On the weekend, overflowing rivers caused a large landslide that destroyed almost the entire village of Taray in the Sacred Valle in Peru, with flooded homes, destroyed roads, crops, infrastructure and lost lives. 80% of people have also lost their homes. The AMAUTA school building is situated on the far side of the valley from the affected area and is therefore fine. None of our students or Spanish teachers were there at the time. However, the devastation in the village of Taray is catastrophic, and the people there are left with nothing and in need of help. They are living in tents and are surviving only by the help of outsiders and organizations from Cusco.

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There is nothing quite like living in a rainforest. The experience of learning Spanish while surrounded by such natural beauty is something not to missed while you are in Peru.

Tambopata National park is a beautiful green paradise, comprising 1.5 million acres of sub-tropical rainforest of the Madre de Dios and Puno regions of Peru, and is internationally acclaimed as one of the most bio-diverse areas on earth. It is particularly famous for its monkeys, giant river otters, black caimans, capibaras, tapirs and hundreds of bird species.

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“Last week it was confirmed that Peru Rail will be running the route from Km82 to Machu Picchu Pueblo as normal from April 1st. Work on the train tracks - which suffered serious damage due to heavy rain falls and mudslides during the last week of January this year - will be continuing throughout February and March in order to meet this deadline. However, once the line is open services will be running with a lower capacity than normal – we are expecting train services to transport just 1,000 passengers per day as opposed to the normal 2,500 daily passengers. This reduced capacity is likely to cause some problems due to the already large list of people who were unable to travel to Machu Picchu in February and March and as such have rescheduled their trips for April and May. It is important that clients understand that all services to Machu Picchu during April and May are likely to be very busy and/or fully booked. One solution will be to operate more car tours to Machu Picchu in order to take the pressure off the train services. Priority will be given to those passengers whose tour reservations are already confirmed.
Looking further ahead, we expect train services to be running as normal from Ollantaytambo by May and from Cusco itself by June.”

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Prolonged periods of heavy rain have led to severe flooding and landslides in the Province of Cusco, which continues to be in a state of emergency. Although much of the press has been focused on Machu Picchu, many other low lying areas as the Sacred Valley have been severely affected.

However, the city of Cusco is operating as normal - virtually no damage was suffered within the city, with the exception of some poorer residential zones on the outskirts. All flights to Cusco are operating and most road links too. Key damages in the surrounding areas include all road and rail links with Aguas Calientes, which left 2,000 tourists stranded in the town. All tourists have now been evacuated safely, but Machu Picchu remains accessible only by helicopter. Therefore all train tours and treks dependant on Machu Picchu are closed until further notice. The Inca Trail will not be open until 1st March at the earliest, and all other tours and treks will open once a transport link between Cusco and Aguas Calientes is established. All tours independent of Machu Picchu are running as usual.

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Due to heavy rains, the Cusco area and surrounding regions have experienced flooding, mudslides and bridge outages that have severely affected transportation in several sectors. Services and travel affected include the trains to Machu Picchu, which are not currently running due to damage to the rails; all hikes to Machu Picchu are also suspended. Some areas of the Sacred Valley (the road to Pisaq) are also unpassable though alternate routes have been opened. Within the city of Cusco, services are in normal operation (with exception of flights suspended or delayed during heavy rains). Mudslides have been experienced in some of the steeper, surrounding hills.

There are currently 10 AMAUTA students + a staff member stuck in Aguas Calientes. We are in constant contact with them and we know there are all fine. The spirit is good and they all have a hostal, food and water and are in good conditions. The government expects to get all people out of Aguas Calientes in a max. of 4 days with helicopters. Preference is given first to older people, people with health problems and mothers with children. People will be evacuated by Helicopter from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo and from Ollantaytambo to Cusco, by bus. We are assured the whole rescue operation is for free and that rumours about people being charged for being taken to Cusco, are not true.
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Christmas in Cusco - this means Christmas lights, hot chocolate and Paneton all around the city.

During this time of year Cusco is bright and busy, full of small Christmas markets and people getting into the Christmas spirit. Every Sunday morning plazas are filled with locals and people shopping for Peruvian gifts, textiles, incense and candles. But still, no comparison to all the stressed out people running and hysterically looking for Christmas gifts. The Peruvians do really enjoy the Christmas time as a period to meet their beloved friends and family and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

Christmas in Cusco is characterized by the birth of Jesus and this is depicted in the numerous Nacimientos found outside all the churches in town – 3D constructed murals of Nativity scenes with Jesus, Mary and other deciphels. Every church and almost every Cusceno household has one of these, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas, plants and pieces for these murals are sold on the streets and in markets. Most Peruvians are Catholics and churches can be found on almost every block in Cusco. Andeans have a strong religious devotion and Christmas is found to take on elements of traditions of each region of Peru. Further in the Andes festivities often continue for two weeks, until the “arrival of the three wise men”.
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Cusco is a major tourist destination because it was once the capital of the Inca Empire. With its ancient architectural/archeological sights, suitable weather, bargain services, kind hearted people, and it being the central point for all Sacred Valley excursions you are bound to find something that you like. A perfect place to spend a few weeks – or even months – and study Spanish!

With it being the central point of tourism in Peru there are plenty of people to meet to make your adventure worthwhile. You can hike or bike Inca trail to get to Machu Picchu or the less tourist populated places like Choquequirao and Moray; all accessible by way of Cusco.

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Paucartambo, which means “flowered tavern” in Quechua, is situated in the district of Pasco in the south-east of Peru. It was right in the commercial route between Cusco, the capital of the great Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyo) and the Amazon valley Kosñipata. It is mostly known for the incredible sunrises that occur in the month of July.

Between the 15th and 16th of July Paucartambo is also the place to be to celebrate the festivities of La Virgen del Carmen, also called Mamacha Carmen. There is a great gathering which initiates this great feast on the Plaza de Armas in this Andean Village where many music bands play and different choirs singing in Quechua, this way introducing beautiful choreographies which tell parts of Peru’s history.

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Next departure July 12th!

AMAUTA Spanish School in Cusco is always coming up with innovating ideas to combine the Spanish language study with the magical beauty of Peru.
If this sounds appealing, participate in our next departure LEARN SPANISH IN THE PERUVIAN RAINFOREST – in the Manu Biosphere Reserve on June 28th.

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It was a nice sunny day today. I woke up to the sound of the church bells ringing in the distance. As it was Palm Sunday, there was a procession around the main square (Plaza de Armas). A brass band was playing and there were lots of people about. All were coming from or going to mass, holding their palm crosses.
The tradition is here for the families to place the cross (made from palm, leaves and even rosemary) outside their front doors. I decided to buy one and was able to get one for 1 sol from an old lady who was selling them on the side of the street.

Its not unusual to see these ladies selling their bits and pieces here in Cusco. Everything from food, jewelry and even hand-woven belts, scarves and hats (some made of Alpaca) are delicately laid out on blankets for all to come and have a look at on the side of the streets. (más…)