Trip Logs

Select a date below to view the Trip Logs for that trip.

2012

June 17 – July 8, 2012

June 17, 2012

Elizabeth Stewart, 23, grew up on a farm north of Greensboro, NC where she developed an appreciation for the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, and summer camp were regulars in her childhood. In high school Elizabeth was on the cross country and track teams and a member of the Presbyterian Youth Council, which planned retreats for middle and high school students. By her senior year she earned her Gold Award in Girl Scouts by providing meals for families with fatally ill children. While a student in college she was the head of a committee for her sorority that raises about $40,000 every year for Prevent Child Abuse America. Elizabeth has a charisma and energy that keeps her constantly in high gear. In the summer of 2008 she challenged herself with a NOLS course in the Absoroka Mountains and after 30 days of a high-intensity expedition, she found herself with sharpened skills in leadership and the outdoors. Elizabeth can often be found camping, hiking, or horseback riding, which she has been doing competitively since she was 12. Elizabeth joined Moondance two summers ago as a leader on our Northern Lights adventure in Alaska and returned for her second year to lead the Costa Rica Venture after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earlier in the spring. Elizabeth is a seasoned Moondance leader and we know she will be a fan favorite this summer in Ecuador.

Henri Hammond-Paul, 21, comes to Moondance this summer after having just graduated from Washington and Lee University in May. Henri grew up in the small town of Nyack, New York (a suburb of New York City) where he was the captain of his high school’s lacrosse and cross country teams, as well as being involved in the student government. Although Henri was interested in the outdoors and went to summer camps when he was younger, his time in college has afforded him more opportunities to travel and live in the wilderness. Henri learned how to live simply in a natural environment by tracing the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine for six weeks and, upon returning to W&L, he pioneered a project to construct a Walden cabin on the campus. Outside of school, Henri enjoys playing sports, traveling, volunteering, and spending even more time in the outdoors. Through W&L, Henri has traveled to Africa to teach English and math at an orphanage and has studied abroad in Brazil, Vietnam, and South Africa. Henri’s unique outlook and experience will make him a great leader on Machu Picchu this summer and we welcome him to the Moondance family.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Hola a todos! We are SO glad to be in Cuzco! The traveling was long, but we loved getting to know each other and playing apples to apples in the airport. Once we got to Cuzco, we were relieved to see that all of our bags made it and to see Henri, Marco, and Betsy ready to pick us up. We had a great morning nap and then our first real Peruvian meal at a local restaurant called Victor Victoria. We had some time to explore Cuzco in the afternoon and our guide, Betsy gave us a tour of the local market and the sun temple.

We are up bright and early this morning and ready to hit the river for some epic rapids! We will be rafting for the next few days, but can’t wait to tell you all about it when we get back to Cuzco!

Friday, June 22, 2012

¡Hola todos! Henri and Elizabeth here checking in and saying hello after the first section of our great adventure in Peru. After everyone arrived safely last Monday, and despite the long wearing international flight, the group pushed on through and headed out early Tuesday morning to the famed Apurimac River for three days of thrilling white water rafting. The Apurimac River, ranked in the top 5 rivers for rafting in the world, surely lived up to its name. It took us about five hours to drive from Cusco to the put in; we traversed rocky dirt-roads that wound up and down some of the most amazing mountains many of us have ever seen. In the far distance at times, we could see the snowy glacier cap of the Salkantay Mountain and other immense monsters of the Andes Mountain Range. It was very exciting to see the Salkantay because in just under one week our crew will be embarking on a 5 day trek around the mountain that will ultimately bring us to MACHU PICCHU!!!

When we finally made it down to the river, having dropped about 3,000 ft in elevation from Cusco, we all embraced the newfound warmth of the sun and helped our guides prepare our boats and bags for the next few days. In total we had 6 boats in our armada – two rafts for us and our guides, one cargo boat, one catamaran cargo boat, and two safety kayaks who guarded the beginning and end of each rapid. Before hitting the river, we feasted on the first of our amazing meals to be had over the next few days: roasted chicken (Peruvian style), a cucumber and tomato salad, and of course some potatoes (the potato is indigenous to Peru, and one of the hundreds of varieties is sure to find its way into each meal).

