PROJECT DIARY: ROOTS OF HISTORY – SUPERLEARNER ON THE MOVE
Introduction
On Saturday, July 30, 2022, we departed from Lima airport towards the city of Cuzco, known as the “navel of the world” in the Quechua language. This project was initially scheduled for August 2021, but unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to postpone it by a year. This gave us the opportunity to have more time for fundraising, in which many people participated. We would like to express a special thanks to all of them because without their support we would not have been able to realize the “Roots of History” project in such detail.
Our chosen destination was Cuzco because it was one of the two capitals of the Inca Empire (the other being Quito, the current capital of Ecuador), from where the emperor ruled over the largest empire ever known in the Americas. Among the many objectives of the “Roots of History - SuperLearner on the Move” project, the most important ones to be carried out on-site were: sharing and exchanging experiences with the young people from our association and Qosqomaki, the organization that hosted us; applying the English language skills by interviewing tourists in English; connecting our boys and girls with their origins (hence the name of the project “Roots of History”), that is, their descent from the ancient pre-Inca peoples who were later incorporated into the great empire called Tahuantinsuyo; applying the techniques learned in photography and video making by capturing the journey through photos and videos to share with the entire community upon our return, thus expanding the knowledge gained on-site. We returned home on Sunday, August 7, 2022.
What follows is a brief account of our adventure.
SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2022
Anthonella, Andrea, Rodrigo, Eduard, Greicy, Eivin, Fatima, and Josè, accompanied by Mrs. Patricia, our secretary Luca, and Mrs. Juana for part of the journey, take off for Cuzco. The flight arrived on time at 6:30 p.m. and the transfer organized by Qosqomaki picked us up from the airport and took us to our accommodation. We were assigned different rooms, rested for a while, and then went out for dinner, finding a restaurant that would become our base for the upcoming dinners with excellent quality and reasonable prices. Our first day of travel was filled with excitement that we had been holding back for months!
SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2022
Today our mission truly begins, a combination of objectives to be accomplished with enthusiasm and determination, as we enjoy exploring the history, places, traditions, and customs of the local population. We descend into the city, arriving at the impressive Plaza de Armas in the historic center. Cuzco is a marvel that preserves ancient treasures, a syncretism of Inca and colonial traditions that seem well intertwined today. We immediately find the “mami” (local lady) who would be our reference for breakfast in the coming days: sandwiches with omelets or cheese and quinoa or passion fruit juice.
We take a tour to visit the Twelve-Angled Stone and other local wonders before queuing to purchase the comprehensive tourist ticket that will grant us access to various archaeological sites near the mountains that surround Cuzco. Furthermore, we replenish ourselves with a hearty lunch in the city center and return in the afternoon to the hosting facility. Qosqomaki is an association that welcomes boys and girls from the streets and organizes various courses throughout the week in a spirit of sharing. We immediately feel at ease.
During the afternoon, some play volleyball using the net hung in the courtyard, others play the guitar, read, or draw. We are warming up for one of the most significant experiences of our lives, which we are certain will leave a positive impression in our memories for a long time. For dinner, we rely on our usual little restaurant and as we are tired (Cuzco sits at an altitude of 3,400 meters above sea level) we retreat to our beds, ready for new adventures tomorrow.
MONDAY, AUGUST 01, 2022
It's Monday morning, and after breakfast, we gather to plan the next few days. We are all eagerly looking forward to visiting Machu Picchu, but the other activities also fill us with excitement. We are so energized!
During the meeting, which lasts all morning, we finalize the presentation about the city of Lima that we have prepared for our peers in Cuzco. We know they have done the same for us, and we can't wait to share this information. It will be the first time presenting to the “public” in this way, but we have been preparing for this event for two years, with fundraising, courses in our local community center, and online sessions, so we feel confident. In the same meeting, we also set the key points of the experience: when to visit the archaeological sites, when to interview tourists in English, and what to do with the material once we return.
