Ollantaytambo RUINS

Blog authors and photographers: Brittani and Ryan

Today, we took a break from building the school. Instead, we met Adolfo Del Alamo, an Incan history expert, who guided us through the ruins in Ollantaytambo.  Adolfo and his wife Adela have helped coordinate Groton School trips for the past five years, so it was a privilege to have him as our guide. Many of us brought younger family members, already so knowledgeable of Peruvian history due to extensive lessons in school. We climbed the stairs of the ruined temples while listening to Adolfo’s passionate oral lesson over Incan myths, building techniques, aqueduct system, and eventual conquest.

Later in the day, we continued in the afternoon project with an even larger crowd of exciting children. Arts and Crafts was still a success, with many beautiful bracelets and paintings being produced. Music and Drama put on another exciting show for their audience of enthusiastic future singers, dancers, and musicians. Sports brought the energy for an especially large crowd of athletic children eager to learn new games. Science and Math’s volcano also got underway with its construction. The eruption is tomorrow, along with other exciting experiments for the children of Ollantaytambo that the children enjoyed. Tomorrow is our last day in the afternoon project; it is sure to be exciting.

Our guide Adolph in red

These stones were brought  here from the quarries - that we hiked to - down the mountain, across the river and up the mountain. The Incans never used mortar but relied on carving the stones precisely and placing them like pieces of a  jigsaw puzzle to create iconic buildings.