When we hit the river, our amazing guides Lucho, Frank, Michael, Primo, Rob, and Edwardo, eased us into our first set of rapids. We started with some class II and III´s and by the end of the day we were hitting some big class III+ and IV rapids. The Apurimac River is known to the locals as “The speaker to gods” because of its enormous strength and its ability to move huge boulders during the rainy season. The noise these moving boulders make is a thunderous boom that evidences the legend behind the name.

After a few hours of exhilarating rafting we arrived at our first campsite. Imagine the coolest place you have ever slept and multiply that by 10x. For the entire trip we were confined between the enormous walls of the 3rd deepest river canyon in the world, and camping on the soft sand beach  with the gleaming stars of the southern hemisphere really topped off one of the most amazing sights we have all seen. That night at moonup, Elizabeth and Henri announced the first Leaders of the Day, Chris and Everette, selected for their outstanding leadership qualities and magnetic positive demeanors. We all slept very deeply after that day, especially on the stomachs full of warm pumpkin soup, mashed potatoes and Peruvian seasoned steak.

We awoke early the next day to some delicious porridge with fresh fruit and hot tea and soon commenced on what would surely be one of the most adventurous days of our rafting experience. Mary Emma and Locke were the first to fall in, but were soon after rescued by our guides and returned to their places in the boat with paddles in hand. It was amazing to see them jump right back in the swing of things after the initial shock of submersion in the cold water. Jake and Colin both held down the front of their respective rafts for all three days and never gave into the endless splashes and soaks from all the wild rapids – they sacrificed their dryness for the better of the group over and over again. This second day we saw some of the true wild of nature in the indifferent power of the river. For our safety, our guides made us portage four class V and VI rapids this second day (with names like “toothache” and “last laugh”), and we were surely glad to oblige them of this request. Seeing the river so powerful was a really humbling experience, and it also made us trust and respect our guides with their priority on safety and fun.

That evening we had another delicious dinner of soup and then pasta with mushroom and garlic tomato sauce, and then spent the evening playing Mafia, Terridactyl and other fun games. Chris and Sullie were surely the figureheads of these laugh-fests.

On the last day of the trip, the seasoned rafters we had become, we embarked for our first class V rapid. Jack and McLean, our fearless leaders of the day, prepped our entire group for this last leg of the trip and set the tone for the focus needed to accomplish these last feats safely and successfully. Sullie caught our triumph on her trusty Go-Pro camera as we all made it down our first class V rapid!! After the rapid, Peter led a mutiny and attacked the other boat tossing Henri overboard into the flat water of the river. We stopped off to do some cliff jumping (yay for Mary Emma for overcoming her fear and taking the leap!) and then sadly ended our trip with a great feast once we got off the river.

The news is not all sad though, because although this segment of our journey is over, we are about to head off for 6 days of community service and adventure in the Ccorca Village! We look forward to hearing more about the boy´s obsession with Alpacas and sending you all an update in a few short days!

Adios

Henri and Elizabeth

June 28, 2012

Machu picchu trip checking in again after an amazing week of community service in the Ccorca district of Cuzco. After a grueling three day adventure on the apurimac river doing some of the best white water rafting in the world, our gang headed back to Cuzco to rest for one night at our favorite cozy hotel – hotel los Angeles (we all thought of the famous eagles song, hotel California, whenever we walked in the front door ). We awoke early the next morning to make the journey over the mountains to the humble and impoverished community of Ccorca where we would be for the following six days. Before we made it out of the city, we made a quick stop at the Cuzco airport to pick up henri’s long lost checked bag, and it couldn’t have been better timing because everyone was getting sick of seeing him in the same few outfits (although he did pick up an awesome alpaca sweater to tide himself over until his bag got in).

After leaving the city proper, we immediately found ourselves snaking through mountain passes on winding dirt roads, and after about an hour and a half we arrived at the rustic lodge that we would call home for the next few days. Our guide Betsy introduced us to our cook, Felipe, and his assistant, Ronaldo, who’s delicious meals would keep us more than satisfied for the days to come. A common dinner conversation over the week was how much we realized we all love soup ( it is served with almost every Peruvian meal). Throughout our trip so far we have tried just about every single type of soup imaginable: pumpkin, onion, squash, chicken, quinoa, celery, vegetable and many others, each more adventurous and delicious than the next.

