cameramen and TV reporters.

I found out that press conferences involve a lot of waiting around and build up for an event that last just under ten minutes.

Once the conference got under way, all the press members were suddenly entranced by the head's every word and move.

I found myself pressed against other journalists in a mad rush to get the possible shot.

After the conference had ended, I was thrilled about the experience and satisfied that I had gotten a good shot.

We returned to the office and I later saw that my picture had been put along with the article on Peru.com! (sports section, the link is in the sidebar)

After today, I could not believe how fortunate I was to have attended an event I thought I would only ever see on TV!

Chau!

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 6, 2009

2009-07-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Today we made our journey back to Lima with a day flight out of Cusco.

Before leaving for the airport, we did some last minute shopping/photo-taking, never wanting to forget this amazing place.

Although I must admit I was happy to get back to sea level and be able to move around without panting every few seconds!

I am looking forward to continuing my internship at Peru.com tommorow!

Chau

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 5, 2009 (Parte 2)

2009-07-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hola,

So, after passing through several towns, we reached the bustling town of Pisac.

After it's ruins, Pisac is most famous for it's market, which is flowing with local vendors, customers and tourists totally lost because of the size of the market. The market is almost like a little town in itself, with a central square where most of the food products are sold and bartered for. We spent a while cruising though the stalls and stopping at whatever caught our eye, which can be almost any native Andean handicraft or piece of clothing.

We even stopped by a local restaurant in the market that has a guinea pig farm!

Guinea Pig is a common and traditional food for the people of the Sacred Valley, and the farm was there so that customers could handpick their Guinea Pig. A little shocked by this after thinking that Guinea Pig's were only pets, we quickly passed on the opportunity to try one.

After leaving the market, we headed for the ruins of Pisac at the top of the mountain, but we were interrupted by an animal native to the area.

There Standing in the middle of the road was a white llama that looked pretty lost. We got out and took some pictures of it, but something must have set it off because after a couple of minutes it started frantically running around and charging at people!

So, not wanting to mess with the llama, we headed for the ruins.

It gets dark in Peru very early, at about just before six.

So by the time we got to the ruins moonlight was our only source to see the trail ahead of us. Although our tour guide first viewed this as a problem; the time of dat turned out to be an advantage, with no tourists and an authentic feeling of what it must've been like for the Incas at night. As we quickly made our way though the ruins the silence and peace of the ancient terraces, temples and houses was astounding. With wind rushing though the cracks of the ancient walls and a night sky blazing with stars that seemed so close you could almost reach out and touch them; this night was truly an experience.

Tired after all that we had learned in our packed day, we headed back to Cusco, preparing to leave the sacred Valley.

Chau

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 5, 2009 (Parte 1)

2009-07-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hola,

We had a packed day today!

As we prepared to leave the Sacred Valley, I knew our time had flied by and we were going to miss the place the Incans called "Heaven on Earth."

On our way back to Cusco, we stopped at the ruins of Ollantaytambo and Pisac.

Our first destination was in the middle of a small town and the ruins were surrounded by a market and vendors desperate to sell their products; a sign of tourism invading this once quiet country. There was an amazing view of the valley from the top of the ruins, and we learned how important shadows were in Inca society and how they helped them determine tools like the sundial. They also were smart enough to develop a calendar out of one of the mountains in the valley. Wherever the sun rose in relation to the mountain, that determined what month it was.

So if you wanted to know what day it was, you had to wake up pretty early or just be a morning person!

After leaving Ollantaytambo, we drove into the small town called Yucay.

On this sunday afternoon, most of the kids, anywhere from 5 to 20 where playing in a soccer field next to the local church. This is one of the few towns that uses it's valuable space in the valley for huge, local fields for the public to enjoy.

We stopped at a local restaurant across from these fields filled with soccer,volleyball and people just hanging out and enjoying the weather.

The restaurant was called AlpaManka, and was an outdoor oasis buffet hidden by Spanish rancho walls.

The buffet was filled with Andean and Peruvian foods including Alpaca, Urubamba salmon and much more.

