{"id":9030,"date":"2018-08-31T17:28:27","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T17:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=9030"},"modified":"2018-08-31T17:28:27","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T17:28:27","slug":"cuzco-choquequirao-salkantay-students-embrace-extreme-andean-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=9030","title":{"rendered":"Cuzco, Choquequirao, Salkantay: Students Embrace Extreme Andean Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_9016\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9016\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9016\" src=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-1-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-1-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg 600w, https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-1-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9016\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">UTRGV students tackled a physically and mentally challenging study abroad curriculum in Peru this summer that included art, architecture, history and biology \u2013 and an extreme, rigorous trek in the Andes. From June 5-28, UTRGV graduate and undergraduate students in three courses of study were in Peru at the same time and followed roughly the same itinerary. Dr. Mark Andersen, dean of the UTRGV Honors College, led a biology class that highlighted Peru\u2019s alpine and cloud forest flora and fauna. Dr. Katherine McAllen, assistant professor in the School of Art, College of Fine Arts, led a class that covered the colonial art and architecture of Peru. And a course led by Dr. Robert Bradley, associate professor in the School of Art, College of Fine Arts, emphasized the region\u2019s history of Inca art and architecture. Here, UTRGV students receive instruction in traditional weaving techniques in the village of Huilloc. Courtesy Photo<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>by Dr. Robert Bradley<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>UTRGV<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>students tackled a challenging study abroad curriculum in Peru in June that included art, architecture, history and biology \u2013 and an extreme, rigorous trek in the Andes.<\/p>\n<p>UTRGV continues a long tradition of offering Peru study abroad programs, always focused on a mix of opportunities meant to push students beyond what they believe they can do both physically and intellectually. This year, from June 5 to June 28, UTRGV students in three courses of study in Peru did just that. All three classes were in Peru at the same time and followed roughly the same itinerary.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Katherine McAllen,\u00a0assistant professor in the<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.utrgv.edu\/school-of-art\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/index.htm\">School of Art<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.utrgv.edu\/cofa\/index.htm\">College of Fine Arts<\/a>,\u00a0led a class that covered the colonial art and architecture of Peru.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Mark Andersen, dean of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.utrgv.edu\/honors\/\">UTRGV Honors College<\/a>, led a biology class that highlighted Peru\u2019s alpine and cloud forest flora and fauna.<\/li>\n<li>And a course led by Dr. Robert Bradley,\u00a0associate professor in the School of Art, College of Fine Arts,\u00a0emphasized the region\u2019s history of Inca art and architecture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The ambitious agenda included a journey into the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peru.travel\/en-us\/what-to-do\/Natural-Peru\/valleys-and-canyons\/apurimac-canyon-and-valley.aspx\">Apurimac Canyon<\/a>\u00a0to visit the enigmatic Inca site of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lonelyplanet.com\/peru\/choquequirao\">Choquequirao<\/a>, lauded as Lonely Planet\u2019s number one travel destination in 2017. The visit requires a daunting mile descent and ascent in, then another mile descent and ascent out.<\/p>\n<p>That was followed by a challenging trek across the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salkantay.org\/\">Salkantay Pass<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 at 15,200 feet above sea level \u2013 which ultimately would place the students at Machu Picchu.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran guides were a husband and wife team, Gladys Jim\u00e9nez, an alpinist originally from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lonelyplanet.com\/peru\/yungay\">Yungay<\/a>, and Jim Sykes, an expatriate birder and musician from Seattle. They led the group with support from the community of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Attraction_Review-g5495811-d313682-Reviews-Huilloc_Valley-Huilloc_Sacred_Valley_Cusco_Region.html\">Huilloc<\/a>\u00a0in the form of local guides Isaac Riquelme Mamani, Juan de Dios Riquelme Usca, Eloy Puma Echame and Americo Yupanqui Quispe.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, the village had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Andersen and the UTRGV Honors College, and this year again they provided exceptional support for the UTRGV study abroad program.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the students on the trip had never wandered far from the flat floodplain of the Rio Grande Valley, or had taken only brief family visits to the other side of the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone said they struggled on the treks, but the rewards were substantial and important.