After what felt like an extremely long bus ride (7 hours during the day), Ryan and I finally arrived in Cusco. Having been to Peru 2 years ago, I have been to Cusco before, but was looking forward to spending some more time there with Ryan. We had booked an apartment in the San Blas area through Air Bnb for the entire week. Although our apartment is in the house of a family, we head straight upstairs without disturbing them to get to our room, which is made up of 2 beds, a table, a small kitchenette, and our bathroom. It is by no means luxurious, but it has been awesome to have our own space, and a kitchen to ourselves for a few days.
After checking in, we set out to explore the town. I was super excited for Ryan to see the amazing Plaza de Armas, as this is where I first fell in love with Peru, and South America in general. I was equally as impressed the second time around by the massive cathedrals on either side of the plaza, and Ryan seemed to be impressed as well. As we wandered around, I gave Ryan tidbits from my last trip with my friend Laura, excited to see all the things that Laura and I had visited once again. After wandering the main plaza and the surrounding area, we headed over to the San Pedro market in search of groceries for dinner, but since it was the end of the day, we didn’t find much (the smell of old, raw chicken was too much for me), and ended up at a restaurant with a fairly affordable menu of the day, before calling it a night.
The following morning, we were both up early, and set out to visit Plaza de Armas and walk around (grab a Starbucks for the first time in months!), before heading to our spanish class, just off Plaza de Armas near the San Blas Plaza. We were doing 2 hours every day from 10:50-12:50 with a lovely lady named Gladys. We spent the first hour practicing conversation and playing games, and the second hour learning something new. After a week with Gladys, I am definitely feeling more comfortable talking in spanish! After lunch, I headed back to San Blas Spanish School to meet the volunteer coordinator for an after school kids club called Los Molinos. Located in the San Jeronimo area of Cusco, which is much less poverished, we had to take the public bus for 30-40 minutes to get there. Being that I hate taking public buses (they make me anxious), I was happy to have the coordinator with me for the first time around. Arriving the kids club, I was initially a bit shocked by the conditions. The building was worn down, and dirty, and the bathrooms were hardly functional. Nevertheless, the children love it!
We spent the first 30 minutes of the program reading a book in spanish in a circle. From there, the children made their way to tables to do homework. Many of the younger children (4-6 years old) didn’t have homework, so we did worksheets with them to practice math, english, etc. The older children (7-12 years old) were great about finding a quiet place to do their homework together, and I instantly fell in love with 3 adorable 8 year old girls who were keen to do their homework and practice what they had learned in school that day. Following homework, we headed to the courtyard to play games in English, including “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, and the “Hocky Pocky”. Both games the kids loved! After we finished our English games, we headed outside to play games in the courtyard. When I say courtyard, I really mean, patchy grass amongst run down buildings, which the children proceeded to climb on. There was also a very run down swing set, something children would never be allowed to play on in Canada. The settings are very different for the children in Peru, as almost anything goes. The children come and go from Los Molinos without parents. They wander the streets to and from school without any supervision, showing up with grimy hands, faces, and clothes. Although they are clearly impoverished, they were all extremely happy, and seemed to be grateful just to play outside on the cement with the few toys that the program has for them.
Following playtime, we headed back inside to brush teeth, wash hands, put stickers on the wall for attendance, and then before heading out, the children received a dollop of lotion for their hands (it is very dry in Cusco). As a child, I hated brushing my teeth, so it was very interesting to see how much these children love brushing theirs. It is so eye opening to think that some children don’t even have a tooth brush at home, and that is why they love brushing their teeth at the school so much. After saying goodbye to the kids, myself and the other 4 volunteers tidied up and caught the bus back together. Fortunately, I had 2 American guys who lived close to me, and agreed to get me to and from the school everyday! Although the bus wasn’t difficult, I was happy for their company.
Upon returning home, Ryan and I made dinner, and had a relaxing evening, which is pretty much how the rest of the week went. Spanish classes in the morning, lunch, volunteering at Los Molinos, dinner with Ryan, followed by a little R&R. My second day volunteering involved a painting project, which was more chaotic than fun. I’m not going to lie, I left feeling thankful that I was only volunteering for a week! The children made up for it by being much more adorable on Thursday when we made picture frames for their photos that had been taken the previous week. By Friday, I was sad to say bye to the kids, and as we danced to the “Kookaracha”, I felt thankful for my week with them! Volunteering was something that I wanted to do on the trip, and I am happy that I made the time to do it, and I’m happy that I had the chance to see how some children grow up in a country like Peru.
In between cooking meals, Ryan and I frequented a few of the amazing restaurants in Cusco (there are a lot!). Some of my favorites included coffee at The Meeting Place, tacos at Tacomania, soup at Jack’s Cafe, and smoothies at Morena Cafe. Over the weekend, I’m looking forward to exploring Cusco a little bit more, before heading out to see the spectacular Machu Pichhu.