Exotic animals, fed and eaten

 Monday May 6th, 2025 - Sacred Valley, Peru

Greetings from the Sacred Valley! Today began with a very early rise to catch a 5:20AM shuttle to our 8:05AM flight to Cusco. Although a bit bleary eyed, everyone made it without complaint. We landed in Cusco, collected our bags, and were met by our new guides for the week: Lashira and our drive John. Cusco is located at 11,000 feet of elevation and is known to cause altitude sickness among newly arrived travelers. Almost all of us took the precaution of starting altitude sickness medication the day before, and will continue to take it during this part of the trip. The guide also provided us with coca leaf tea, chocolates, and candies all believed the help easy symptoms:

Thus fortified, we drove into the Sacred Valley, rising up to 12,000 feet before rolling back down to 9,000 feet. Our first stop of the day was a wool farm where they raise llamas (2 kinds), alpacas (2 kinds), guanacos, and vicunas. We learned about the animals (including how to tell them apart!) and were then encouraged to feed them. That was really fun even though some of the animals were a bit, um, aggressive!

We learned about hos the fur is turned into naturally died yarn and how traditional Incan women weave it into beautiful patterns:

After some shopping, we drove deeper into the Sacred Valley, stopping at a lovely overlook to admire the scenery. The combination of wrinkled, jagged mountains with lush green vegetation covering every surface is not something we can see in North America:

We drove on to the town of Pisac where we had a traditional Peruvian lunch (quinoa soup, trout, ice cream with passionfruit sauce) within a beautiful courtyard:

We had some free time to wander through the town, which is known for its extensive artisan markets, many of which sold the types of wool goods we had learned about that morning. 

Having effectively stimulated the local Peruvian economy, we drove on once again. Our next stop was one of the most memorable I've had on any trip. We visited a town that is known for farming and serving Peru's #1 delicacy: guinea pig. Somewhat expensive and eaten only special occasions (somewhat akin to lobster in our culture), the town was adorned with colorful status honoring the guinea pigs and restaurants where they are roasted in traditional ovens over charcoal. Every single student on the trip was curious enough to try some!

As the sun began to set, we visited our first Inca site: the massive pyramid structure of Ollantaytambo. It was started around 700 years ago, and construction continued until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. We learned a lot about construction methods and the purposes of the various buildings. And then we climbed to the top, taking several rest stops along the way:

As the sun set, we drove Inca roads to our hotel (where we'll be staying for 2 nights). After a few minutes to get settled, we walked into town for a traditional Peruvian chicken dinner:

After dinner, although free to wander through the small town of Urubamba where we ware staying, every one of us was really tired from our long and exciting day.

Tomorrow, we will spend more time in the Sacred Valley.

Everyone is healthy and happy and embracing this experience to the fullest. I am proud of each one of our NEC students!

- Prof. Eric J. Simon