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9017\" src=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-2-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-2-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg 600w, https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-2-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-2-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru-405x270.jpg 405w, https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-2-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru-60x40.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf all the landmarks and the places we visited, Choquequirao was the most strenuous and breathtaking,\u201d said UTRGV art graduate student Jesmil Maldonado Rodr\u00edguez. \u201cIt was not just a journey and a hike; it was self-discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UTRGV School of Art graduate student Carlos Limas said the first issue was getting acclimatized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe altitude was challenging,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, my asthma and weight worked against me, but little by little and with a lot of self-motivation, I pulled through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said the list of places visited, and the details of how he felt at each one, would fill a book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I can say this: There were a lot of incidents, some good, some not so good, but at the end, I feel we accomplished something as a group and as individuals. I saw people competing all the time, but I also saw people\u2019s compassion for others during hard treks. I saw tears of pain, but also tears of joy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraveling in a group is not easy,\u201d Limas said, \u201cbut it is clear to me that we got to Peru as almost complete strangers, and we went back home as good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Art graduate student Leti Lowery Garcilaso said it was a constant scramble to conquer loose gravel, steep hills, mud and bugs to finally reach Choquequirao.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t describe the feeling, after two and a half days of that, to arrive at that magical place. It was so peaceful, so imposing. Terraces loom over incredible views of the valley and river below. It didn\u2019t matter if you had vertigo \u2013 like I do \u2013 this place makes you forget about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Maraya Garcia, a UTRGV undergraduate pre-med biology major, summed up the experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not an outdoorsy type of person,\u201d she said. \u201cBut there I was, spending an entire month in a summer study abroad program in Peru. Bearing the heat and the cold. Exhausted to the bone and festered in bug bites. With a sore body, but a jubilant soul.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever in a million years did I think hiking the Peruvian Andes was just the answer I was looking for. There in the insurmountable beauty of nature, I felt something within myself click into place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>STUDENTS ON THE STUDY ABROAD TRIP TO PERU<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Undergraduate Students<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Odalys Almanza, Honors College,\u00a0Rehabilitation Services and Counseling, Brownsville.<\/li>\n<li>Maraya Garcia,\u00a0Honors College,\u00a0Biology, Edinburg.<\/li>\n<li>Serrina-Jo Guerra, Mathematics, McAllen.<\/li>\n<li>Vanessa Guerra,\u00a0Honors College,\u00a0Biology, Mission.<\/li>\n<li>Mario Lujano,\u00a0Honors College,\u00a0History, Edinburg.<\/li>\n<li>Salma Ruiz Sandoval, Honors College, Biology, Mission.<\/li>\n<li>Nydia Salinas,\u00a0School\u00a0of\u00a0Art, Progreso.<\/li>\n<li>Ana Cristal Mu\u00f1oz Ar\u00e1mbula, international business major, Mission.<\/li>\n<li>Ana G. L\u00f3pez, theater design major, Brownsville.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Graduate Students<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jaime Sauceda, Communication, Edinburg.<\/li>\n<li>Laura Brise\u00f1o, School of\u00a0Art, Mercedes.<\/li>\n<li>Christian Hanks, Economics, McAllen.<\/li>\n<li>Maria Lai,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, Brownsville.<\/li>\n<li>Carol Lopez,\u00a0School of Art, Mission.<\/li>\n<li>Leticia Lowry-Garcilazo,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, McAllen.<\/li>\n<li>Robert Ruiz,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, Brownsville.<\/li>\n<li>Jesmil Maldonado,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, Edinburg.<\/li>\n<li>Carlos Limas,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, Pharr.<\/li>\n<li>Cristina Correa,\u00a0School of\u00a0Art, Weslaco.<\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9018\" src=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-3-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-3-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru.jpg 600w, https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/PHOTO-3-UTRGV-Study-Abroad-2018-Peru-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Dr. Robert Bradley RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS \u2013\u00a0UTRGV\u00a0students tackled a challenging study abroad curriculum in Peru in June that included art, architecture, history and biology \u2013 and an extreme, rigorous trek in the Andes. UTRGV continues a long tradition of offering Peru study abroad programs, always focused on a mix of opportunities meant to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9031,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030\/revisions\/9031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}