Today we had a delicious breakfast of fruit, granola and yogurt followed by humitas (similar to a corn tamale) and hard boiled eggs. After eating we had a meeting to learn more about the organization we would be visiting today, Pucara Tambo Centro Cultural y Turistico. We visited the indigenous people of Cacha. (Fun fact: they were the only native Andean tribe to stand their ground and resist Incan takeover)
We received a tour of the cultural center they created to raise awareness of their people and to help keep their traditions alive. We learned about the special herbs they grow for food and medicinal purposes, saw how some of their traditional clothes are made and worn, and even witnessed a cleansing ceremony to get rid of bad energy.
We had lunch at Pucara Tambo, a community meal we ate with our hands from shared plates (we made sure our hands were clean and sanitized). After spending some time at the cultural center and enjoying the great view, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for our first English Tutoring classes which start tomorrow.
We learned the responsibilities of the Lider del Dia and spent some time reflecting on what we learned about indigenous cultures and getting to know each other a little better.
It is only day 3 of our trip and I am incredibly impressed at how mature and eloquent this group of students is. We have had amazing conversations while getting to know each other, as well as while talking about local and global issues. I’m excited to see how these young people grow and develop throughout these 15 days.

Tomorrow we will learn about Politics in Ecuador. 12 days to go!