Some of the Andean/Peruvian food that my family and our tour guide enjoyed included:

-Lisas Uchu: (Stew of Andean Tuber)

-Alpaca a la Pimineta con Arroz (Alpaca in Pepper with rice)

-Pescada a la vasca:(Spanish style trout)

-Arroz con leche: (Rice Pudding)

After leaving the wonderful little restaurant, we passed through more little towns as we winded our way through the valley.

The "bamba" on the end of town's names comes from the original language here called Quechua, and means flat area for a town or layover or rest stop for traveling.

Statues were all along the main road we were traveling on, and we stopped at one statue of a Puma in Calca and another of a corn farmer in Huyllabamba.

This is a super-long post so i'll do part 2 in another post!

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 4, 2009

2009-07-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Happy 4th of July!

Our day today was a little more relaxed and laid back.

We began the day with a rafting trip down the Urubamba river, which winds it's way through some of the highest mountains in the Andes.

I had never been rafting before, and had no idea what to expect.

Our guide was an easygoing and enthusiastic native peruvian named Sergio, who seemed like a natural at rafting.

With the combo of a wetsuit, helmet and life vest on I looked pretty ridiculous but I was just happy to have the experience. I actually looked more like I was going to Jump out of a plane than raft, but whatever haha.

We went on Class 3 Rapids, which I guess is average level, but I'm not an expert. It was very fun though and I learned a lot as we passed through ancient ruins and sleepy little towns. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. Despite the thousands of tourists that frantically cram into this valley en route to one of the seven modern wonders of the world; the river is completely quiet, with the only sounds being the cool breeze and a distant rooster announcing the morning.

At the end of our river journey, we were treated to a Peruvian lunch with fruit and sweet cakes, it was delicious.

We ate in an open field in the Ollantaytambo village filled with tents of backpackers, one of which was from San Francisco we found out after washing ashore.

It's a small world, there we were on the Urubamba River and and we stumbled into someone not far from close to where we are originally from.

After our rafting adventure, we drove back to our hotel and enjoyed a beautiful day.

On the drive back, we passed by a bull fighting ring, which in this part of Peru is a rare event reserved only for special occasions.

We topped off the day by seeing an astronomy show and seeing all the stars of the Peruvian Sky

Chau

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 3, 2009

2009-07-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Today our trip took us to Machu Picchu.

We woke up way early at like 5:45 to catch a train to Aguas Calientes, the small village at the base of Machu Picchu.

The train ride was through the Urubamaba valley, winding through the huge mountains of the Andes.

Aguas Calientes' name was put on the map after tourists began to visit Machu Picchu in the 1950's. After meeting our guide Johnny, we took bus up the "Hiram Bingham highway" named after the man who discovered Machu Picchu. It's really just a bunch of winding dirt roads leading to the top of the mountain, so I don't know why it's called a highway.

Anyway, after reaching the top we were greeted with amazing views all around.

For the Incas who created this village it must have been no big deal, but 500,000 people come form all over the world to see this magnificent site.

I was surprised to learn that only 700 people lived in Machu Picchu, I thought there would be thousands of people;but I guess it's tough to fit that many people on one mountaintop! Despite all the tourists, the summit has a sense of freedom about it. A cool breeze sweeps through ruins that have been there for 500 years, llamas roam around, not bothered by all the people; and the surrounding mountains peacefully watch over the valley. We walked all over the ruins, and visited the sun and condor temples and the Inca's sundial.

After a day of exploring the majestic mountain range, we returned to Aguas Calientes on what I thought would be a normal train ride.

However, the employees of the train held a "fashion show" where they showed off the newest in Andean/Peruvian fashion, including alot of Alpacka sweaters.

The train car we were in was filled with an Indian tour group, who were the perfect audience, clapping and dancing in the aisles to the techno music that seemed to be coming from nowhere.

So, my day ended with a Peruvian fashion show and a Floridian tour Group disco in a train ride through the Andes, what a day.

