Back Home from Trek

Dear Groton community,

We are back home from our trek tonight after a fabulous two-day march through the high Andes. The students all did very well on the trek, despite freezing temperatures and high (above 15,000 feet!) altitude. After a 6 a.m. car ride up to the crest of the Andes, we began walking up what would turn out to be one of three high passes we would have to walk over on our first day. That day we made camp under a horizon of snow-capped mountains and had a lively group conversation in our cooking tent. After a star gazing session, the students were fast asleep. The next morning we were up at 5:30 a.m. to watch the sun rise over the Andes, a memory which many of us will not soon forget. Today we hiked from that high camp down a glacially carved landscape that led through indigenous stands of quenua, a tree endemic to this part of the Peruvian Andes. We stopped briefly in a Quechua village, where we observed weaving techniques and had lunch. After several more hours of continuous descent, we came upon the pre-Incan fort of Pumamarca, which was a giant fortification built around 1000 A.D. to overlook the surrounding valleys. We continued downwards and the group made the decision to march all the way into Ollantaytambo, where we celebrated with ice cream cones. Tomorrow we continue work on our service project, along with kids from the local school. We will try to post another blog tomorrow. A wonderful trip with extrordinary kids continues!
Ross and Craig.