2021 Mullen Peru Service Adventure

Accommodations

Hostal El Patio

This beautiful bed and breakfast provides the perfect escape in the heart of Lima’s trendy, coastal neighborhood of Miraflores. Flowery terraces and the friendly staff give personality and charm to this lush, green oasis in the middle of the city. Free Wi-Fi access throughout the building keeps everyone feeling connected. Students will be grouped in their rooms according to gender and availability.

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Hotel Qalasaya

The rooms in Hotel Qalasaya are comfortable, elegant, and well equipped with modern amenities. Rising above most of the surrounding buildings, the hotel also boasts some of the best views of Lake Titicaca. Free Wi-Fi access throughout the building keeps everyone feeling connected. Students will be grouped in their rooms according to gender and availability.

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Pension Alemana

Situated in the hills of the San Blas neighborhood, Pension Alemana is a beautiful bed and breakfast overlooking the historic center of Cusco. Representative of the city’s history and culture, this hotel blends Quechua and Spanish colonial styles to provide a stunning setting to relax at 11,000 feet. Free Wi-Fi access throughout the building keeps everyone feeling connected. Students will be grouped in their rooms according to gender and availability.

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Homestay

This will be the best part of your trip! Staying with a host family immerses you in the language and culture of the destination, and can lead to deep and lasting relationships with your hosts. Initially intimidating but ultimately unforgettable, there’s no better way to begin to truly understand the place you’re visiting.

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Group Flight

Once your flight schedule has been confirmed, the itinerary will appear here.

Walking Tree will secure a seat on the group flight for each participant unless otherwise instructed.

Travelers are responsible for checked baggage fees. Please visit the airline’s baggage webpage to learn if you should expect to pay anything.

We will provide a group manifest – complete with reservation codes and ticket numbers – to the Group Organizer/s before departure, and travelers will need to check in at the airport in order to receive their boarding pass and have documents verified. We recommend arriving no later than three hours prior to the scheduled departure, but contact your Group Organizer for specific details on exactly where and when to meet on the day of departure.

FLIGHT INTERRUPTION, DELAY OR CANCELLATION 
Air travel can be unpredictable.  Regardless of proper planning, there may still be instances when a flight is delayed or cancelled due to staffing shortages, weather, mechanical problems, etc.  Please note that in such an event, Walking Tree Travel (WTT) is not financially responsible for unanticipated costs incurred by travelers en route.  Our programs officially begin and end in the destination country, and because our staff doesn’t fly with the group, Group Organizers (the traveling faculty member/s) become the front-line advocate for the group in the event of a delay. In most cases of cancellations or delays, the airline will be the one who re-books travel or possibly arranges a hotel and food the night.  Our primary role will be to  keep families updated and provide support to the Group Organizer to reach a  quick and effective resolution.

Host Community and Project Details

Our host community of Ollantaytambo is one of the few remaining towns laid out according to Inca design, with active irrigation canals running along most streets. Multiple ruins can be found in the hills surrounding this Sacred Valley town, and snowcapped peaks can be seen from several viewpoints. Many community members continue to speak with one another in Quechua, but almost all speak Spanish as well. Walking Tree has been working with Ollantaytambo for nine years, and our host families are looking forward to receiving this year’s students.

During our stay we will have the opportunity to work on a service project in the nearby town of Urubamba, where many residents of Ollantaytambo work and send their kids to school. Service projects are planned together with the SSA Country Director and community organizers. Walking Tree staff never decides what service project is done, rather projects are always proposed by local community leaders as they are most in tune with the needs of the community.

Service projects are intended to be both challenging and rewarding for participants and community members. This program’s project goal is to construct a recycling center at the Valle Sagrado secondary school in Urubamaba, as recycling demands in this area of Peru are not sufficiently supported by public funds. Having a designated space to accumulate recyclable materials will support the school’s sustainability initiatives as well as ensure a cleaner play space on the grounds for the students. This work will involve lots of physical labor- digging up and leveling the ground with shovels and pick axes, manually mixing concrete, laying bricks, etc. There will be opportunities to assist with other projects around the school involving painting and beautification efforts, as well as interact with the local students in the mornings.

Packing List

What follows is a sample packing list but you know yourself better than we do so please adjust accordingly. We recommend you bring a larger piece of luggage like a roller, duffel bag, or backpack, as well as a smaller backpack that you can bring on daily outings, weekend excursions and shorter activities.

“Less is more” is a packing tip we encourage for all our travelers. The list below should cover everything you would need, but know yourself and what you are comfortable traveling with.  We suggest bringing only as much as you would be able to carry on your own.

