Biodiversidad

So these videos are far from great quality, but they do provide a peek at the incredible biodiversity of Perú. The different types of fruit and vegetables here immense because of the lack of genetic managing and the presence of intensely different climates and subclimates. The favorite stat from our family: over 1,000 varieties of potatoes grow here and over 300 of them are grown domestically. Needless to say, food is huge source of national pride. And we eat very well, I might add. My current favorite fruit is sauco.

This first video is from the roadtrip I took with Martín's family though la sierra to get to the edge of the jungle. It was hard to capture on film (in a moving car) how breathtaking the landscape was, but the winding roads that passed around, over, and though the mountains really were impressive.

This second video is from a field trip I took with my geography class to Caral: the remains of what may be the oldest city in the Americas. What was most striking about this trip was seeing vast amounts of open space after being in Lima for so long. There is next to zero tourism to the region because of the lack of infrastructure and funding. The guided tour of the ruins was really interesting, especially since some of them had spirals on them, which nobody knows the meaning of. It reminded me of Newgrange, which I think is estimated to be from the same time period.

Here are some other photos from that trip:

The ruins are covered in black flags. According to our guide, it is just to keep the birds a way and has nothing to do with anarchy... weird.

Golden corn drying in an small area between the lush river and the stark desert = beautiful.

El pueblito...

I am a stern subscriber to the tranquility and life affirming nature of early mornings...

This last video is from another field trip, this time with my Ecoturismo class. Not a great clip as I'm on boat, but at least you can see and hear los lobos marinos!

More photos from that trip:

Another historical legacy: islands covered in guano.

Penguinos!

A classmate told me that sometimes the guides let people swim with the sea lions... so, I'm pretty positive I'll be back to las Islas Palominas :o)