After our arrival on the first day, we made the first of many treks down to the village from our lodge. The path down to the village is an original segment of the inca trail from over 500 years ago. As we would learn from Betsy in our Andean culture and history discussion, there still exists over 25,000 miles of inca trail in Peru and the surrounding countries! Betsy taught us a lot about the fascinating, inspiring, exotic, and turbulent history of the Andean people in the area.

The path that we would come to love and hate over the next few days was surely one of the biggest challenges we faced daily. This 15 minute walk uphill left no student unwinded. It didn’t help that we were also at over 11,000 ft above sea level. By the end of the trip however, jake could proudly boast that he could make it up the entire trail without stopping. He is surely ready for our 6 day trek to machu picchu that starts tomorrow.

The service project that we embarked on over this past week was to help the village of Ccorca rebuild and fix their community center. Our group had the great fortune to work side by side with the local people as we helped restore a place for the community to come together.

Every day we would wake up early and hike down to the town to work on the project for five hours until lunch. On the first day, half the group went to the river to shovel sand that we would later use for concrete. The other half of our group stayed at the community center and removed the entire roof from the kitchen ( it would be our project for the week to replace the roof on the kitchen). After the group returned with the sand the whole team joined up with the locals to transport the sand from the truck into the community center. A highlight was seeing the 5 year old girl Lara, carry half her wright in sand so enthusiastically that in inspired us all to dig deep within ourselves and work extra hard to accomplish our goals.

Over the course of the week, our team removed and replaced the entire roof and paved the whole floor with cement that we mixed by hand. It was really tough, yet really rewarding work. Peter, jack, and Colin all became master roof builders as they apprenticed themselves to the local artisans. If anyone is interested in having a Spanish tiled roof added to your house, these are your guys. Everett really set the standard for work ethic with her ceaseless energy and relentless endurance as she pushed everyone to follow her example of working hard and not quitting until the job is done and done well.

After each day of community service, our group went on an adventure of varying sorts. The first day we found ourselves traversing an amazing zip line recently featured on the history channel that our guide Marco built in the devastatingly beautiful canyons and mountains of the Ccorca district. Sullied wore her go-pro camera attached to her helmet and we all look forward to watching the video to remind us of the amazing thrill of zooming over the gorgeous canyons hundreds of feet below us. We all agreed that that experience was the closest thing to flying any of us had ever felt.

On another excursion the following day, the twelve of us executed a thrilling 350 foot rappel down the face of a cliff near the village. The most amazing moment of this was seeing marry Emma conquer her fear of heights and take the rappel on like the heroine that she is. We were all so proud of her as we watched on and cheered as she made her way down the rock face. Later that day, Locke also made our group really proud when he joined in the local’s weekly soccer match and scored two goals for the home team.

When a few of our team members came down with a little cough and exhaustion from the hard work and hard play, McLean was there to cheer us all up with her warm spirit and comforting presence. She surely brought a smile to henri’s face when he was feeling a little low from sickness when she wore a toy story bandaid on her cheek for a whole day. We were also fortunate enough to be graced by a litter of puppies at the lodge where we stayed this past week. We saw a little bit of everyone’s gushy side as we would all flock to the puppies each day. Chris often led the way and was sure to play with his favorite each time which he affectionately and appropriately named “domino”.

Toward the end of the week our building project came to an end and we had the opportunity to visit some even more rural and disadvantaged parts of this remote community. We danced with some village elders, played soccer with some young teens, and had an amazing send off party with the whole community when we departed on our last day.

All in all it was an amazing week. We were humbled by the modesty of the Ccorca villagers lifestyles, simplicity, poverty, happiness, and warmth. We all feel so lucky to have been able to share some time with everyone we met, and to have been able to help them improve their community center. As these things often go however, what we were able to give the people of Ccorca pales in comparison to the hospitality, friendliness, and cultural exposure they were able to give us.

And now we are off to see and experience the legend of Machu picchu. Can’t wait to check back in with everyone in a week!

Henri, Elizabeth and the Gang

July 4, 2012

Howdy all! Machu Picchu trip checking in again after a wonderful five day trek to Machu Picchu. After getting back from our meaningful week of community service in the Ccorca district outside of Cuzco, we spent one night in the city and headed out early the next day for the beginning of our trek around the salkantay mountain and glacier on our way to Machu Picchu.

