The following post features student writing.
Hola from Chilcapamba! This is Greta, from small-town Nebraska, and Lauren, from East Coast New York, checking in! We are both rising seniors and chose to come on this Putney trip for the cultural experience, language immersion, and community service aspect.
This Friday and Saturday were full of adventures. On Friday, we worked from 8:30 AM–1 PM with a new pulley system made from three tree trunks that Francisco, our foreman, cut down himself. We had one person pull the rope, one person dump the buckets of dirt, and two people fill the buckets from within the hole for the water tank. We had a pulley on each side of the hole, so it was a very efficient process (it also saved our shoulders from flinging shovel-fulls of dirt up out of the hole)! After a late lunch, we had time to pack for the next day’s excursion to Otavalo. At 3 PM, one of the locals named Antonio gave us a tour around the village. He demonstrated how to use a handmade wooden machine to weave rugs that represented the culture, stories of their ancestors and Pachamama (which means Mother Nature in Quechua), shared agricultural techniques for growing organic corn, beans, and quinoa in a symbiotic manner, and showed us how to scrape agave leaves to obtain the fibers to make traditional sandals. We then walked to the community feria (market) to buy goods from local women, including hats, scarves, bags, scrunchies, and our favorite, bracelets. After dinner we loaded a bus for a 30-minute ride to Otavalo, where we stayed at a very cool hostel.
On Saturday, we started our day with pancakes at the hostel before setting off for the animal market. When we arrived, we saw cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and guinea pigs for sale. It was an awesome experience; we had never seen anything like it in the States. After exploring for half an hour, we went to the craft and textile market, where we split into groups. We had two hours to wander and purchase traditional goods and delicious food. The best purchases of the day were alpaca blankets, sweaters, socks, bags, belts, scarves, jewelry, headbands, and scrunchies. At noon, we set off for the Peguche waterfall right on the outskirt of Otavalo. The group explored around the falls and grabbed a snack before heading to the Parque Condor (a nonprofit that helps rehabilitate birds of prey as some are nearly extinct in the region.) There we saw eagles, falcons, and hawks being flown. There was a cafeteria within the park where we discovered sandwiches! Everyone was craving food that we couldn’t typically find or eat, and those subs hit the spot! We then drove home to Chilcapamba, ate dinner, and immediately went to bed after an exhilarating but exhausting excursion.
So far our experience has been amazing! We’ve been introduced to a completely different culture and have challenged ourselves as traveler’s rather than tourists; trying new foods, talking to locals and stepping out of our comfort zone, making it a very exciting and different trip rather than simply a vacation.
