We arrived safely back to Ollanta from Lares this evening. When we go to town, we quickly headed to a Pizza Restaurant owned to a very kind man named Raul. He treated us like royalty and the kids loved having some pizza after our excursion. Now, to update you on the last two days...
Friday -
We arrived at the school at 8:30 a.m. and set to work on finishing the play structure and the mural. We needed to get three more pieces of timber, so we walked to the lumber yard got two small and one large pieces of timber and again carried them through town. We finally got down a system on how to distribute the weight evenly and learned to switch side in sync. The rest of the day was spent digging more holes and prepping the timber, which means to strip the bark, sand it smooth, and trim it to match the other pieces. The school was celebrating father's day, so there were a lot of games and activities for the kids and parents. Shaun got to step in and do one of the activities in place of a father who could not make it, and he did a spectacular job. We left at 1 pm for lunch with the host families and then reconvened at 3 pm for some shopping before getting on the bus to head to Lares. It gets dark between 5 pm and 6 pm here, so most of the drive was in the dark. We arrived in good shape at the camp ground a little before 8 pm, where our chef, Armando, and porter had all of the tents set up and dinner waiting on the table. We ate soup, rice, french fries, pasta, and chicken. The kids raved and claimed that this was the best meal we have had so far. After dinner, we all quickly changed and got into the hot springs. The setting was beautiful. We were nestled in a valley next to a river. The hot springs consisted of 5 or 6 pools of different temperatures. The pools are all man made and nicely appointed and landscaped. Also, the water in the pools is yellowish-brown due to the minerals (mostly copper, I believe) from the natural spring. We swam, relaxed, and showered before finally crawling into our tents at about 11 pm.
This morning we all woke as the sun drenched our tents. All of us met in one of the cabanas overlooking the river for some morning yoga! When in Rome... It was a gorgeous morning and a great way to start the day. We headed down for some breakfast of pancakes, fried yucca, bread, jelly, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Then, more swimming. It was such a great setting and the water felt quite good; it was hard to resist and difficult to get out. Finally, we all rallied and went for a short hike on the Inca Trail, really! This was a great opportunity to get to see the landscape and the local flora and fauna. The rain moved in while we were walking so we turned around and waited in the group tent for lunch to be served. Armando whipped up some soup, pasta with red sauce and Fettuccine Alfredo. I promise, we will not come home hungry. The rain stayed around, so we got back in the tents and rested until it was time to head home at 3:30 pm. All of the kids chipped in to help Armando and the porter pack up camp and get everything to the bus. This ride was a treat, because we got to see the beautiful Andean countryside. Along the way, we ran into several Alpaca and Llama herds! The kids chatted, slept, and played cards on the way home. They were thrilled with the pizza dinner and were begging to go home and go to sleep as we wrapped up the day.
We all remarked on the surprising comfort we felt as we returned to Ollanta. It was not like returning home, but it was nice to be in a familiar town with familiar faces. I for one am looking forward to crawling into my bed tonight, and I know the kids feel the same way. Tomorrow we will work at the school in the morning and then return home for a father's day lunch with our host families (Dia de Pappi).
Friday -
We arrived at the school at 8:30 a.m. and set to work on finishing the play structure and the mural. We needed to get three more pieces of timber, so we walked to the lumber yard got two small and one large pieces of timber and again carried them through town. We finally got down a system on how to distribute the weight evenly and learned to switch side in sync. The rest of the day was spent digging more holes and prepping the timber, which means to strip the bark, sand it smooth, and trim it to match the other pieces. The school was celebrating father's day, so there were a lot of games and activities for the kids and parents. Shaun got to step in and do one of the activities in place of a father who could not make it, and he did a spectacular job. We left at 1 pm for lunch with the host families and then reconvened at 3 pm for some shopping before getting on the bus to head to Lares. It gets dark between 5 pm and 6 pm here, so most of the drive was in the dark. We arrived in good shape at the camp ground a little before 8 pm, where our chef, Armando, and porter had all of the tents set up and dinner waiting on the table. We ate soup, rice, french fries, pasta, and chicken. The kids raved and claimed that this was the best meal we have had so far. After dinner, we all quickly changed and got into the hot springs. The setting was beautiful. We were nestled in a valley next to a river. The hot springs consisted of 5 or 6 pools of different temperatures. The pools are all man made and nicely appointed and landscaped. Also, the water in the pools is yellowish-brown due to the minerals (mostly copper, I believe) from the natural spring. We swam, relaxed, and showered before finally crawling into our tents at about 11 pm.
This morning we all woke as the sun drenched our tents. All of us met in one of the cabanas overlooking the river for some morning yoga! When in Rome... It was a gorgeous morning and a great way to start the day. We headed down for some breakfast of pancakes, fried yucca, bread, jelly, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Then, more swimming. It was such a great setting and the water felt quite good; it was hard to resist and difficult to get out. Finally, we all rallied and went for a short hike on the Inca Trail, really! This was a great opportunity to get to see the landscape and the local flora and fauna. The rain moved in while we were walking so we turned around and waited in the group tent for lunch to be served. Armando whipped up some soup, pasta with red sauce and Fettuccine Alfredo. I promise, we will not come home hungry. The rain stayed around, so we got back in the tents and rested until it was time to head home at 3:30 pm. All of the kids chipped in to help Armando and the porter pack up camp and get everything to the bus. This ride was a treat, because we got to see the beautiful Andean countryside. Along the way, we ran into several Alpaca and Llama herds! The kids chatted, slept, and played cards on the way home. They were thrilled with the pizza dinner and were begging to go home and go to sleep as we wrapped up the day.
We all remarked on the surprising comfort we felt as we returned to Ollanta. It was not like returning home, but it was nice to be in a familiar town with familiar faces. I for one am looking forward to crawling into my bed tonight, and I know the kids feel the same way. Tomorrow we will work at the school in the morning and then return home for a father's day lunch with our host families (Dia de Pappi).
1 comments:
Shaun,
We are so proud of you for stepping in and helping the child who did not have his Dad with him. Dad looks forward to celebrating Father's Day with you next weekend. We love you so much!!! Mom P.S. Katie and Jack say they love you and miss you! PJ is sleeping right now but I am sure he would say the same:)
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