We drove for about 5 hours, the whole time listening to eighties tunes that seem to dominate every minute of the local Peruvian radio stations, and arrived at the beginning of our trek early in the afternoon. Along the way, Henri, Locke, and McLean kept the whole group on their toes by setting the high energy environment standard with extreme dancing to Michael Jackson, Sting and The Police, and some great disco tunes. After meeting our muleteers and cooks and helping load up the 7 horses that would carry our group gear and food for the next few days, we set off with our awesome guides Carlos and Wilbur for the first leg of our trek. The first day was a grueling uphill hike as we gained nearly 3500 ft of elevation in just a few miles of hiking. Peter and jack led the way on these uphill sections and were sure to encourage the rest of the group as we all worked as a team to conquer the high elevations and difficult environment. Around 3:30 in the afternoon, our group hit the snowline and some of us were able to touch snow in June and July for the first time.

We stopped for the first of our amazing lunches in a open pasture surrounded by snow-capped mountains to munch on some delicious soup and llomosaltado. After lunch we continued uphil for another few hours and arrived at our campsite for the night. Almost all the students agreed that this site was the most amazing place they would ever sleep!

We were camped at the foot of one of the biggest glaciers in Peru. In the shadow of this mountain we all took our afternoon tea, warmed ourselves with great soup and fresh trout dinner and began the beginning of an epic five days of card games. Right after dinner, Locke, Peter, Jack, Chris, Jake, Colin and Henri hiked up to the foot of the glacier and built a small rock pyramid in honor of the great mountain we were passing by. We then howled at the moon like wild animals. After this little adventure, we did our moonup beneath the stars with the glowing glacier in the background.

We woke up the next morning to below freezing temperatures and frost all around us. We had a quick breakfast of french toast, granola, tea, and yogurt and then started our ascent to the glacial mountain pass. After 2 hours of hiking we reached the pass which is measured at over 15,250 feet! With frozen fingers and toes we snapped a few pictures, breathed the fresh mountain air, and thanked each other for our health, happiness, families and work ethic. We then began our descent.  Over the next few days we descended over 6000 feet. We passed from snow covered mountains into a cloud forest and then into tropical climates. Along the way, our guide Wilber pointed out many tropical birds and wild orchids.

Some highlights of the trip include: our rest day at the natural hot spring baths, where we soaked our sore and tired muscles. The multiple, and very intense and competitive, pick up volleyball games. The dream team, McLean jack and Henri, exerted their dominance on the court and did their best to hold off Locke Carlos and Colin as they attempted to usurp the crown of king of the court. When we got tired of volleyball, we switched to pick up soccer along with a group of locals. Again, Sullie showed her soccer skills as she led her team to victory. At night Chris and marry Emma battled it out with intense card competitions and the rest of us played go-fish.

After a solid 5 days of hiking, and over 40 miles of varied terrain, we arrived at the City gate to our famed destination. We got an early night of sleep because the next morning, we woke up at 4:30 so we could make the sunrise at machu picchu!

To say the least, the lost city of the incas blew all of our minds. We had a guided tour of the ruins and then had some time to explore it on our own. Chris and Everett made friends with the local llamas who are the impromptu landscapers of the site. It was truly a breathtaking experience to be up on the mountain and to experience machu picchu first hand; we could hardly believe the size and scope of this mysterious city. Now, back in cusco with one world wonder under our belts, we are about to head off to lake titicacca, the highest navigable lake in the world for the final section of our great adventure. We look forward to cherishing these last moments together before we all head back to our respective homes, brimming with stories and lessons learned!

Until next time,

Elizabeth Henri and the gang.

July 8, 2012

Hey all. Sadly this is the last time you will be hearing from us for the Machu Picchu trip. Just a few hours ago, we saw the group off in the Lima airport as they all headed back to their respective homes. It was sad to see everyone leave, but at the same time we were so proud to know what each student will be bringing home and the lessons and experiences they all learned and had.

As leaders we could not be more proud and excited to see the growth of each student as he or she traversed the challenges of the past few weeks. We would like to take this time to personally thank all the families for sharing your wonderful children, brothers and sisters, and grandchildren with us. We would also like to thank you for raising such interesting, exciting, thoughtful, curious, and smart kids. We surely learned as much from them as they hopefully learned from us and their cultural exchanges.