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 2, 2009

2009-07-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Above are some pictures of the square I forgot to put in, and some of Chinchero village

After the square we headed up to the sleep village of Chinchero, which sits at a literally breathtaing 12,500 ft.

As we made our way into the main square of Chinchero, we were greeted by very polite locals selling handmade handicrafts, Alpaca sweaters and many other cool things.

We trekked down the ancient Incan terraces that still remain in Chinchero's hillsides. But for the people here, the ruins seem to be just a part of everyday life. Kids play hide and seek behind the old stone walls that protected and supported their ancestors 500 years ago.

The local people are very proud of their heritage, and continue traditions through their colorful clothing and one man who played me an Incan song with a flute made of bone. Just above these ruins is a church built by the colonizing Spanish. Chinchero is definitely one of my favorite places so far, with it's peaceful mountains and kind people.

Chau!

Sacred Valley Journey Julio 1, 2009

2009-07-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Today we began our adventure up into the Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado).

We flew into Cusco, Peru this morning which sits at 10,800 ft.

Many people suffer from altitude sickness, so to try and prevent it we drank coca tea (herbal cocoa leaf tea) and took it easy for the day, just walking around the Main Square (Plaza de Armas).

It was such a nice day we stayed in the square for hours, and we were easy targets for the dozens of shoe-shiners, and vendors of postcards,paintings,handicrafts you name it!

The square was filled with these vendors, basking backpackers and locals enjoying the sunshine.

The day didn't end very well though.

The air sickness caught up with my mom and I and we had to spend one night in the air sickess clinic! Yeah, they have a clinic because it's so common.

After we recovered, we set out for the Sacred Valley.

Day Two! (Segundo Dia) Junio 30, 2009 (Parte 2)

2009-07-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Sorry, I had to go to a press conference! But I'll talk about that much later.

Anyways, I then went to lunch with some of the travel agents that I mentioned before.

We had a great meal consisting of:

-Calamares Fritos (Fried Squid)

-Arroz con Mariscos (Seafood Rice)

-Ceviche (citrus marinated shellfish)

I was then lucky enough to be asked my for my opinion and then any input I had for the travel agency section of the site.

But the travel agency pages are perfect! They are well-organized and easy for someone to use.

Chau

Day Two! (Segundo Dia) Junio 30, 2009 (Parte 1)

2009-07-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Today was my first day of my experience/internship at Peru.com.

As I walked to the offices of the successful website, I had no idea what to expect.

I had never been to any kind of professional workplace like this!

After I arrived I was greeted by co-founder Juan Francisco Rosas and his sister Monica Rosas, who works in the travel agency of the website. I also met Elizabeth Olcese, who has been nice enough to set up a schedule for me in my time here.

I spent the day in travel agency, learning how Peru.com's travel agents handle requests from customers and which deals to offer on the site that they receive from airlines.

Mayra Vega and Monica showed me the different aspects of the travel section, including a live chat where customers can ask direct questions about trips to the travel agents.

Shortly after I was given a tour of the three-story offices by Juan Francisco, who also gave me a short history of the company, which was started by just three ambitious friends! I had learned so much about the website and peru in just a few short hours.

In the afternoon, there was a birthday party for all the employees that had a birthday in June

Everybody sang to them and it was a very warm atmosphere. I tried Inca Kola (Peruvian Soda) and empanadas (meat-filled pastries) for the first time, everything was delicious. Juan Francisco also introduced me to everyone and this as an opportunity for me to practice my Spanish and for them to practice their English! haha

Day One! (Primero Dia) Junio 29, 2009

2009-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Today was my first day in Peru! We arrived last night to the Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez.

We are staying in Miraflores, a fun oceanside neighborhood. Today we mainly just walked around the local Parque Kennedy, which is filled with handicraft markets, locals playing soccer and plenty of food stalls selling typical Peruvian churros and empanadas (Pastry filled with different meats or cheeses.)

I am really excited to go to the Peru.com office tomorrow and begin my experience!

Chau for now,

Ryan

(P.S) The pics above are from the local supermarket