I.E.N Señor De La Exaltacion School, Lauramarca Visited Sacred Valley

On Sunday, May 5, we started the excursion to the town center of Lauramarca. It was a morning with a lot of fog and a terrible cold. We saw in the distance some small silhouettes of children running in the hills and it was 6:00 am as 16 students where accompanied by a father. His classroom tutor had already reached their point of concentration as these children came from the school “IEN LORD OF EXALTATION” of the 1st high school. We saw their excited faces as we embarked in route to the sacred valley. Starting at Sacsayhuaman, we realized that it was the first time that the children have been to this archaeological center. They ran down from the bus with a look full of emotion as our guide watched them. This started his journey with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. Later at Q`enqo, the children where able to appreciate every detail the guide told them with each beautiful story. They relived the historic moments and had many good questions for the guide.

In Puka Pukara which means “Red Fort” the guide explained the meaning that archaeological sites name. All of the children learned the value and history of their land and after a long exhausting fun filled morning in the sun, we took them to a small breakfast of Chuta (bread) and our delicious chocolate to regain their strength. After breakfast it was time to continue our journey and go to Tambomachay. This is located about 8 kms. north of Cusco and very close to the ruins of Puka Pukara. It is an archaeological site that was dedicated to the worship of water so that the head of the Inca Empire could rest. This place is also called Baños del Inca. It consists of a series of aqueducts, canals and several waterfalls that run along the rocks. The surprising thing about this is that from a main waterfall the Incas created 2 secondary waterfalls, which are exactly the same. This was to allow you to fill two empty bottles at the same time, one in each waterfall. This information surprised our group of students who where amazed by this explanation. It was already 1:00 pm and we all wanted to go to lunch. So we decided to ask the children what they wanted to eat and everyone decided on a CHICKEN. We wanted to know why they where excited for chicken. So they said “WE ALMOST NEVER EAT IT, AND IF WE DO IT´S ONLY ON SPECIAL DATES”. So we gave them their coveted chicken that they wanted so much.

After we finished our lunch we went to Pisac were we explained every detail of the beautiful panoramic view and the history inside. We had already completed our trip and the boys where already on the bus and one by one gave their words of thanks and expressed that they would never forget this experience! We arrived at their town and where all grateful to be able to accompany them in this experience! We all said goodbye with smiles, laughter and great memories.