To conclude we would like to share a message that we offered to the kids at our final banquet. We hoped this message will capture what we try to teach and the great things all of the students will do in the future:

 I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

 - Henry David Thoreau 

You kids all rock!!!!

Henri and Elizabeth

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July 10 – July 31, 2012

July 10, 2012

Elizabeth Stewart, 23, grew up on a farm north of Greensboro, NC where she developed an appreciation for the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, and summer camp were regulars in her childhood. In high school Elizabeth was on the cross country and track teams and a member of the Presbyterian Youth Council, which planned retreats for middle and high school students. By her senior year she earned her Gold Award in Girl Scouts by providing meals for families with fatally ill children. While a student in college she was the head of a committee for her sorority that raises about $40,000 every year for Prevent Child Abuse America. Elizabeth has a charisma and energy that keeps her constantly in high gear. In the summer of 2008 she challenged herself with a NOLS course in the Absoroka Mountains and after 30 days of a high-intensity expedition, she found herself with sharpened skills in leadership and the outdoors. Elizabeth can often be found camping, hiking, or horseback riding, which she has been doing competitively since she was 12. Elizabeth joined Moondance two summers ago as a leader on our Northern Lights adventure in Alaska and returned for her second year to lead the Costa Rica Venture after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earlier in the spring. Elizabeth is a seasoned Moondance leader and we know she will be a fan favorite this summer in Ecuador.

Henri Hammond-Paul, 21, comes to Moondance this summer after having just graduated from Washington and Lee University in May. Henri grew up in the small town of Nyack, New York (a suburb of New York City) where he was the captain of his high school’s lacrosse and cross country teams, as well as being involved in the student government. Although Henri was interested in the outdoors and went to summer camps when he was younger, his time in college has afforded him more opportunities to travel and live in the wilderness. Henri learned how to live simply in a natural environment by tracing the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine for six weeks and, upon returning to W&L, he pioneered a project to construct a Walden cabin on the campus. Outside of school, Henri enjoys playing sports, traveling, volunteering, and spending even more time in the outdoors. Through W&L, Henri has traveled to Africa to teach English and math at an orphanage and has studied abroad in Brazil, Vietnam, and South Africa. Henri’s unique outlook and experience will make him a great leader on Machu Picchu this summer and we welcome him to the Moondance family.

July 15, 2012

Hola todos! Que pasa hombres?

Machu picchu trip here checking in after a fantabulous few days on the Apurimac river. After a few long days of travel getting to Peru, the group was really ready and excited to get out into nature and experience one of the many parts of Peru’s incredible wildernesses.

After one night of sleep and a good warm meal in Cuzco we hopped in a bus and made our way through the mountains via winding dirt roads to the river put in. The Apurimac river, one of the headwaters of the Amazon, is known to the locals as the “Speaker to the Gods”, due to its tendency to move boulders downstream during the powerful rainy season. As our group soon found out, the river surely held up to its name.

The three day trip brought many challenges and adventures, and by the end of it, our group of 14 strangers had learned how to work together and accomplish all of the challenges we faced.

From a leader’s perspective it is was amazing to see the student’s growth even in these first few days. We watched as Juliana conquered her fear of rock jumping. We witnessed our first leaders of the day (LOD), Court and Lillie, set a strong example of group leadership through their actions and willingness. We saw Trey and Griffin take endless splashes and waves to the face as the held down the front of team victory’s raft. Lillie exemplified endurance and relentless determination despite her bug bites-unfazed, she took on rapid after rapid with a smile and encouraging laughter.

At night we feasted on amazing soups and roasted meats cooked by our amazing rafting guides. After our luxurious beach-side dinners, we gathered around a campfire for hours as we learned more about each other, our families, Peruvian history, and the amazing star-covered sky of the southern hemisphere. Trisha and Trey told stories of funny childhood memories, and Margaret ignited our new obsession with fun facts and trivia. Caroline and Jayne Anne kept the group in stitches whenever we had a moment off the water with their endearing jokes and fun-loving character. Perhaps the best part of the trip however, was seeing the boat with Caroline, Olivia, Juliana, Natalie, and Lillie flip on a big rapid. The best part was not the flip, but rather it was seeing them all pop up  out of the river with huge smiles on their faces that showed how much they couldn’t wait for the next rapid. Watching them get back in their boat and grab their paddles with a certainty and confidence not gained anywhere else than from trial and error and hard fraught gains is what makes our job truly amazing. To see these students learning, growing, and having fun, is one of the best things to be a part of.

