tales of wander
Peru
Adventures of a Voluntourist: Peru
This is the second installment in a series of four stories that I’ve written for WorldNomads. The anecdotal stories focus on my experience volunteering abroad. Click here to read it.
2008 World Nomads Book of Travels
World Nomads has published their very first book—a collection of journal entries and photographs from people like me. In fact, a part of my journal was selected to be in the book. To find out more, see: http://journals.worldnomads.com/travel-competitions/post/18878.aspx To buy the book, go to: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/256976 Happy travels!
Saying goodbye
Has it been a month already? Amidst a swirl of activity—of sightseeing, volunteering, and the buzz of day-to-day living—the time has flown by and already feels like a dream. After a month in Peru, I find the prospect of leaving bittersweet. There are things that I dearly miss about home. Friends and family notwithstanding, I … Continue reading
The last day of school
Today was the last day at the Pumamarca school for many of us volunteers. Knowing this would be the last time that I would see the school and the children (for now, anyway), I was plagued by a feeling of melancholy from the moment I woke up in the morning. I taught my English class … Continue reading
The Inca trail to Machu Picchu
Day 1 The day of our Inca Trail trip had finally arrived. The first day began in the Sacred Valley about 40 minutes outside of Ollantaytambo where there is a checkpoint at which you present your ticket and your passport. This may sound a little odd, but the Inca Trail is a UNESCO World Heritage … Continue reading
Building a home
Today we had a full day working at the school at our various duties (for me, that meant English grades 5 & 6, then assisting with hygiene), and then we went to work on Hernan´s house. For those of you who are actually reading all of these entries, you might remember Hernan from the entry … Continue reading
The food in Peru, part 2
So maybe the idea of alpaca steaks, alpaca diane, and alpaca carpacchio was too much to endure. If so, perhaps you´ll find cuy—another regional favorite—more palatable, no? I took this photo outside of Pisac when we stopped at a traditional chicha house where the hostess not only had a whole pen full of cuy, but … Continue reading
A trip to Puno and Lake Titicaca
I just returned last night from a long weekend in Puno and Lake Titicaca with two other volunteers, Genelle and Claudine. It was a little vacation from vacation, if you will. A week ago a meteorite crash-landed outside the city of Puno and soon thereafter locals complained of headaches, nausea, and vomiting—ostensibly from gases emitted … Continue reading
A home visit
The other day we conducted our first home visit. A home visit is when the volunteers, along with Ginny and Iris (the organization´s social worker), visit a home in the Pumamarca village to check on their progress. These are typically families who have been (or are) in crisis for any number of reasons—poor health of … Continue reading
A home visit
The other day we conducted our first home visit. A home visit is when the volunteers, along with Ginny and Iris (the organization´s social worker), visit a home in the Pumamarca village to check on their progress. These are typically families who have been (or are) in crisis for any number of reasons—poor health of … Continue reading
tales of wander 