June 22nd and June 23rd

Ollantaytambo:

Hola parientes. It’s Candace from beautiful Ollantaytambo and we have just finished our evening activities of mafia. I successfully took out about 6 of your sons and daughters. SORRY. Well actually it’s just a game, don’t freak out, Mom. We are all doing marvelous and having a blast. Sarah, James and I found access to the roof of the Hostel that we are staying in and the view is amazingly breathtaking. The stars are brighter than I’ve ever seen. We are currently in a valley that is surrounded by the Andes. We have had so much fun today even though all we have done is travel. We ate dinner at a local restaurant and had shredded chicken on top of a potato with white rice. It was muy delicioso. We are all bonding, practicing our español and drinking our filtered water! Much love to the states. Later.

Hi everyone! We miss you all already. We are having a fabulous time! We arrived in Ollantaytambo today and it is BEAUTIFUL. We had about an hour and a half bus ride from the airport to our two-night stay at a Hostel. When we landed in Cusco it was so pretty. There were mountains and villages everywhere. Dogs are always roaming the streets and the way people drive here is crazy. I think we can all agree that we have not stopped laughing and are all becoming closer by the minute. We have already tried some new foods, and so far they have been fantastic. Tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest day of the year: thank goodness we switched our rafting days! Love you mom, dad and family! : )

See you soon!

Hayden

Ensworth Blog 6/23/09

Ollantaytambo

Hey this is Corey. Today Candace, Olivia and I went on a scavenger hunt to find our way around town. During our journey, we met two kids named Cableene and Maria. When we first met them they acted like they knew us all along, and showed us everywhere we needed to go, and even brought us to their house. We had been walking for about two hours, then Cableene and I came across an ice cream store. We were really hungry and he emptied my pockets out! I had a blast and also got to practice my Spanish because he spoke no English. It was difficult at times, but lots of fun. I am looking forward to meeting my new family and living the lives they live everyday. I miss you mom and dad!

Hey hey hey. Garrett up in here! Today we went on a tour to see the town and the Incan ruins. They were awesome, and the views were amazing. Then we had some free time. Sorry mom, I got a buzz, along with some of your very own children…Bryce and Sam. Bryce and Sam look rather swell…However, I resemble that of three naked mole rats. Then we started our scavenger hunt. My team consisted of Megan and Sam. We were off to a rough start, until we found the school. This time around, we were invited to play soccer with true life Peruvians. We struggled to say the least. We returned to our cozy little hostel, and went over leadership. Can’t wait to see what’s to come…Much love, Garrett Morris Carmichael.

Hey parents this is Megan. Today we started off with breakfast at our hostel. Afterwards we went on a tour through the town and up into the Incan Ruins. We were very high up and there were gorgeous views so we took many pictures. We then went to a restaurant for lunch to have burritos that were delicious. We were put in groups of three, mine being Garrett and Sam. We only went to two places and gave up and went to play soccer with a bunch of locals. It was a team of guys that were a few years older than us. They were all very nice and good at soccer. As soon as we arrived they invited us to play with them. We didn’t do very well but it was still very fun. After we went back to the hostel to talk about leadership. Today was a fun and exciting day. Love you mom, dad and family. Megan

Day 3 in Peru was full of twists and turns! Eva and I woke up this morning to the sound of cars racing by our window and roosters crowing- kind of an interesting combination! After a big pancake breakfast we took off for the Sacred Sun Temple and toured around for about 2 hours. It was shocking how out of breath we felt after only a short flight of stairs. The tour really focused on the aspects of Incan architecture and masonry- super interesting! We then had a huge lunch- burritos with tons of chicken and fresh veggies. The food so far has been fantastic, and so healthy and fresh. After lunch we gave the kids a little time to shop at the local markets and then reconvened in the afternoon for a scavenger hunt around Ollantaytambo. They did great- and really embraced the Spanish language, recruiting locals to help them in their search! Following the scavenger hunt we talked about leadership styles and engaged in some team building activities. We had another big dinner of pata cancha, which is sliced sirloin with rice. Tomorrow we raft the Urumbamba River and head to our homestays in Chilca! All is well…Thanks for checking in and we will post again soon…Molly