After lunch, we relax by playing music and volleyball before starting our first activity with the Qosqomaki students: a drawing class. We give our best to emulate Walt Disney, and perhaps some of us will pursue a career in art—who knows? At the moment, we simply enjoy the experience. Then the time has come to deliver our presentation, supported by images projected on the screen. The Qosqomaki students do the same after us, and the overall result is outstanding. Both us and them now know more about Lima, the capital of Peru, and Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. We finish very late, around 9 p.m., and quickly rush to inform the restaurant (which was about to close) so that we can have a peaceful dinner before retiring to bed in the cool night of Cuzco.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 02, 2022
Today is a great day for all of us. We begin exploring the Inca sites, the part of Cuzco that will bring us closer to the ancient cultures that inhabited these lands before the arrival of the invaders. We start with Sacsayhuaman, the most important ceremonial site of the empire, featuring a large square where the Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, was held annually. A unique characteristic of the Inca walls here is that they are made entirely of dry stones, with unimaginably large stones fitted together perfectly. To this day, there is still uncertainty about how they managed to move such massive rocks, adding to the fascination. As we exit Sacsayhuaman, we enjoy a breathtaking view of the Plaza de Armas and the entire city, as if embraced and protected by the surrounding mountains. On the mountainside facing us, the national emblem is traced with the inscription: Viva el Perú!
We find ourselves a few steps further, at the foot of the Cristo Blanco, eight meters tall and facing the city of Cuzco, seemingly protecting it. This statue is an exact replica of the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, except that the latter is 38 meters tall and is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
We then take a public bus and reach Tambomachay, the resting place of the emperor, where three water sources are on display, a testament to the Inca's ingenuity and mastery in channeling water as they pleased. One hundred meters further, we enter Puka Pukara, the red fortress. At this time of day, it is not clearly visible, but during sunset, the bricks, used to build this small castle, appear reddish. Getting back on the bus, we arrive at Q'enqo (Quechua for “labyrinth”) a sort of zigzagging inside the rock. This place is surrounded by a stunning eucalyptus forest, where we briefly get lost (voluntarily) before descending on foot into the city and heading towards the table where we will have our lunch.
This day is entirely dedicated to archaeology, and notice that none of us were forced to do anything! If only we could explain the enthusiasm that permeated us! From Plaza de Armas, we descend along Avenida del Sol to reach the Qorikancha, now the Convent of Santo Domingo. The Qorikancha was the most important Inca temple. The Inti Raymi started right here, with the emperor and the priests offering sacrifices to Pachamama (Mother Earth) in the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon, which are still visitable today. Later, the ceremony was moved to Sacsayhuaman, the place we saw before. Above the Qorikancha, the Spanish built the Convent of Santo Domingo. From the outside, this syncretism seems to have been born to express the combination of beauty and grandeur. A final visit to the Inka Museum, slightly elevated above Plaza de Armas and rich in treasures from the pre-Inca era, rounds the day off. This museum preserves treasures from the Moche, Paracas, and other civilizations that later unified under the same empire, as well as detailed historical descriptions that teach us how well-organized everything was.
Strange but true, we are starting to feel tired, and after dinner, it's really easy to fall asleep in our rooms at the Qosqomaki facility.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 03, 2022
Today, our biggest challenge will be the interviews. Not so much the interviews themselves or the English language, but rather the approach. Many people responded with a “no, thank you” without even knowing what we were going to say, others walked away without saying anything. Fortunately for us and the world, some were incredibly helpful, kind, and willing to grant us an interview in English. We all participated, some with shyness, others with determination, in this unusual activity.
"Where are you from? How old are you? What do you like about Cuzco?" it seems easy, but actually doing it is a whole different story, especially for us who are between 10 and 19 years old. We did it excellently, and Luca gave us a lot of compliments, which probably made us a bit too proud, but what can we say? We deserved it!
Excited about completing the task, we decide to fill our stomachs and head back to the facility, as we have more activities with Qosqomaki. After the usual guitar and volleyball activities, we find ourselves following and practicing a Yoga class with a Colombian volunteer who is cycling throughout South America. Since we weren't tired enough, practicing this activity was a lot of fun and made us ready for an incredible sleep, but not before satisfying ourselves at our favorite restaurant, which once again waits only for us before closing for the night.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 04, 2022
"Come on, guys, we have to go to Calle Pavitos!" says Luca, confident that his brave travel companions will help him, as happened before, locate the correct street where the colectivos, the shared minibuses, wait for people to take them from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo. Today we will visit one of the two "living Inca cities" and explore the fortress of Ollantaytambo. We arrive at our destination after about an hour and a half. We immediately enter the fortress, a place with a unique charm, where the last Inca resistance opposed the invaders. The word Ollantaytambo comes from Quechua and means "the resting place of Ollantay," a famous Inca warrior. The Spaniards transformed its essence (and the subsequent translation) into a fortress, as they clashed with the brave opponents in a battle that made history at this very place. In a couple of hours, amidst architectural marvels like the ten hornacinas (votive windows) and a good number of stairs, we reach the exit of the archaeological site and descend to the station. Luca says goodbye since he cannot take the same local train as us, being a foreigner. We will meet him tonight after enduring a few exhausting hours of waiting for the last train.
