Travels with Russ and savers meeting!

This past week was full of exciting events: Russell came to visit on his spring break, and the first matched savings program in South America (Corredor Puno Cusco Project) had its first-ever meeting of alumni! The meeting was held about an hour south of Cusco, and more than 250 former participants showed up (over 100 more than were expected!) Some women traveled several hours in order to spend a full day meeting and sharing tips with other savers about financial education, budgeting, saving, financial services, and starting businesses....pretty impressive, especially considering that the majority of women have been done with the savings program for two years. Each group of women came dressed to represent their particular region - some wore flowers in their hats, others had corn husks, and many wore the traditional dresses and weavings of their region. Needless to say, it was unlike any other meeting I had ever been to in the U.S.!
Jam-packed room of Corredor alumni and current savers from across the Southern Highlands

Vilma, a former participant in the Corredor Puno Cusco Project (and now helping me to translate interviews in Quechua!) speaks with a current saver from Espinar

The next day, Russ and I headed out from Cusco to the Sacred Valley, a breathtaking region outside of Cusco surrounded by high Andes peaks and ancient Incan ruins. On the first day in the valley, we checked out Moray, a circular agricultural terrace built by the Incas:

Some of the flowers and vegetation at our hotel in Urubamba:

Checking out the salt flats in Maras at sunset:
After a few days of exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley, we descended to Lima to enjoy some warm weather and ridiculous ceviche. We checked out Astrid y Gaston, one of the famous restaurants of celebrity restauranteur and Lima native, Gaston Acurio:


Candied Aguaymanto berries (native to the Andes) completed our very delicious dinner of pisco sours, classic white fish ceviche, Pekinese style Guinea Pig pancakes, and grilled fish with quinoa and vegetables:

Saturday morning we walked on the Malecon (boardwalk overlooking the ocean), enjoyed the sculptures and sea breezes at the Parque de Amor in Miraflores, and wandered through the bohemian neighborhood of Barranco. What a fun trip! Check out all of my photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen. Enjoy!