We leave Cusco to go to Urrubamba in the Sacred Valley. Totally different scene, we arrive in a lushious green valley, cold in the night and warm during the day. It is also at a lower altitude so we do breathe a bit better. We are going to volunteer during about ten days which are finally turning into three weeks in the end. Nancy and her team welcome us in their ecolodge, a beautiful and quiet place where good vibes are carefully favoured. The accomodation is made up entirely of naturally built units with stones, earth and straw creating beautiful organic and warm shapes within the winding garden which is seemingly wild while still organized according a logic as it is mainly a medicinal plant garden.

I am not saying more about this place, you will discover the venue and Nancy's fascinating journey in our next article for FemininBio (Here / need to use googletranslate). Under the instructions of Nancy, we start, with three other volunteers, Amber from Chile and her friend Percy from Mexico and Laura from Spain, to build a green house. The base is made up of rocks. We need large rocks so it is quite an ordeal to bring them to the site, then we dig up some clay that we mix with a local dried grass which takes the rôle of straw to make some mortar.

We then add some cactus flesh in the mix to make it gluey. After a few days of work, we need to let it all sit for a while to dry, Thomas and I take this time to renovate the internet site HERE and the making of a promotional video for the place.

Nelly and Doris cook for the eco-lodge guests but also for everyone on site, we eat a lot of local vegetarian specialties. A diet which puts us right back into shape ! During the morning, we get to drink the « mix » which is a kind of oat porridge with hot water mixed with several other cereals, some maca (a powder made from a kind of turnip) and cinnamon, it is delicious and warms you right up after the cold nights. It holds up your appetite until lunch time, a treat ! (well, Thomas isn't such a big fan of it, but i love it!)



Technical videos made on-site with Nancy to come soon