Also grown in the valley are oranges, corn, and peppers.
This two-day field trip visited 2 locations with a shared name but separated by 5,000 years of history.
A 4-hour bus ride took us past seemingly endless mountains of arid sand and stone, punctuated occasionally by lush, green valleys made possible by irrigation from rivers flowing down from the high Andes Mountains to our east. In one of these valleys sits what is not only the oldest civilization in the Americas, but one of the oldest in the world: the sacred city of Caral, inhabited from 2600-1800 B.C., during the same time as the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.
The original inhabitants left behind no record of their name for this place, so today it carries the name of the nearest town, a small farming community of a few hundred people that, like the ruins next door, seems to have been forgotten by time. To learn about life in a rural Peruvian town we stayed overnight here, hearing about their farming, listening to their stories, playing some futbol, visiting the health center, and then visiting the ruins on Saturday.
The irrigated valley is vibrant green right up to the feet of the mountains.We ate our meals in the local restaurant.Outside a family removes seeds from dried paprika peppers they will sell for export.The group walking down Main St., Caral.The town’s mayor, Sr. Pinto, shows us a field of asparagus.We walked on to visit other fields.In a field of passion fruit we all took a taste.While almost all the asparagus is exported, the passion fruits are consumed in Peru.Also grown in the valley are oranges, corn, and peppers.What in the field are all the students laughing at?Something you don’t see everyday: a white guy, doing an imitation of Barack Obama. In a field of asparagus. In Peru.Meghan sends a signal to someone back home.We learned a great deal about the trials of local farmers, aided by good questions from students from farming families.Walking back into town.Trent gets some expert advice on improving his soccer game.Dusti did some impressive juggling that inspired the rest of the women to try.The Mighty Maple Leaves played the town’s futbolito team.As in Cono Sur, GC garnered more points, but everyone won.We visited the home of a Quechua family and were serenaded with an Andean harp.And where there is music in Peru, dancing follows.Two young Quechua men, at left, talk about coming to Caral as migrant workers to make money for college.Then everyone danced.After their music, we returned the favor with the hymn “How Can I Keep from Singing.”On our walk to the health post.The local physician explained the most common ailments they treat and services they perform.Hats are essential for walking around the ruins.An observation platform to view …… the ruins of an amphitheater.This pyramid held the administrative center of the city.The large stone may have been a sundial, or used like an object they showed us at the health post.
