The simplicity and the unassuming nature of life here in `Peru is what is most obvious to you as soon as you step outside the airport terminal in Lima. It strikes you the very instant you leave the relative sanity of the airport terminal and step onto the crowded, bustling streets.
The urgency with which the people here struggle to make a living is quite new to many of us who might have had the luxury of living in an environment where we find things relatively easy. Most of the people here live comfortably without most of the things we in the so called "western world" would feel are essential to our existence.
Most families here survive without access to clean portable water, electricity is unavailable to many homes, and modern healthcare is a luxury. Yet they live and are surviving. Yet the people are unbelievably cheerful and upbeat about life and so many things, you see it in the enthusiastic way they try to sell you coca leaves, coca tea and souvenirs outside the airport on the streets, it’s in the way their eyes light up when they think they have a chance of making a sale at your expense.
By the way, does the name coca ring a bell? Well it should. If you're by any chance wondering what coca leaves are, then I’ll tell you, they are leaves of a local plant that seem to help our bodies and cardiovascular system adapt to the high altitude effects you experience as you arrive in Peru. They are simply chewed or taken as tea. Then there's one more thing which Coca is famous, or should i say notorious for, can you guess yet? It’s the raw material from which COCAINE is produced. it ironically is one of Peru's biggest foreign exchange earners.
Peru was once home to the great Inca civilisation and the remains of their once immense and prosperous society is still the major attraction to the country today. Much of the most preserved remains of Peru's once great Inca Empire can be found at Machu Picchu amongst the high peaks of the Andes and around Lake Titicaca.
Cuzco is another popular tourist destination as it still has remains of both Peru's Inca heritage and its more recent Spanish colonial heritage. It is estimated to be at an altitude of about 11,300 ft above sea level, so you'd better take along enough coca leaves when you decide to pay a visit. The museums in Lima are also worth touring as they are in custody of many interesting and priceless artifacts dating back to the Inca civilisation.
Aguas Calientes is also an interesting location just below Machu Picchu. If you speak any Spanish at all you'd guess what's in store for you there, the name means "hot water". But don’t get worried about being boiled alive like a lobster it's more like warm water! Your Peruvian adventure is incomplete without a visit to the Amazon jungle which runs through Peru, the largest and richest rainforest in the world. It is reputed to have the largest number of plant and animal life on the planet and a guided tour of this beautiful ecosystem is something I’m sure you'll not forget in a hurry.
Monkey Island is quite famous for what its name suggests, its large monkey population, and believe me their comical antics are a delight to watch.
A trip to this great land steeped in beautiful ancient history is sure to open your eyes to the great beauty that lies in our world and you'll appreciate more why you and i owe it to ourselves and generations unborn to take great care to nurture it the more so it might bloom and grow for a long,long time to come.
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