THERE!

We made it!

Chau, Poly 

¡Hasta pronto!

Overheard and seen on the trail

Ready to start the 3 nights, 4 days adventure 

One of the first stops... So far so good! 

"Do not forget to stop and look back!"

Inca ruins... Not your average rest stop. 

No caption needed...

Vladimir, César & Gustavo
Our phenomenal guides

"Are we there yet?"

"Can we climb up there?"

"I have Inca stairs PTSD!" (Quote by a Poly student, not the llama)

First sight of Machu Picchu

....almost there!

An image is worth a thousand words

Today we visited the Willoc community, about 45 minutes from Ollantaytambo, we brought tables, chairs and school supplies for their school (hiking uphill!) had lunch and spent part of the day with these incredibly nice and grateful people.

Early tomorrow morning we'll start the big hike, we might be able to post a picture via WhatsApp before losing phone signal, we'll be back in touch on Wednesday.

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Vote in the comments sections for your favorite image (1 portrait, 1 landscape)

Portraits and words (retratos y palabras)

Brennan
(Brennan took most of the portraits, his sharing his art, not his words)

Alec
Alec and his group went to the yama farm today!

Sean
I am having a great time.  We have learned so much about Peruvian culture from Gustavo and César.  I can't wait for the Inca trail! 

Austin
Austin
It is (unfortunately not) Wednesday, my dudes! :( But it's cool because Cusco is #lit. We got great food, a great group, great tour guides, and great activities. We even went to a yama farm today. While the drives have been long, Alec's adorable singing and ukelele playing has made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Diego

Our activities so far have given us the chance to see many of the bird species common in and around Cusco. Most of these species have been new for me - Andean Flicker, Rufous-collared Sparrow, and Sparkling Violetear, for example - and I look forward to seeing more species on the Inca Trail.

Sophia
The culture of Peru is not only incredible, but is also a refreshing break from the Pasadena bubble.

Marcela
I have loved learning about culture while walking through the streets, also Peru is not a place for vegetarians         Sofía
This trip has given me the opportunity to experience life outside of the bubble we live in, learning both about history and culture along the way. I enjoyed becoming friends with people I barely knew, and I hope our bond lasts outside of Perú. Also, the Alpacas are adorable :)

Phillip
This is a trip specifically designed for students to have a means of escape from school, yet we still talk about it over a delicious rotisserie chicken dinner. Poly is such a mentally and physically demanding school, and you all rightfully deserve a break. Use this experience as a retrospective upon what you've accomplished this year, and chill out for once. Add me on instagram, myspace, Google +, Facebook, Kik, Twitter, Tumblr, and subscribe to hydration_is_key on Youtube.

McKenna
Hydration is key! Many water bottles have been purchased and we have been keeping our hygiene in check with frequent hand sanitizing parties! On another note, I have learned a lot about this beautiful country! :))
Justin
This trip has been covfefe

Evan
Cavs in 7

Adiós Cusco, Hola Sacred Valley (and Pisac & Ollantaytambo)

Criadero de llamas, alpacas, guanacos y vicuñas

After a few wonderful days in Cusco we left early this morning to visit a so called  "Llama farm", although it is also inhabited by vicuñas, alpacas, guanacos and even a very cute cat the kids fed and petted with equal enthusiasm.

Thank you, Sofía, for this picture!

Hola Poly!

The "Llama farm" is a cooperative, here, one of its members weaving a table runner.

Later we drove for about 40 minutes and arrived to the  Sacred Valley 

César, one of our local guides, shared with us many interesting facts about the Inca Civilization.

Happy hikers :)

On our way to today's final destination we spent some time at the colorful market in Pisac

Artist at work at Pisac Market



And our last stop of the day (which involved climbing hundreds of steps): Ollantaytambo

Diego, muchas gracias por la foto.

Quite a busy day

"Chifa" slang for Chinese food. In front of the massive stones. We learned the "mystery" behind the construction of the walls: hard work!

Making chocolate!

We visited a chocolate factory today, learned about the origins of  chocolate as we know it today, and how it was used originally. We celebrated the Pachamama through a cacao ceremony and made our own chocolate.  

Hola desde la bella Cusco/Hello from beautiful Cusco!

Hello family, friends and accidental visitors!

We've been having technical difficulties, that's the reason why we have not been able to update the blog as consistently as promised.

We are having a phenomenal time, loving Cusco, its history, its people... And its above average food.

No one seems to be particularly hit by the altitude and  every second brings a new adventure or discovery.

We've visited the Plaza de Armas, the narrow streets, Saksihuaman (aka "Sexywoman"!) and the Convento de Santo Domingo.

I am trying to upload this now, if we are lucky, the next post will be mostly pics with captions.

We miss you all!

The PolyGIPPeru crowd!

Made it to Lima!

Looking tired, after a pleasent and long(ish) flight! Connecting to Cusco soon!