World traveler Seymour Savings, looking out over the ancient Inca site of Machu Picchu.

Kenosha Central Teller Linsey Weber recently visited Machu Picchu in Peru — and brought along a friend of ours: Seymour Savings!

An icon of the ancient Inca civilization, Machu Picchu is believed to have been an estate for an Inca emperor, built in the 15th century. It sits almost 8,000 feet above sea level.

Linsey and Seymour traveled to Peru through the study-abroad program at Gateway Technical College, where Linsey is taking engineering classes. She and 11 classmates spent a week volunteering at Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, an orphanage in the Lurín district of Peru that was started about 30 years ago by people from the archdiocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

“Lurín is a very impoverished area that tourists do not visit,” Linsey says. “Participating in the community was a humbling and amazing experience. After our service work, we visited Machu Picchu, went kayaking, and did a few other touristy things before heading home.”

At Gateway, Linsey is studying freshwater resources and hopes to do work in regions like Peru after she graduates. “Peru does not have potable tap water — everything must be boiled or bottled for drinking and other uses,” she says. “Much of the world lives this way, and fresh water is a dwindling resource.”

If you’d like to follow in her and Seymour’s footsteps, she has some advice. “Learn basic Spanish for communicating. Bartering is expected in all markets. Altitude sickness can be an issue,” she says. “Machu Picchu is amazing! Take the train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) — it travels between mountains, and along the river that later flows into the Amazon. It’s gorgeous!”