Location: Ollantaytambo
So today, we all woke up, again, to Max’s terrifying banging on our doors. I thought that fireworks or gunshots were going off they were so loud. Our 8 am breakfast consisted of bread, jam, yogurt, and fruit. After the food, we all piled into our bus and were off. We went to Cachiccata and went to a house to get instructions for the day. Then, we headed off, walking with our tools for the day, to our work site. We began working by splitting into two groups. Half of us went to break up a mound of dirt while the other group went to cut some grass. We both did this for about an hour and then the fun part began. We started to add water to the dirt and started mixing them by stomping around (I am sure that many of you have seen the pictures). I don’t think that I have ever been that covered in mud, but don’t worry mum, I didn’t ruin any of my clothes. After about an hour, we started to make the adobe bricks! All you have to do is put the mud in these molds and then remove the mold. It’s very simple. We only made about 30 bricks before lunch.
Lunch, for me at least, was great. My favorite part of lunch is the siesta that we get afterward. Pretty much all of us went out on the grass and read or took a nap. I had a pretty great nap before we had to head back to work. We made bricks for another hour or two. I am pretty sure that we made around like 50 or so bricks in total. At the time, it felt like so many until we found out that it takes 5,000 bricks to make a house! That’s insane, just because of how much time and work it would take to make that many! We washed off all the tools and ourselves in a nearby stream, which was super refreshing. We got home and all showered. After, a group of us went shopping and then went to dinner. Overall, the day was fun and productive! I feel super accomplished. And mom – I’m fine! I miss you so much and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!