What an amazing adventure. Just shy of 3 weeks and while I felt like I was able to see much of the wonder of Peru, I know from having chatted with people on various tours that there was still much to see and experience. But at some point it’s wonderful to be in one’s own bed and take some time to reflect on an extended visit to another country. So a few last thoughts…
Tourism provides about 10% to Peru’s GDP, which seems low compared to the number of tourists that I encountered. The economy is led by mining (copper and silver), and some agriculture (potatoes and asparagus). The biggest differences are seen in the relative wealth in Lima, compared to the rural areas in the Andes, where poverty is much more evident. And it is in the rural areas where you find more indigenous people, while increasingly Lima is populated by not only metizos (mixed Quecha and Spanish), but descendants of Europe. So it is in the countryside that we found the famed alpaca and llama and the wool and weaving that the country is known for. The city has banking and retail and other services as it’s main economic drivers.
The politics in the country are a mess. And like many of the countries in S.A., have been for years. There is rampant corruption, which I saw firsthand when driving back from Paracas we were pulled over by the police (along with many other cars/trucks), for some minor headlight infraction, and told that the fine would be 3,000 soles (about $1000). Instead, the policeman accepted 25 soles as a bribe and let us go. There are as many as 30 political parties and in the countryside, the logos and names of the various contenders are painted on the sides of adobe and concrete homes, with the symbols of the party. Lima alone, which has about 12 million people is divided into 43 districts and each one has a mayor. So you can see that it might be challenging to get things done.
There are dogs everywhere, roaming the streets. They look well fed, but not well groomed, and none seemed aggressive. They seemed to run in groups and follow any trail with people hiking along. There are children who are taught early how to busk… they volunteer to sing for tourists and as soon as they are done they whip off their hats for tips.
Which leads me to the first world guilt that seems to follow tourists when visiting and trying to learn about places and culture. Women would appear with their bundles of beautiful woven goods at each stop and we would feel compelled to look and perhaps buy. Which is what one does while traveling, but there was something about the poverty and the hard work and the expectation that was a bit uncomfortable at times.
The country is one of the most bio-diverse in the world, with deserts and mountains and the rain forest/Amazon. There are efforts by various international groups (from UNESCO to National Geographic) to ensure that the country continues to care for the historical places as well as the environment. Tourism dollars help this, but we have to be careful not to overrun, which is why they’ve placed limits on the number of people permitted into Machu Picchu each day.
I was so pleased to have taken the specific tour that I took, so that it offered much more than hiking each day and much more historical understanding before seeing Machu Picchu. Of course that’s always the destination, but this tour made the journey so much more than that one destination. There were dozens of civilizations before the Inca, and understanding that and seeing the pre-Inca sites was a terrific pre-cursor to seeing the engineering expertise of the Inca.
I’m happy to be home. And so fortunate to have had the experience of visiting fabulous Peru. Until next time…. signing off.
