Darkness before dawn: A two hour ascent over a thousand tiny steps. A thick white wall of clouds on the top. But when the mist suddenly lifts it reveals one of the most stunning views South America has to offer: The 500 year old ruins of an Incan city surrounded by terrific mountain scenery. Machu Picchu. Unforgettable. Indispensable. Forever. 

Nathanael Schmidt-Ott, Lena Wenig and Jonathan Jeske are kulturweit volunteers in Bolivia and Peru. Nathanael assists in German classes at the Colegio Juan Enrique Pestalozzi in Sucre, Bolivia. Lena works at the Colegio Fervan in Bogotá, Columbia. Both schools are part of the PASCH network. Jonathan supports the  Fundación Casa Cultural Colombo Alemana in Cartagena de Indias, Columbia. kulturweit is the youth voluntary service of the German Commission for UNESCO, supported by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.