Adventures in Cusco and a meeting with Peter Frost

Exploration continues from the "navel" of the world!

We currently find ourselves perched high among the clouds in Cusco, elevation 11,000 feet. Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire and the reputed navel of the world. It remains an important city in modern times, but the highlights of the city certainly are found in its past.

Our exploration of Cusco began at Saqsaywaman, the Inca fortress that sits on a butte overlooking the city and is built of enormous stones. Here, we met our National Geographic expert, Peter Frost, who took us on a day-long tour of the ruins. Saqsaywaman played an important role during the conquest, as it was an Inca stronghold in Manco Inca's rebellion. In time, the Spainards were able to use their advantageous horses, metal amour, and firearms to capture the fortress which, according to Mr. Frost, was one of the most significant turning points in the fight for Peru. Mr. Frost followed up the tour with a private meeting with the Archeology On Assignment team to discuss their projects and offer his expertise.

The next day our exploration continued with Mr. Frost to Qorikancha, a Spanish cathedral literally built on the foundations of the most sacred of Inca shrines. In the afternoon, the group was able to observe a shaman ritual. Shaman are Andean spiritual leaders who are considered to have the ability to communicate with higher powers. Our shaman performed a ritual to provide safety and enjoyment for the remainder of our journey through Peru and a safe return home, in addition to a fruitful journey throughout life. So we have that going for us… which is nice!

It is difficult to encapsulate our days prior to Cusco in a single blog, but highlights include hiking and camping in the high Andes, peaking at an elevation (according to our GPS) of 14,737 feet. Teddi from Ohio wrote in her journal that , "the scenery was phenomenal and the little children rushing to greet us by the roadside made the hike worth it. Prisitine lakes, glacial streams, herds of alpaca, traditional huts, and sweeping grasslands stretched as far as the eye could see and up into the clouds." Our campsite was conveniently located among a series of hot springs. Sawsan from Abu Dhabi reflected that, "before we knew it we were taking a dip in the hot springs in Lares, reflecting on a long day whose every minute of exhaustion was well worth it."

In other days, we also explored the ruins of Moray, the salt mines of Salinas, and were treated to a demonstration by a woman's weaving cooperative in the small town of Chinchero where they practice age old weaving techniques.

Additionally, we continue to break out into our On Assignment teams and have begun to focus the bulk of our energies on our final projects.

Goodbye for now,
Joseph, Brenna, Sarah, and Mark

Cusco unaffected by earthquake

We spoke with the expedition leaders early this morning in Cusco and the group was completely unaffected by the recent earthquake, which was centered far from Cusco, near the Bolivian border. The group is fine, enjoying their time in Cusco and looking forward to their final excursion to Machu Picchu.

A meeting with National Geographic Expert Peter Frost

Days are passing quickly here in Ollantaytambo, the living city of the Incas! We met Peter Frost, our National Geographic expert at the gateway of the ancient fortress of Ollantaytambo bright and early this morning. Peter gave us a two and half hour tour of the region’s ruins. We toured agricultural terraces, residential areas, sacred temples and a handful of ceremonial baths. At each place, Peter pointed out interesting highlights of the Incan architecture—from engravings, to cursive stonework to the highly sophisticated irrigation systems that served the area.

After having a few moments to wander and take pictures in the old ruins, Peter led us out into the main square of town and along some of the streets that have survived since Inca times. He pointed out the new stonework placed atop the old carefully carved blocks that serve as the base for many of the contemporary residences in town. Peter pointed out a gate that would have, in ancient Inca times, indicated the residence of a kinship group of higher class. We wandered into the courtyard and were invited into the house of a senora who brewed chicha (a traditional Peruvian drink brewed from germinated corn). We crowded into her sunlit, one-room kitchen to hear an explanation of the brewing process. “I was surprised that she was so open to letting us into her home and business, especially since she essentially had her entire livelihood contained in that one room,” said Caity from Maryland.

After lunch, we visited various artisan workshops in town. The students were able to choose between a 3-day instruction in ironworking, woodworking and ceramics. Students spent about two hours completing a handicraft with local artisan masters Teddi from Ohio said that, “the ironworking experience…was the bomb diggity.” And Katie from California said of her ceramics workshop: “It’s really interesting with Eduardo [the ceramics instructor] because he understands when to help us and when to let us do our own thing. Even though he’s much better than we are, he still has confidence that we’ll make something pretty.” Students will be able to pick up projects—ranging from key chains, to bowls, to door latches—on Friday.

We have a two day hiking and camping trip planned for Wednesday and Thursday of this week. We’ll be walking along lakeshores and the perimeter of alpaca farms on our way to natural hot springs at Lares. We’ll be sure to update photos when we return!

Until then, Sarah, Mark, Joseph and Brenna

¡Hola de Ollantaytambo!

We have arrived in this magnificent historic town at the base of the Andean mountains. Ollantaytambo is steeped deep in history and was one of the most important Inca temples/forts. Our hostel here is quaint and provides a nice jumping off point from which to explore this wonderful sierra setting. Now that we have a base for the next week or so, we have been able to break out into our On Assignment teams and have begun to focus on our projects. Our photographers, writers, and budding archaeologists are busy working on everything from the secrets of capturing culture in a photo, writing their personal traveler manifestos, and exploring and discussing the Inca outposts scattered around town that were used to warn of approaching Spaniards. In fact, Ollantaytambo is famous as the site of one of the greatest victories for the Incas in their roughly forty year war to defend their empire from the invading conquistadors.

On our second day here we were treated to a reenactment on the stone terraces of the Ollantaytambo fort. The dramatic event told the story of the Inca General Ollantay (note the name) and his prohibited love for the Inca king´s daughter. This enormous production happens only once each year and the celebration is called Ollantay Rymi.

For the rest of the day, On Assignment teams continued with their projects. The first two photographs posted below were taken by students (Zoe from Minnesota and Jennifer from New Jersey, respectively) in the On Assignment Photography project. Below is a travel manifesto written by Laura from Virginia, in the On Assignment Writing project:

"Tourism has in many ways been the history of my travel experience. I have heard it said that 'the best tourist views the world from their own doorstep' and I can attest to the validity of that statement. Thus at times it has seemed to me that authenticity of experience and personal connections with locals are the defining characteristics of what one might call true travel. This experience can at times be a quest for one´s self, as much as the favorite dining spot of locals or the culturally significant landmarks of a nation. The strange irony of this search for self lies in the requirement of gaining distance not just from the physical home, but from all that is familiar, all that has shaped who we are so as to be further molded by new experiences. Yet this distance cannot be so great as to exclude our past from our present and certainly no meaningful experience can be left out of our future. In this way travel becomes a sort of migration not just to the place but through time, spanning each period of our lives, and if we are lucky, the world. This dependency of travel on history is evident, as often the things that make the biggest impression even on the average tourist are the onces that have transcended ages of human life. From the colosium in Rome to the Forbidden City of China and the Al-Hambra of Spain to the Incan terraces of Peru, where I now find myself, the ancient is often the quintessential aspect of a place and a culture that never forgets, but likewise never stops evolving. So, like time, the traveler´s journey can be difficult to define and impossible to finish."