Vistamar Peru 2025
Monday, March 31
This morning we woke up to an excellent breakfast, and left Lima for Cusco. It was a short 1 hour flight, and pretty enjoyable all things considered. We then got in the bus and went to an amazing lunch. I had ceviche, alpaca and a brownie for desert.
After we explored the main plaza we went to the alpaca and llama farm. We got to feed all the animals and saw a baby vicuña that was born 3 hours ago! Then we took a scenic bus ride to our next hotel in Calca. Dr. B was excited to see the terraces on the side of the mountains!
After a fun day of exploring the city of Cusco, we arrived at our hotel and got to meet our host families, which was a great pleasure and experience. For dinner, we had exceptionally delicious Peruvian chicken sandwiches and kabobs. Talking to the host families was not only a fun way to practice our Spanish speaking skills, but to learn about their lifestyle here in Peru from their perspective.
By: Carson, Lilah, and Vincent
April 1, 2025
Today, we woke up in the morning and ate some yummy breakfast at the hotel. Afterwards, we hopped on a bus and visited some archeological Inca ruins and the town of Pisac. We learned about the different reasons as to why Inca’s settled at higher altitudes rather than lower altitudes close to the river. Then we went to a local market, where we had the chance to shop and practice bargaining with local vendors. Everyone found some really beautiful items, and it was a great opportunity to pick up unique souvenirs to take home. While walking around, we also spotted some adorable baby alpacas and couldn’t resist taking a few photos with them!
After shopping, we ate some delicious empanadas. Then, we came back to the hotel, set some rules for our Homestays and met the families we’ll stay with for the next few days.
As part of the orientation, we acted out different scenarios that could happen while staying with our Peruvian families. It was both helpful and fun.
We settled in our new homes and chatted with our new families and then went to go play basketball with some kids our age. After a long day of doing fun stuff, we got back home and had a nice sleep! Bye!
By: Allison, Angela and Dee
April 2, 2025
This morning, we had eggs with bread and orange juice. After that we immediately met up with some friends who are staying close to us and walked to meet up with the rest of the group in la plaza. We proceeded to walk to a special needs school named Señor de la Vara, which needed help pouring concrete, painting and making flashcards for the kids. Me personally I poured concrete. It was rainy and chilly in the morning, but everyone powered through and did good work, with most of the concrete floor being done and all of the painting and flashcards being done.
After working this morning to help out with the structure of the school with much compassion and determination, we enjoyed an exceptionally delicious lunch with our host families, meeting up with some friends who are in a host family that is related to ours. Then we went to a workshop where we explored the creation of genuine silver rings, where we witnessed them being made. We also made really amazing shirts. I chose a more abstract design, my friend Carson chose an alpaca and our other roommate, John chose a Guinea Pig. We also tried Guinea pig, it had crispy and chewy skin and chewy meat, but the flavor was amazing. In addition to that we played a little volleyball and soccer with one of the local kids.
By: Carson and Vincent
April 3, 2025
On our last day in Calca, we took an hour and a half bus ride to an Indigenous community. To prepare for the day, we started by practicing words in their native language, Quechua. We learned how to say basic phrases such as, my name is, thank you, hello, goodbye, etc. We clapped along as they performed a native dance to welcome us into their community. They continued to introduce themselves by their age and name and we did the same. Afterwards we split up into three groups, and the options given were to paint structures, pickaxe, or dig trenches to import a water irrigation system. The work was difficult but communicating about their lifestyle made the work more interesting and enjoyable. Once we finished our work, we were split into different groups to visit their homes. Our group specifically was assigned to shucking corn, and we were able to learn more about what they do on a daily basis.
Next, we all hiked up the mountain to perform an indigenous ceremony honoring their gods Pachamama (mother nature) to express gratitude, thanks, etc. There were four holes dug into the ground and we gathered around them in a circle while every individual made a wish to the Gods. Every person was given a coca leaf, which is a traditional leaf for the ceremony. We placed them into the hole of our choice and once the ceremony was done we all danced in celebration. We danced in individual groups and eventually gathered in one large circle again and danced together. Lastly we said goodbye in Quechua (tupananchiskamo) to every person which translates to until we meet again. As we exited their community we had lunch on the bus and headed back to our host families.
We spent a small amount of time talking to our host families but because we were tired from earlier in the day, we rested and got ready for dinner. We dressed in semi-formal attire and walked to the Plaza (the hotel) and once we were all together, we took a salsa class which was very entertaining (we sweated a lot). We participated in multiple dances and were accompanied by some of the host families. Afterwards, we sat with our host families to eat our last dinner together. We exchanged information to keep in contact and took lots of photos to make these memories last. Finally we walked back to our house and packed to get ready for our next adventure!
By: Lola, Betty and Lija
April 4, 2025
Today was our host grandmother, Jeanette’s, birthday. We got up early for a 7am birthday breakfast with our host family and Kara, Esmeralda, and Sherly’s host family. After the celebration, we left Calca and our host families. This was very emotional for everyone because over the last three days we had all formed strong bonds with our families. Everywhere you looked, you could see tearful goodbyes from both the students and host families. Spending time with my host family has allowed me to think differently about the world I live in. Afterwards, we boarded a bus to Ollantaytanbo, known as one of the last living Inca towns. There, we explored older houses and even saw some furry friends (guinea pigs). Afterwards, we had lunch in a local restaurant and boarded a train to Aguas Calientes, we really enjoyed the beautiful landscapes, we had dinner in town and spent the night before going to Machu Picchu tomorrow.
By: Asha and Mairin
April 5, 2025
Today was a day full of adventure. We woke up excited at the prospect of seeing Machu Picchu’s spectacular sights. We were lucky because we got to see it from above, enjoying the breathtaking views before starting our tour. Group photos were taken and the tours began. We saw temples and learned about how the Incas made amazing engineering decisions. It was incredible to learn in such an awe inspiring place. Just as we were finishing the tour, it started to rain, perfect timing! Afterward, we went to a buffet lunch where everyone enjoyed trying different Peruvian dishes. Once our meals were done, we began the journey back to Cusco. After traveling on a train and bus, we arrived at our adorable hotel, and we ate pizza and went to bed.
By: Kara