Finally, we recommend consulting a weather forecast for your destination. 

Most importantly, be sure to remember your PASSPORT!

CLOTHES: (quantities depend on your trip length)

• Underwear
• Socks
• T-shirts, tank tops or work shirts
• Long sleeve shirts
• Light sweater/sweatshirt
• Shorts
• Jeans/pants
• Swimsuit/s
• Light rain jacket
• Sturdy shoes (appropriate for lots of walking/athletic activity)
• Sports sandals ie Chacos/Tevas etc. (optional)
• Flip flops
• Sun hat

TOILETRIES: (in addition to the basics)

• Sunscreen – you will use a lot.
• Mosquito repellent
• Band Aids and Neosporin, anti-diarrhea meds, basic first aid kit.
• Hand Sanitizer
• Medication in properly marked original container (better to pack this in your carry on luggage)

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Sunglasses
• Journal and pen
• Book/s
• Camera (digital, disposable, waterproof)
• Universal adapter
• Debit card/US Dollars (we recommend about $100-$200, depending on amount of desired souvenirs, extra items etc.)
• Durable water bottle (optional personal water filtration system – Walking Tree will always provide drinking water)
• 1 quick-dry towel
• Soap for washing your own clothes during community time
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Batteries, if needed
• Deck of cards or other portable games
• Homestay gift
• Student ID
• Spanish/English Dictionary

HOMESTAY GIFTS

Travelers often contact us regarding what an appropriate gift might be for their student’s host family. Host families are often curious about where our students come from and their families in the U.S. As such, we recommend a simple gift that describes, represents or depicts your home. Well-received gifts in the past have included calendars or picture/coffee table books from your city or state, a framed picture of your family, paraphernalia from a local sports team, toys, soccer balls, school supplies, or something produced or grown in your hometown, like chocolate, local candy, t-shirts, etc. The most important thing to keep in mind is not to worry about this… Anything, no matter its value, will be well received!

Support Team

At a minimum, one experienced Program Leader will travel on every trip. In addition to this full time leadership presence, Walking Tree has additional staff in all destinations and 24/7 support from our headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Below you’ll find the the team members involved in the preparation, planning and execution of your program.

Tommy Tyson

Country Director, Country Operations Manager - Peru

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University of Denver – B.A. Spanish, Minors in History and Hebrew

Currently based in Minnesota, where he is originally from, Tommy works in the Country Operations department at Walking Tree Travel. His hobbies include camping, snowboarding, basketball and traveling. Fluent in Spanish, he first developed his love of languages and Latin American culture at the age of ten on a mission trip in Mexico. This experience and subsequent trips to follow inspired him to study Spanish and pursue development work in other areas of Latin America as well. Tommy gained valuable experience as a middle school Spanish teacher and coach after he graduated. His experience in education encouraged him to combine his two passions of travel and education and join our team full time. He had the pleasure of living in Cusco, Peru for three years as our Country Director and has enjoyed planning and guiding student trips ever since.

Luke Mueller

Co-Founder of Walking Tree Travel and Business Lead - Denver, CO

[email protected]

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Emory University – B.A. Sociology and minor in Latin American History

Luke’s path to student travel began in Mexico, during a year abroad in Mexico and Central America. This formative time led him to join an international volunteer program which, after graduating from college, sent him to the small village of San Gerardo de Rivas in south-central Costa Rica. Welcomed by the loveliest of host families, his experience in this tiny town is directly connected to the beginnings of Walking Tree five years later. His love for travel still burns bright, and today he’s lucky to have a wife and daughter who are equally passionate about exploring the world. Settled in Denver, he adores his family and colleagues, skies whenever possible, and is a devoted fan of all Colorado sports teams.

Natalia Boquet

Argentina Country Director

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College Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)- Degree in Lettres, Technical degree in Film Directing

Natalia was born and has always lived in Buenos Aires, where she graduated from Universidad de Buenos Aires with a degree in Lettres and from CIEVYC with a technical degree in Film Directing.

She co-founded a Spanish School when she was 24, just after her first solo travel, which started a long saga that took her to more than 20 countries in South America, Europe and Asia.

Natalia lives with a beautiful white cat that loves hunting doves to offer them up to her. She loves plants, red wine, sci-fi movies, thai food, live music, biking, cooking, reading and, of course, traveling.

