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Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2010!

The Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia, a region full of superlatives, existing at extremes. This land of the Incas contains a fascinating mix of ancient civilizations and dramatic landscapes placed in a modern context of political change and cultural identity issues. Through intensive Spanish language courses, numerous service learning opportunities, rugged travel and independent study, Dragons' 13-week Andes and Amazon semester explores the links between dramatic landscapes and rich cultures, past and present. We also delve deep into current political trends, social movements and especially issues in environmental conservation in the mountains and jungles of Bolivia and Peru.

All roads lead to La Paz and our time in Bolivia as well as Southern Peru will revolve around this bustling center, beginning in and returning to this nook in the Andes with its colorful and stimulating markets; its palpable sense of important political, economic and social change; and its proud cultural heritage and warm hospitality. From La Paz, set out for our first rural home-stay in the Apolobamba Mountains along the Peruvian border to the north, one of the most remote corners of the Andes. Here we live with Kallawaya families, a culture renowned for its lineage of healers, fortune-tellers and shaman. We live as the locals do, helping harvest tubers and legumes and helping to make adobe bricks, each day bridging our two cultures, learning about subsistence and definitions of poverty. After home-stays and a 6-day trek in the Apolobamba, we move to our base in Sorata for the next month. Sitting at a temperate 6,000 feet, Sorata is stunningly beautiful, perched on a ridge below two 21,000 foot peaks, some of the highest in the Andes. In Sorata we develop ISPs with themes as varied as traditional weaving and current politics, Andean music and agriculture. A traditional hacienda style farm perched on the banks of a rushing mountain stream will act as our classroom and program house. Here we will begin studies in cultural ecology by exploring the intricate links between the rich cultural heritage and natural landscape of the Andes region. We will meet daily with language instructors who guide us through intensive Spanish-language courses. At night, we bed down in traditional Aymara households, offering a rich contrast to the Kallawaya and Quechua culture of the Apolobamba. Our time in Sorata is also defined by the collaborative work we do with the Sorata Youth Association, affording opportunities to learn about leadership, grassroots development and youth-empowerment through sustainable development and service projects.

The contrast between barren high-alpine landscapes and lush tropical jungle is nowhere more stark than where the Andes meet the Amazon. To see this transition intimately, we next trek along pre-Incan trails known as “the path of gold” that dive from 15,000 foot passes above Sorata through verdant cloud-forests and into the unimaginably lush Amazon rainforest. We learn about Amazonian tribes, ecology, conservation and development in the Madidi National Park, (the most bio-diverse place in the world and one of Bolivia’s most contentious conservation projects) and we visit as well the Manu National Park in Peru.

Rising back up from the Amazon to the higher climes of Peru, we arrive at Cuzco, the heart of Incan culture and a historic colonial Spanish city. From here we take excursions into the Sacred Valley and we visit Machu Picchu, studying pre-Hispanic civilization and eco-tourism. We finish our time in Peru by visiting the surreal Lake Titicaca, with additional studies of pre-Columbian Tiahuanaco and Incan cultures amid this famous mythological birthplace of Andean civilization.

On the Andes and Amazon semester course expect to hone your Spanish skills while discovering the inexorable links between vibrant indigenous peoples and the diverse and breathtaking landscapes they inhabit. Come away with a deep understanding of indigenous political trends, important challenges in conservation and development, and a first-hand understanding of day-to-day life in some of the earth’s most dramatic corners.

** The Andes & Amazon Semester is accredited through Prescott College, and students can opt to receive up to four 4-credit courses, though Prescott charges an additional fee.  Please call Dragons for further details.