Believe it or not, this is still an abbreviated list of what I did and saw in the two weeks I was in Peru. Our days were jam-packed with visits, interviews, lectures and field work sites mixed in with a little bit of sightseeing. Here is a quick travelogue of my time in Peru:
Our first morning in Lima with the group
Sol, our tour guide for the day, was very memorable
a native Peruvian dog-it is even uglier in person
The Universidad Del Pacifico hosted us for two days where wewere able to meet the President and two other Harvard graduate professors
that are experts in the field of nonprofits
Fe y Alegria is a nonprofit that sponsors schools and programsin schools all over the country
two star-students at a Fe y Alegria sponsored school in one ofthe poorest neighborhoods outside Lima
Micaela, the ED in this region of Lima for Un Techo para mi Pais (one roof for my country), tells us about the families we will meet
in the slums where they are working
Juan, an U.S. Embassy officer in the drug trafficking division, arranged our last meal at the naval base in Lima. It was a roof top
restaurant overlooking the ocean and the chef, pictured here,
prepared the best meal of my life!
Our next stop was Iquitos and our first morning we went to the local marketwhere we found everything from fresh, local bananas to alligator
Two girls we met at a nonprofit orphanage in Iquitos. The orphanage 
Amazon Cares, a nonprofit animal rescue and education program in Iquitos
After a day of touring several nonprofits we boarded a ferry to
Two girls we met at a nonprofit orphanage in Iquitos. The orphanage was unable to retain the music teacher b/c of budget shortfalls so our
group left a donation to pay the music teacher's salary for the next 6 months.
Amazon Cares, a nonprofit animal rescue and education program in Iquitos
After a day of touring several nonprofits we boarded a ferry to take us up the Amazon to our lodge in the jungle
a typical house in the jungle
a typical house in the junglethe difference in water level from low to high season can be 30-40 feet
a clinic started by Linnea Smith and supported by 
our local guide showed us a seed that can be used for dye,
a clinic started by Linnea Smith and supported by Rotary International groups from Wisconsin
(she has written a book, La Doctora, that explains her story)
our local guide showed us a seed that can be used for dye, war paint in this case, and lipstick
Yagua Indian tribe showed us how to use a blow gun
a woman from the tribe in traditional clothes knitting a bag
Yagua Indian tribe showed us how to use a blow gun
a woman from the tribe in traditional clothes knitting a bag(Do you see what's in her hair?)
our guide's uncle owns the only rum distillery in the jungle and he 
the Director of a nonprofit library in the jungle-the first ever!
"Monkey Island", a nonprofit animal rescue that rehabilitates monkeys
the monkeys were really friendly at first, as you can see here, but when
a night of entertainment at Explorama lodge
our guide's uncle owns the only rum distillery in the jungle and he showed us how to make sugar cane rum
(horses or water buffalo would usually be pushing this)
the Director of a nonprofit library in the jungle-the first ever!
"Monkey Island", a nonprofit animal rescue that rehabilitates monkeys
the monkeys were really friendly at first, as you can see here, but whenwe tried to leave some of them got pretty aggressive and we
decided they weren't so cute after all
a night of entertainment at Explorama lodge(that's our guide playing guitar)
Conapac, a nonprofit entity of Explorama, sponsors schools with 
those of us healthy enough to play, played the students in a game 
another nonprofit rescue that houses everything from holler monkeys 
after Iquitos we flew to Cusco, elevation approx. 13,000 feet
Conapac, a nonprofit entity of Explorama, sponsors schools with the help from donors all over the jungle-this is one of the schools they sponsor
those of us healthy enough to play, played the students in a game of soccer-we won with the help of our guide
(it was so hot and humid it literally felt like
we were taking a shower when we finished the game)
another nonprofit rescue that houses everything from holler monkeys to butterflies to leopards, this one lost its mother to poachers
after Iquitos we flew to Cusco, elevation approx. 13,000 feetthey have a special tea that helps with the altitude sickness
one of the squares in Cusco with my roommate on the trip,
one of the squares in Cusco with my roommate on the trip, Katey from CA
a traditional dance at a dinner/show in Cusco
a group of students on a field trip to the Incan temple in Cusco
our guide, Francisco, was irresistable,
we visited a nonprofit weaving museum in Cusco where we learned 
this is one of the co-op weaving groups we visited in the 
mother and daughter starting a rug
next stop was Ollantaytambo on our way to Machu Picchu, 
Emma runs a nonprofit weaving shop in Ollantaytambo 
that afternoon we got on the train to go to Agues Calientes,
a traditional dance at a dinner/show in Cusco
a group of students on a field trip to the Incan temple in Cusco
our guide, Francisco, was irresistable,he started every sentence with, "My dear friends . . . "
we visited a nonprofit weaving museum in Cusco where we learned about a weaving co-op that supplies the shop and how they
are trying to preserve their culture through weaving
this is one of the co-op weaving groups we visited in the country outside Cusco, we learned how they dye the yarn
using natural resources and how they spin and weave
mother and daughter starting a rug
next stop was Ollantaytambo on our way to Machu Picchu, we saw Incan ruins that were really interesting
Emma runs a nonprofit weaving shop in Ollantaytambo called Awamaki-they employ women from all over the
region selling their goods at fair trade prices
that afternoon we got on the train to go to Agues Calientes, the gateway city to Machu Picchu
We ended the trip with a full day at Machu Picchu. I went with a group at 5:30 a.m. to hike Huayna Picchu and we were lucky enough to have a perfectly clear (and hot) day, which is rare.
We ended the trip with a full day at Machu Picchu. I went with a group at 5:30 a.m. to hike Huayna Picchu and we were lucky enough to have a perfectly clear (and hot) day, which is rare.I'm sure I've left a lot of informatin out, these are just the highlights. It was such an amazing experience b/c we were able to see all the major regions in Peru and talk to so many different people doing important humanitarian work in the country. It was an experience of a lifetime!
Downtown Lima, Peru at the start of the trip
Livin' large in the Amazon jungle