No rest for the adventurers however, for tomorrow we head off for the next leg of our trip to do a week of service in the Ccorca district. Until next time all the best from Peru.

Henri and Elizabeth and the Peru crew.

July 22, 2012

Howdy followers.

To start, Elizabeth and Henri, the fearless trip leaders, can’t even express how proud we are of this group. We just got back from six days of community service in the impoverished Ccorca district. These meaningful and eventful few days brought our group very close together and also gave us a wonderful and important cultural exchange with the humble and engaging villagers of Ccorca.

Each day brought new adventures and challenges, and from our view it was awesome to see each kid adapt, grow and mature as the week progressed. First and foremost, it was amazing to see Juliana conquer her fear of heights as she fearlessly executed the 350 ft rappel on the side or an Andean mountain cliff. Court and griffin set the pace for our high energy environment as they pushed the group in our adventures Zip-lining across three huge canyons.

Despite these fun adventure activities, the group was sure to remember why we were in the community we were fortunate enough to visit, and what our primary goals were. We came to Ccorca to do community service and to work with the locals and help them build their community center, and we are proud to say that this objective never slipped our minds. Every morning we would wake up at 6:30 and the make our way down the mountain via original Inca trail (laid over 500 years ago) and then work an arduous 5 hours every morning doing various jobs fixing up the center.

The first day, Margaret and trey cleaned out the kitchen of all the dust, dirt, and broken adobe bricks and prepared it for the remodeling that would occur during the rest of the week. We were all surprised to find out that beneath all the dirt was a concrete floors. While they did this, Caroline, Natalie, and Jane Anne (our master painters) put two layers of whitewash on all of the walls surrounding the unpaved courtyard. Trisha and Lilly and Elizabeth made a trip to the river, and with the help of a few members of the community loaded up a truck with sand and rocks that we would later use to make cement to pave all the floors in the complex.

Lillie and Olivia quickly learned the recipe for homemade cement and taught the group how to measure and mix it. All of our hard work made us think about the conveniences of modern technologies (like a cement mixer) but it also made us appreciate the capabilities of our own bodies and our own strengths. It was amazing to see the lives of the locals and learn from them how we can better appreciate our own lives. One day we made a trip to a community of elders and gave them all some warm clothes for the winter cold and some materials that would help them finish their worship center. In exchange, the showed us their homes and told us about their lives and livelihoods. Their genuine warmth and hospitality filled all of our hearts and reinforced the lesson of the importance of giving, sharing, and learning.

Over these fast six days it was amazing to see the transformation of the community center from a half-completed project to a fully functional space for a community to come together. From the new kitchen to the paved courtyard to the painted walls to the furnished storage room, our group surely made a big impact on this community. As is the case with these things however, our impact on the Ccorca community surely pales in comparison to their impact on us. For that we are humbly grateful for this amazing experience.

Now we are headed off for a 5 day trek through the snow capped mountains of the Andes on our way to Machu Picchu. Until next time, all the best.

Henri, Elizabeth, and the gang.

July 27, 2012

Hi all!

We just got back from an amazing 6 day trek to Machu Picchu, and head off tomorrow for the highest navigable lake in the world – Lake Titicacca.

To say the least, the trek blew all of our minds. From sleeping in the shadow of a 22,000 foot glacier one night, with temperatures dropping below freezing, to being in a tropical cloud forest the next day, to climbing to a 15,300 foot mountain pass, to soaking in some natural mountain hot springs, and to finally experiencing the wonder that is Machu Picchu, it is safe to say that this section of the trip offered some amazing adventures and lifelong memories.

Our amazing guides, Wilbert and Efrain, both professional mountaineers, taught us the history of the mountains and the landscape and were sure to point out all the amazing details of our trip that we would have missed without their keen and knowledgeable eyes. We spotted chinchillas in the mountains, green parrots in the forest, hummingbirds pollinating the largest natural abundance of orchids, and countless other wildlife and plants along the way.

