Peru – Machu Picchu!

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

PLAY it Forward’s largest group just returned from Peru on an amazing 10-day adventure.  This was our first trip to the Sacred Valley region of Peru and it couldn’t have gone better!  We started off in the village of Taray to work at an elementary school.  Taray had been badly hit by the mudslides in January.  Many people lost their homes and had to relocate to tents in the neighboring town of Pisaq.  Our wonderful group of sixteen sojourners worked hard to build school furniture for the children and clear brush to plant new trees for a fresh beginning.  We played harder though, swinging kids around, getting chased, and shared laughs even though we didn’t share a language.

Saying goodbye was hard to do, but after many thanks and hugs of gratitude we parted from our new friends and headed to the town of Lares to continue our adventure.  We spent three days and two nights trekking in the Andes Mountains.  Though we were exhausted and sore, everyone made it to the top at 15,000 feet!  Huffing and puffing seemed to immediately cease as you took your first glance at the other side; looking down on a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains made the struggle all worthwhile.  Nothing makes a group bond faster than sharing this major accomplishment together, and not to mention the enjoyable nights huddled together in the dining tent.

Our adventure did not end there!  We all checked off our bucket lists as we spent the final day together at Machu Picchu.  This world wonder left us all in awe as we stood on the grounds of a hidden Incan community surrounded by lush jungles and vast mountain ranges on all sides.  We explored the mysterious complex and a few of us even ventured to the top of Machu Picchu Mountain to overlook the grandeur from almost 2,000 feet higher than the Incan city.

A very spiritual place, it was a great ending to an extremely meaningful and all-encompassing trip.  Despite the size of our group, we all came together as strangers and made 15 new friends who shared a unique experience together.  The group is already in the stages of planning a reunion.

Thanks everyone for an amazing trip!

Nikki Williams

Tags: Adventure travel, Machu Picchu, Outdoor Adventure, Peru, voluntourism
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Mudslides in Peru

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

I am sure that many of you have heard of the mudslides in the Cusco region of Peru, more familiarly known as the Machu Picchu area.  The news reported the large amount of tourists that were stranded.  It was on the news for maybe a couple days, but lives are affected forever. This is a very important issue, as there were thousands of tourists trapped with minimal food and water.  However, what was harder to find, was information regarding the thousands of Peruvians that had lost their homes.  Here are some of the facts of the mudslide:

Machu Picchu is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Latin America, attracting more than 400,000 visitors a year. The 15th-century Inca fortress is located on a high mountain ridge 40 miles from Cusco. A railway that transports tourists to the site was covered by a mudslide. Normally the wet season in this region ranges from December to February. However, this year they started in early November and in the first few weeks of January they were the heaviest they’ve been in 15 years. The rivers in the Cusco region have swollen and burst their banks flooding adjacent low-lying villages and causing damage to bridges and the railway line between Aguas Calientes (the town closet to Machu Picchu) and Ollantaytambo (in the Sacred Valley). Many areas of the railway, which is the only mode of transportation between the two cities, have been severely damaged and some wiped out all together. Homes, bridges, fields, and roads have been very hard hit, affecting people’s livelihoods dramatically.  The homes of over 2,000 people in poor rural areas — many of them riverside dwellings made of clay and straw — had been destroyed or damaged. Another 12,000 people were affected to a lesser degree, losing possessions or suffering property damage. Most of the damage has happened in the southern valley of the Cusco region. Especially right now with Machu Picchu being closed and tourism near zero, many people are suffering from lack of work as well.

PLAY it Forward was very alarmed to hear of this news, not only because we have a scheduled trip this May, but also because we are concerned for the well-being of people around the world.  Donations are always nice. However, because we prefer hands-on, tangible ways to help, we will be helping in the disaster relief. Continuing to give back in the places we play.

Nikki Williams

Tags: Adventure travel, Cusco, International Travel, Machu Picchu, Mudslides, Outdoor Adventure, Peru, Volunteer Vacation
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