Our new destination is Aguas Calientes where we arrive tired after a long day of waiting and a few hours of train travel. After a quick dinner, we retreat to the beds in our rooms in Aguas Calientes. We are at the foot of the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu, which we will finally have the opportunity to visit tomorrow!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 05, 2022
Today is a special day! We wake up calmly after yesterday's experiences and join the queue to buy tickets for the bus that will take us to the gates of one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World: Machu Picchu!
Everything goes smoothly, and by 10 a.m., we are ready to step into history on a two-hour tour that will allow us to appreciate the Intihuatana, the stone that served as a sundial; the splendid panoramic view of the citadel; the Temple of the Three Windows, symbolizing the underworld, earthly world, and heavens according to Inca cosmology, represented by the snake, puma, and condor; the altar in the Plaza Mayor, where sacrifices and offerings to Pachamama, the revered Mother Earth of the Incas, were likely practiced, and many other wonders perched on this mountain (hence the Quechua word Machu Picchu, meaning "old mountain"). The enthusiasm is at its peak, and we manage to capture many videos and photos that will help us share the intensity of our experience with our community. After the visit, we hike down for about an hour, taking the hiking trail as an alternative to the thirteen switchbacks by minibus, a great way to get some exercise in the heart of the Andes. Machu Picchu is located at an altitude of about 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) above sea level, and with a descent of about 400 meters (1,300 feet), we return to Aguas Calientes. We queue for the train and return to Ollantaytambo, then take the collective transport that will bring us back to the city of Cuzco, to our beds reserved for us by the Qosqomaki association. Today has been one of those days we will never forget!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 06, 2022
After the wonder of yesterday, the boys and girls from Qosqomaki propose an excursion to Inca Wasi (Quechua for “place of the Inca”), which we don't want to miss. From the association's headquarters, we take two public buses and embark on a one-hour walk (including a good half-hour uphill) to reach this beautiful archaeological site open to the public. Here, we stop and share a lunch with what each of us has brought: sweet and savory biscuits, drinks, plenty of water, oranges, bananas, chocolate, and much more. There are about forty of us, and we take every opportunity to take lots of photos. Then we engage in sports, with some playing soccer and others playing volleyball. Inca Wasi is a place overlooking the city of Cuzco, from where we can even see planes taking off from the airport runway. A bit of sadness starts to creep in, knowing that tomorrow it will be us on the plane returning home with a thousand experiences to share and new baggage of knowledge to disseminate. We return to the association and warmly bid farewell to our new friends, hoping to establish some lasting relationships and, above all, looking forward to meeting again. Dinner awaits, and we are ready to sleep after all the emotions!
SUNDAY, AUGUST 07, 2022
The day of our return. On one hand, we feel joy knowing that we will see our loved ones again (who have followed and called us every day, showing interest in our adventures so far from home). On the other hand, we are a bit sad to end this adventure, of which we can be proud. We have shared everything we know about our city and learned a lot about Cuzco. We have explored Inca history, delving into historical sites like Sacsayhuaman, Qorikancha, Machu Picchu, and many more. We have put our English skills to test by interviewing tourists, enjoyed capturing videos and photos on our phones as lasting memories, and they will be valuable for sharing our journey with our community. The idea is that this trip, like any other trip, never truly ends. Therefore, we would like to extract a book and maybe even a blog from it, so that everyone can participate and listen to our voices in a narrative that can reach far and wide.
We take advantage of the entire morning and lunchtime to take a final stroll through the alleys of this enchanting city before heading to the airport. To our surprise, we discover at the last minute that our flight is delayed by an hour. It's not a big deal for some of us who are avid fans of the Universitario football team. The delay allows us to meet and take photos with some U players, like Polo, who is also part of the national team. You should have seen our boundless joy and the overcoming of our shyness as we approached the players to ask, "Can we take a photo?" All the players were willing, and we spend the waiting time in excitement. Then they leave, departing a few minutes before us on another flight.
Looking at each other, we realize what we have just experienced. It wasn't easy to organize everything, but the result was incredibly beautiful. And like almost everything that has an end, we disembark from our plane that has finally brought us back to Lima, where our parents are waiting for us with open arms. As we head back home, we mentally review the various activities, fears, joys, and emotions we have experienced in one week, and how we have reached the end of a two-year project. But we think positively. In Cuzco, we have learned that in Quechua, there is no word for goodbye. The closest word is "Tupananchiskama," which means "until our next meeting!"
