Clark-Shawnee Schools

Shawnee MS/HS Peru Trip--Day 3: Amazing Cultural Experiences

Mrs. Caraway shared about today's events. "The views are stunning, the people are kind and inviting, and the experiences are life-changing."

Each day, we’re seeing things we’ve never seen before. Today we saw a pivotal place for the Incan empire in the middle of the Sacred Valley. The fortress of Ollantaytambo has its own major mark in the history of the Spanish vs the Incas and is also the setting of the first recorded Incan piece of drama about the King’s daughter and a warrior who fell in love.

We saw the Incan trail to their granite quarry and learned how they moved stones up to 100 tons to create this fortress over three generations!

We visited a famous artist who began researching ancient ceramic techniques over 40 years ago. He unearthed traditions over 1,000 years old and uses them today. He has exhibits in major museums in the USA, and he is a ceramist known worldwide.

We had the privilege of receiving a weaving demonstration where we learned again about ancient techniques being used today. This group of women have been sponsored by National Geographic, and the woman who started this weaving foundation to uphold cultural heritage speaks all over the world! The students learned the beginning steps of weaving and how llama, alpaca, vicuña, and sheep wool have been dyed naturally for centuries.

Lastly, we visited the Maras Salt Ponds, which is a cooperative of families who cultivate over 5,000 mineral salt ponds from the hot spring coming out of one of the mountains. This technique has been employed since even before the Incas. This is how they dried their meat and turned it into “charqui” which is where we get our modern-day concept of “jerky.” Now these mineral salts are used in top restaurants and sold all over the world.

And they’re off!! The Shawnee MS/HS student trip to Peru left Ohio this morning. Led by Ms. Caraway, Mrs. Heims, and Mr. Campbell, these students will be exploring and learning as their adventure unfolds. We wish them all safe travels and amazing experiences!!