Living in Peru : your everyday companion

by
Ben Jonjak

The sacred valley is so full of sights that it's almost overwhelming. There are few places on the earth with such a wealth of spectacularly preserved ancient cities; majestic mountains to view as a backdrop; and (of course) the most hospitable and friendly locals you'll find anywhere. Most tourists grossly underestimate the amount of time they need to get an adequate impression of the sacred valley (I estimate a good length of stay to be about 8 years, but even that's rushing a bit), and they end up simply sprinting from Cusco to Machu Picchu and miss out on all the rest. Trust me, if you take the time to see the other sights along the Urubamba, you won't regret it!

by
Declan Tighe

First off, I’d like to point out that I have been living in Lima for one year now, and have taken 100’s of taxis. Mainly because of the fact that they are just so cheap. I mean, S/. 10 ($3) for a 15km 25 minute taxi journey is unheard of where I am from. That, coupled with the fact that there are so many of them, means I take them quite a lot. So when, after a year of getting taxis here, there and everywhere, I finally (almost) got robbed in one, I thought - well, it’s not that bad a ratio of taxis taken to incidents of robbery, really!

by
Stuart Starrs

by
Rodney Dodig

As far as this person is concerned, touring Lima by bike is one of the best activities available here. I have been asked to do some follow-up articles about touring other areas of Lima to the one that was published a couple of weeks ago here in “Living in Peru.” In this article I will cover biking from Miraflores to Lima Central.  Although this tour is longer than the one I did from Miraflores through Barranco to Chorrillos and back, in many ways it was easier.

Imagine receiving a phone call telling you that out of thousands of entries, you have won a contest that will soon be taking you to a fascinating foreign country. For 12 days, you will discover coastal desserts, luscious green mountains and the secrets of the rainforest. Well, for 15 American kids, that phone call was a reality. For the fourth consecutive year, National Geographic Kids, a magazine aiming to motivate children to learn about and explore their world, has held a “Hands-On Explorer Challenge,” where kids can win a chance to go on an expedition to a foreign country.

To enter the contest, kids between the ages of 9 and 14 were asked to write a 300-word essay about how they actively explore their world, and what inspiring and exciting things they’ve found, as well as a photograph illustrating their essay. Almost 2,000 kids entered, and out of these, only 15 were selected. Their essay topics were varied, ranging from birds to fossils, foods of the world and the voices of Mother Nature, but all shared an underlying energy. “They all seemed genuinely spirited and all had a true interest in other people, other places, and nature,” Catherine Hughes, science editor for NG Kids, said.

In previous years, winners have traveled to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, South Africa, and Australia. This time, the magazine chose Peru as their destination. “We’re looking for a country which has a lot of different biodiversity, some cultural diversity, as well as some history to it, and I think that Peru is one of the best places to visit if that’s what you’re looking for,” Dana Deighton, marketing director for NG Kids, told me.

by
Rodney Dodig

I must admit I never imagined that I would be writing an article about downhill biking. It was a trip to Peru that changed all that and inspired me to let all you downhill enthusiasts know what I saw and experienced while I was there. I hope this inspires you to travel to other countries to experience your sport in other cultures. My own experience started out innocently enough on a beautiful Saturday morning on September 29th, 2007. I was visiting my friend Mauricio in Cusco. He is a vice principle at one of the schools in the town. He is also the founder and coach of the school’s downhill bike racing team. He had invited me to travel with his team to the town of Coya in the Sacred Valley for a practice run for a downhill invitational that was to be held the next day.

by
Stuart Starrs

The platystele oxiglossa at just three centimetres tall with a flower of only two millimetres and the great Tahua Tahua that reaches five metres tall with a flower of eight centimetres are just two of 400 species of orchids growing in the sanctuary of Machu Picchu.

by
Rodney L. Dodig
 
On a recent trip to Trujillo I had the opportunity to visit the ancient city of Chan Chan, the capital city of the Chimu Civilization. Taking the taxi into Trujillo from the airport the road passes through what looks to be about the center of this vast city made of mud bricks. You are immediately struck by two things, one is the immense size of the place and the other is the vast destruction done by looters, earthquakes and the weather. UNESCO has declared this a world heritage site and work is being done to preserve as much as possible but as we all know there is only so much money to go around to all the sites in the world that need help. I had heard from friends and read that this site was a must visit for anyone coming to Peru and they were certainly correct.

by
Alexander Zaitchik

Ever since I first began playing with psychedelics as a teenager, I have wanted to do them in the jungle. It took only one or two bad trips in the city before I started imagining the experience away from the car alarms and ambulance sirens, and closer to its millennia-deep origins in ceremony and sacrament.

by
Rodney L. Dodig

For anyone planning a trip to Peru or for those already here that love to see the wonders of nature, a trip to the Colca Valley and Canyon in Peru is a must. The variety of scenery and the charm of the local towns and villages located in this area are a photographer's dream.