"Plant a Seed and Everything Grows": Bet the Incas Would've Liked She's the First ;-)

Today we checked some tourist to-dos off our list: booking our tickets to Macchu Pichu for Tuesday and touring the highlights of Cuzco, one of the most popular stops on backpacking trails through Latin America and a gem of the fallen Incan Empire.

Plaza de Armas, heart of Cuzco city

Almuerzo con Daniel, our guide and a dear friend of Peruvian Hearts. He gives us a very valuable local perspective on Cuzco and Peru.

Daniel, the husband of Rosa and a friend of the Dodsons since before Peruvian Hearts was even founded, guided us through the city. He is very knowledgeable of the Inca history pouring out of every cobblestone alleyway, and very in tune with their beliefs, which I found to be surprisingly agreeable to She’s the First. “Plant a seed and everything grows,” he said when talking about the rich agriculture of Peru. Educating girls has the same effect on their future, no? “Take advantage of a good story, and turn it into gold,” he said, very aware of how marketing a success story, like that of Ana or many other inspiring “firsts,” brings supporters to your cause – stories are key. “We all have a cathedral inside,” he said when describing how important it is to take care of our bodies – and to teach children the value of health and hygiene. “Nothing that exists is impossible,” he said when we asked how he managed to learn six languages! Daniel also said that he believes the key to raising Peru up from third world status is education. Now that’s our kind of guy!

Tomorrow, we meet the girls in Peruvian Hearts’ program at el Hogar in a pueblo about 40 minutes away, called Anta. This is the heart of our journey, and we’ll capture every moment! We’ve got great video too — Internet speeds to slow to post now, but we’ll do as soon as we can!