Mauricio Hidalgo Chaves

Program Leader

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Universidad Latina, Heredia, Costa Rica – Architecture

Mauricio, or “Mau” as his friends call him, grew up in a small Costa Rican town called Pejibaye surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers. Mauricio attended Costa Rica’s first environmental high school which instilled in him a mentality to help the environment. Ever since he was a kid Mauricio always found himself fixing up and remodeling spaces, which led him to study architecture in the University. His hunger for knowledge and desire to learn about different cultures guided him on various trips to countries such as Colombia, Nicaragua, Belize, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the United States. Mauricio currently lives in Denver, Colorado and has worked in various volunteer organizations in Costa Rica to help the environment and to help combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors. Mauricio is multifaceted person who sings, designs, decorates, constructs and dances, all while traveling down life’s path with a smile on his face in search of learning something new.

Group Roster

Below is a list of the travelers enrolled on the program.

• 1 Joshua Jeffers
• 2 Timothy Ventura
• 3 TimothyVentura

Blog and Communication

During travel we work hard to keep families updated as frequently as possible with blog posts and photos, giving you peace of mind that your traveler is safe and thriving on their program.  Students regularly contribute to these posts, providing families back home a great way to vicariously track the progress of the trip. You will be notified when the first update is posted, after which we recommend checking in regularly via the black “Program Blog” button at the top of this webpage.

Assuming your school allows the use of cell phones, most destinations are wired enough to allow participants access WiFi at different moments in the program, allowing them to communicate directly with home. Ask your Walking Tree representative about the degree of connectivity on your program.

GLC Curriculum

Standards of Behavior

In order to run a safe and successful program, it is vital that travelers are prepared to be on their best behavior and bring enthusiasm and interest to each and every day. A communal atmosphere of trust and mutual respect is the foundational.  As such, all individuals participating on a Walking Tree program are required to take responsibility for their actions and adhere to a high standard of personal conduct.

IMMEDIATE DISMISSAL

1. Possessing, consuming or distributing alcohol or illegal drugs.
2. Associating with participants while they are in possession of alcohol or illegal drugs.
3. Behaving in a way that consistently damages the group dynamic or jeopardizes personal or group safety. This includes consistently displaying a negative attitude, intimidating or excluding other participants, sneaking out, disobeying group leaders, and any other behavior that is not conducive to an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.

GROUNDS FOR DISMISSAL OR IN-COUNTRY CONSEQUENCE

1. Getting a piercing or tattoo.
2. Stealing, or deliberately damaging or defacing any personal property, buildings or materials.
3. Threatening physical or emotional harm, or brandishing a weapon.
4. Possessing, consuming, or distributing tobacco or nicotine, including vape pens.
5. Riding mopeds, motorcycles, or any other type of unauthorized vehicle.
6. Being out of designated area or accommodations after curfew.
7. Breaking group rules.

These standards of behavior are essential for the successful completion of your program. Please take the time to review these as a family and make sure everyone understands and agrees to them.

Health and Safety

We strongly recommend visiting the CDC Peru website to get the most updated information on health and vaccination considerations in your destination country. In addition, we encourage you to consult your personal family physician so you can be as informed as possible when making important decisions about vaccinations and other necessary health-related preparations before traveling.

Our in-country staff meticulously prepare for all programs. Walking Tree receives regular updates from the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to proactively stay ahead of any potential security concerns. Our in-country staff also verify the safety records of our partner organizations, vendors, and transportation providers, thoroughly vet homestay families through in-depth interviews and visits, and stay informed about important current events in the region.

Program Leaders are seasoned travelers who are CPR and First Aid certified, undergo thorough training in crisis management, and participate in comprehensive leadership training. We do our best to prepare for any eventuality and have detailed emergency protocols for our leaders, in-country staff, and U.S.-based staff.

We collect medical disclosures from all participants to ensure we can meet every student’s needs during the program. Please inform us immediately of any additional health issues not listed during your initial registration process. Leaders and in-country staff are prepared to respond promptly to any mental, physical, or emotional health concerns and follow comprehensive emergency protocols.

Insurance

While we work hard to ensure the safest experience possible for our travelers on program, experience teaches that travel can be unpredictable. For this reason, we recommend that all travelers consider a travel insurance policy with a Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) provision. Detailed explanations of plan options can be found via the link below.

To provide travelers and families with a quality option, Walking Tree has partnered with Travel Insured International, one of the most respected providers in the industry.  Begin by getting a quote here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: in order to secure coverage that includes CFAR, you must purchase the plan within 14-21 days of your first payment to Walking Tree. Be careful when you read the tenets of the policy to ensure you understand the required timeframe for purchase. You must also insure 100% of your trip cost, so program tuition + flight. Please reach out to us with questions.