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this week has been one of the most incredible, hard, rewarding, amazing weeks of my life.
On monday we arrived at the school and got to meet all of the amazing kids! they lined up in classes and every single kid gave us a hug and said hello. there was confetti too and some kids sang us songs. ill post some photos soon. im teaching grade five with another volunteer. we were amazed to find that they knew quite basic english, colours, numbers ect ect but there spanish wasnt really up to the standard we expect our aussie grades fives to be in english. one boy had to double check that he was spelling his name right. i taught one lesson of p.e class.... it was the longest hour and a half of my life haha all they wanted to do was play soccer!
We have also started our construction project... were building a wall around the perimetre of the school and later a water resevoir to coenside with the green houses that the previous group built. its such hard work... the first few days werte spent knocking down a wall then once we reached the ground we had to dig out the foundations which was really hard work... especially in the sun. but it will make a huge difference to the security of the school.
This weekend we had our first trip away... we went horse rising in the sacred valley and the scenery was absolutly stunning. the horse riding was fun... the horses wernt very healthy and the equipment wasnt that great but the views were absolutly stunning. after riding for 5 hours the guides told us the get off and walk down this track to the camp site. none of us had any idea where we were going... realising that there was nowhere else to go but down we followed the path. we walked through these amazing villages that looked lived in but we didnt see a single person. this village was so remote and had no electicity. we followed the path further into this valley with a beautiful creek that looked almost like north australia, alsmost rainforst and absolutly stunning.
we walked for about 2 hours and turned to see the most stunning view i have ever seen. it was from one mountain looking accross the sacred valley. the town bellow was Llamay and when we turned the corner we came across these donkeys just in the side of the path and in the background was these amazing old incan ruins!! 8 of us stayed in the ruins camping with the rest continued along the path and caught the bus back to cusco.
We camped amongst these ancient ruins and it was mind blowingly beautiful. we met these two men who work for the national park and they were so welcoming and helpful. we somehow managed to comunicate in spanish... im imprving everyday! after we set up our tents and it started to get dark these two peruvians invited us into there home and made us tea! That night was one of the best nights of my life. we walked into there tiny house which had no electiricty and was welcomed with a walm fire and hot mate tea. one of the men who grew up in a local village got out his flute and played these amazing andean songs. not wanting to outstay our welcome we got up to leave and the man with the flute walked us back to our campsite, the whole while playing his flute. we walked amongst these acent ruins listening to a decendent playing the music they plated hundreds of years agao. it was one of the most moving experiences of my life.
we fell asleep under a full moon with the stars and woke to one of te most amazing views. (the photo above was the view i woke up to this morning) none of us wanted to leave so we started wondering around the ruins and we bumped into our new peruvian amigos who gave a us a guided tour, in spanish of the ruins. we walked amongst the 7th incas palace, the sun temple and the huge grass area were parades and festivals were held hundreds of years before. we learnt that the buildings were for important people like thegovernment and priest and that the everyday villages lived higher up in the mountains surrounding. the ruinswere aT 3650 meters and the people livedhigher than that! we saw the difference between the incan and spanish building styles. the spanish used cement to hold the stone toegeter while the incans painstakingly carved each individual stone to fit, and didnt use cement at all! when the spanish invaded they tried to collect all the water that ranoff the mountain however when the heavy rains came it flooded and covered the entre ruins. today arciologists are still uncovering and preservinf these amazing buildings that are still standning today.
the second amazing thing about the ruins was that we saw REAL IN THE GROUND UNMOVED FROM WHERE THEY WERE DISCOVERED MUMMIES. we thing it was of a priest and an important women, we were having trouble with the translation. but we know they were important because they were buiried in the middle of the village while everyone else was buired up in the mountains. they were buried alonside atrifacts as well such as bowls ect ect-
finally it was time to head down and catch the bus. we siad goodbye o our fiends and exchanged email adresses and made our way down the moutnatin side. it was rainging and slippery but so much fun. we ran down the moutain and it still took 2 hours. we bum,ped into some pigs and horses and finally caught the 2.5 hour bus ride to cusco, completly exhausted.
the home stay is going well and ill hopefull post a few photos today. still having an amzaing time and ill talk to you all soon :)
- comments
cat sorry tried to upload photo but it didnt really work ill try again when i can :)
Emma Oh my gosh Cat it sounds amazing!! I'm so jealous of your Peruvian flute playing exploits! Yay that the blog is up and working :) :) I'm hopeless at checking the facebook, but at least now I'll know you're alive and having an amazing time!
Mum Hi Cat your weekend sounds incredible. It reminds me of a similar time in Nepal going to a Sherpas house to visit. No Peruvian flute though. So what did you do when the kids only wanted to play soccer? Hows your back after all the hard work digging at the school?
Rosamond Hester Hello Cat, We were not lucky enough to have that experience but we have been up the Sacred Valley and remember how lovely it was. The sound of the flute being played in the mountains under a full moon will stay with you always. We did not know you could ride a horse or was it a case of just holding on? You must have ached the next day. Glad the blog is working well, we are like Emma, have problems with Facebook Love to you, looking forward to the next chapter. Nana and Dada
Bridget Cat!! That sounds incredible!! Glad you´re enjoying the real Peru :) :) Keep having fun!
Nana Nana Love the photos, its like going n the trip with you. Looking forward to seeing many more. Love N&D
Dad Wow!!.. WIll let you know how we feel about the white water rafting, Bungy jumping and Hang gliding we spoke about this morning AFTER you have done it ;) Go for it :). Dropped into the Honbu this evening and let Kicho, Shihan. Sense Peter and Sense Steve know you were having a ball. 8 Alfred st Blackburn 3130 or you can post home and I will hand deliver :) XXXooo
Chris Cat, glad your having a wonderful time, you will remember this for the rest of your life. YOur adventures sound amazing everything from ancient villages, riding donkeys, some wonderful people and even mummies.Soak it up, love the kids and the people, live it to the full. Looking forward to your next blog. Going well at the Honbu but we do miss you. Love from all. Shihan
Julie Hume HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAT. Love Grandma Julie & Grandpa Charlie.