Jun 19, 2007 - Starting out on the Lares trek

The night before our trek began, we met up with representatives from GAP Adventures (who we had booked our trek with) and one of the guides for the trip, Juan Carlos. Enroute to our starting point at the village of Kiswarani, we stopped at the small town of Calca to visit the market for small gifts to give to the locals. ... There is much concern that the popularity of the Lares trek will create havoc with the local villagers so the group is asked not to give money to the children but rather to bring small usable items to share with the small children (things like pencils, hair bobbles, marbles, bread) and coca leaves to share with the elders.The night before our trek began, we met up with representatives from GAP Adventures (who we had booked our trek with) and one of the guides for the trip, Juan Carlos. Enroute to our starting point at the village of Kiswarani, we stopped at the small town of Calca to visit the market for small gifts to give to the locals. ... There is much concern that the popularity of the Lares trek will create havoc with the local villagers so the group is asked not to give money to the children but rather to bring small usable items to share with the small children (things like pencils, hair bobbles, marbles, bread) and coca leaves to share with the elders....