As the leaders of this group, we were so impressed by every student’s individual successes along the way, but we were also amazed by how well the group continually managed to grow and unite as a whole throughout this section.

The long days of hiking were complimented by each student’s unique and special contributions to the experience. Every few hours Margaret would grace us with one of her fun facts while Jayne Anne would share stories of her family and friends back home, telling us how she couldn’t wait to show pictures and tell tales of Peru! When we reached the highest elevation of our trek, 15,300 ft, we all carried rocks to the top of the pass and built a rock pile to commemorate our journey and respect for the mountain. Juliana and Natalie managed to snap some some award winning pictures of the snow covered mountains that are sure to find their way into the next National Geographic magazine issue (or at least a nice framed copy to put on a wall in the living room). One could always find Court at the front of the group talking with the guides and trying to learn as much about the history of Peru and its people as he could absorb; his budding curiosity and interest in people and cultures is an inspiration to our group.

At camp one night, Henri and Trey climbed a nearby mountain before dinner so they could howl at the moon and embrace the serene wilderness of their surroundings. Their echoes could be heard in the whole valley.

At night our hearts were warmed with Griffin’s new-found mandolin skills as we all sat around the campfire and debriefed the day.

At our day off at the hot springs, Tricia  captured the whole groups attention as she tried to solve the mystery of the curious heavy rocks in the water pools – unfortunately the case is still unsolved. Olivia and Lilly caught some well deserved rest as they napped in the tropical sun on our day off. Later that night, Caroline took the greatest risk of the whole trip and attempted a shower in the freezing water at our campsite. She only lasted a few seconds before she gave in to the awesome power of nature and cold water.

Along the way, the group also celebrated Henri’s 22nd birthday. A direct quote from his mouth: “it was the best birthday I have ever had and I wouldn’t rather spend it with anyone else in any other place.”

When we finally made it to Machu Picchu after our long trek, we were lucky to have Lillie be our leader of the day as she led us through the mind boggling ruins of the amazing and deserved wonder of the world.

We can’t wait to show you all our pictures!

Off to Lake Titicacca and home so soon.

Henri, Elizabeth and the gang

July 31, 2012

Howdy Todos!

Sadly, this will be the last trip update of the summer. Not all is sad news, however. Our trip went out with a bang as we spent our last few days together at the highest navigable lake in the world: lake Titicaca! We took an amazing bus ride through the Andean Highland (reaching altitudes up to 14,000 feet) and finally arrived at the city of Puno on the shores of the great lake. Along our the way to Puno, we stopped off at some amazing Incan ruins and learned about some pre-Andean cultures and art. We woke up early the next morning and began our journey out into the lake. We stopped off at Taquile Island for a hike over the island and some amazing grilled trout. We were fortunate enough to be traveling around during the Peruvian Independence Day, so on the island we were able view and participate in some of the local celebrations. After our stop on Taquile we took a boat over to another historic island, Amantani, and spent the night with local homestay families. In the evening we took a group hike up to the summit of the island’s mountain, Pachatata, and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen. It was a truly special moment for us all to be together one last evening before we would soon be heading back to our respective homes. After the sunset hike, we ate dinner with our families in their humble yet incredibly gracious homes, and then went the community center, all dressed in traditional Amantanian garb (ponchos and caps for the men, multi layered skirts and a embroidered shawl for the women), for wild dance! Early the next morning we strapped on our wet suits and spray skirts and got in our sea kayaks to paddle from Amantani to the shore of the mainland. The serene beauty and solitude on the calm yet enormous lake was an amazing setting for us all to reflect on the amazing three weeks we had experienced together. We then went to Uros, the floating reed islands in the middle of the lake, and learned about the history of the Aymara people and how they came to live on floating islands. After this visit we returned to Puno for our banquet and final night in Peru. As we all said good bye to each other at the airport, it was full of sadness but also joy. We were sad to be leaving each other, after such a positive trip together, but also we were all very happy to have had such an amazing experience together. The lessons we all learned will surely impact our lives for years to come, and we look forward to sharing stories and showing pictures of our amazing travels!

All the best,

Henri, Elizabeth, and the Gang!

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