Report from Peru: Week 1
Faculty member Sarah DeArmond recounts the first week of the College of Business study tour in January 2013.
This January, fifteen students took part in the College of Business Peruvian Study Tour. A majority of their first week was spent in Lima. While in this cosmopolitan city, they took a cooking class at D'Gallia Institute, toured Lima, participated in lectures at Universidad del Pacifico, and toured a number of different organizations (i.e., the Central Bank, Prestaclub, Bolsa de Valores, and Creditex).
During the second weekend in Peru, they traveled with Happy Tours to Chincha, Ica and Paracas. On a trip through the coastal desert, the group made a stop at Pachacamac, an archaeological complex of pyramids dating back to 200 AD. It is believed that many traveled to this site because it supposedly housed an oracle. The group made a stop off at the beach and a pisco distillery before staying overnight in Chincha.
On Saturday, January 24, 2013, the group toured Topara Organic Farm and Nursery. They had lunch at the farm and enjoyed pachamanca with their hosts, the Bederskis. Pachamanca is a traditional Peruvian dish in which meat, potatoes, and some other vegetables are buried in a hole to cook with hot rocks and coals. Students even got to sample guinea pig!
The group capped off the evening in dune buggies and on sandboards in Huachachina. On their way back to Lima, they stopped in Paracas to visit the Ballestas Islands. Students saw penguins, sea lions, many birds and the Candelabra geoglyph on their boat trip to and from the islands.
Students had a lot going on in their first week, but there was certainly much more to come in the adventure of their study tour trip.
