Paragliding and Bungee Jumping

by Spenser Pawlik

Our last full day in Cusco was packed with activities including paragliding, last minute souvenir shopping and bungee jumping for a few brave members of the group (Kelly and I). We woke up around 8 am, feeling well rested from the busy day at Machu Picchu yesterday. After yet another delicious breakfast we left the volunteer house around 9 am and headed off to paragliding. Using a combination of 3 different taxies, a hectic ride brought everyone safely to the top of a small mountain overlooking the Sacred Valley.

Our travel guide, Cesar, informed everyone we would paraglide with one of three experienced pilots provided by the paragliding company. When the wind was right, one of us would start running with their pilot towards the edge of the mountain until before we knew it there was no longer ground beneath their feet and they were hundreds of feet in the air.

Once getting situated with the pilot in the air, it was time to take in the amazing views including the snowy peaks of the Andes, the Sacred Valley far below and plots of farmland as far as the eye could see. The flight lasted anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on the winds and then ended with a landing in a field. Some landed smoothly while others were not as lucky and were left with some scrapes and bruises.

After finishing paragliding, Kelly and I headed to the bungee jump while the others either waited for the wind to cooperate for their flight (unfortunately the winds became so strong in the afternoon Garret was not able to go) or headed into the city center for lunch and some shopping.

Once arriving at the bungee jump, we signed a few waivers and performed some advised stretching activities before the jump. The bungee jump was 122 meters (400 feet), the highest in South America! One at a time, we were raised up in a cage with an instructor. I was the first to go and I was a little nervous once at the top. A few final instructions were given and the instructor then started counting down… 3…2…1…GO! There was no refund for people who didn’t jump so I took a deep breath and took the leap. After falling for a few seconds, the cord attached to my feet went taught and kept me a safe distance from the ground as I bounced up and down. The cage then lowered me safely to the ground and it was Kelly’s turn to jump. Kelly took the same cage ride up and took the same leap of faith from 400 feet up (It looked much less scary watching from the ground). Once we were both back on the ground, feeling accomplished, we took a quick picture in front of the bungee jump and then took a taxi back into Cusco. 

Everyone made it back to the volunteer house that night and we each shared our stories about the rest of our day. It was an early bedtime as we all had flights out of Cusco in the morning. We were sad to leave but everyone felt accomplished after a busy last day. 

Finishing the Greenhouse and Farewell

by Mitch McKinstry


After 2 grueling weeks of hard work and a lot of fun, we finally finished the greenhouse on Thursday August 21.  As normal in the Quilla Huata village, we celebrated the completion of the greenhouse by breaking a bottle of Pisco (an alcohol widely used in Peru) that was hanging from the doorway.

We also received an awesome farewell from the kids.  They showered us in confetti and gave us all big hugs.  The teachers and mothers of the community thanked us greatly expressing how much we have helped the community.  At this point we also gave the school our donations and all the kids held up their new frisbees as they were excited to practice what we taught them.

At this point we were very tired, but the ceremony that the kids gave us helped rejuvenate us.  We were ready for another soccer match against the fathers.  But first we ate some potatoes that a community member for whom we made the green house for made for us in an oven made entirely from dirt.  This oven is used widely by the community when they take their animals up in the mountains.  

After a surprising victory against the fathers in our soccer match, we were ready to pack up and head back to our place of stay to get ready for an early trip to Machu Picchu the following day.  It was a bittersweet moment to see the greenhouse finally finished but know that this was our last time in Quilla Huata.  We are sad to leave but wish the best for the village!

 

Bringing Ultimate Frisbee to Quilla Huata

by Lizzie Grobbel

As part of the Peru’s Challenge volunteer experience, the EGL group had the privilege of working with the Quilla Huata schoolchildren on two separate occasions. The children range in age from kindergarten to 4^th grade. The Quilla Huata school has one teacher for the kindergarten class, one for the first and second graders, and one for the third and fourth graders. The school also provides the children with a nutritious lunch each day. Peru’s Challenge volunteers often work with the schoolchildren on art projects, sports, hygiene, and English. Prior to leaving for the trip, we collected nearly 40 Frisbee discs for the children that were generously donated by the Detroit Ultimate Frisbee League and the Ann Arbor Ultimate league.

Our first day of working with the children consisted of an hour of sports lessons. We split up into two groups based on age and worked on the ultimate Frisbee basics of throwing and catching. A couple advanced groups moved onto throwing to a runner and running for discs. There was no shortage of energy during the lesson! Apparently the disc resembled an American football to some of the children, as some running and tackling with the disc was spotted.

Our second day with the children included both sports and art. Again, we split into two groups by age. One group of EGL students started with the older children and instructed them on making paper “snowflakes”. They learned the English word for snow and decorated their own handmade snowflakes. The other half of the EGL students taught another ultimate frisbee lesson to the younger group. This time, we focused on the finer and more social points of ultimate, including sitting in a circle while calling a teammate’s name and throwing to them. A few errant discs landed on some unsuspecting members of the circle, but overall, it was a calm game in which the kids’ throws noticeably improved. The groups then switched places. The younger group had quite an artistic flair with the snowflakes and loved learning how to cut heart shapes into their snowflakes.

After our two sessions, it was a joy to see each individual child’s personality begin to shine through. They each had unique interests and talents. They were incredibly patient and understanding of some of our members’ rudimentary Spanish. It was an inspiration to see their happiness and love of life.

EGL Peru 2014 - Build Week 1

by Melissa Boelstler

Stepping off the plane into Cusco, everyone took a deep breath of excitement and realized that their breath really wasn't that deep. At 11,200 ft up in the air, we were about to experience some of the most difficult work we've ever done and still have a blast doing it.

Our goal for the trip was to complete a greenhouse from the ground up with the eight of us from Michigan along with four fathers in the community. Day 1 we jumped right into it, but only for half of a day. After moving 30 pound adobe bricks and digging trenches, we began to realize how much the altitude really effected the work, and it would have been hard enough anyways! We practiced stretching and yoga led by Lizzie during our breaks, and made sure we stayed hydrated.

Once the foundation was filled in, we began to layer the bricks (adobe) and mud (barro). Working with the fathers was a great learning experience in communication. Our group varied in their levels of working Spanish, so we picked up on a lot of nonverbal communication but also improved immensely with Spanish to better communicate with the fathers.

By the end of week 1 we made pretty significant progress on building the greenhouse, practicing our Spanish, and even on our strength and conditioning. We challenged the fathers and other community members to a soccer game on Friday. Although we did not win, it was still a great end to the week, and we were all looking forward to the next!