Latin America provides up some of the most dramatic contrasts to be observed anywhere in the globe. The Atacama Desert, one of the hottest and driest locations on the planet, is practically entirely devoid of life, but just a few hundred miles away lies the Amazon rainforest, residence to the greatest biodiversity in the globe - it is estimated that millions of several species live here.
What sort of people live on this fascinating continent?
And the contrasts are not restricted to geography and plant and animal life. It is estimated that as countless as five,000 numerous tribes lived in Peru when the Spanish arrived and that 90% of these had been wiped out after the European incursion. Then again, that implies that 500 tribes nevertheless stay in Peru, many in the Amazon exactly where they were in a position to keep away from all get in touch with with the Incas and then the Spanish conquistadors. Even those who were not in the Amazon typically threw themselves behind the conquistadors in order to rid themselves of the overbearing Inca and his demands for gold and labour.
These days the contrast in between native Peruvian and foreigner is nowhere much more marked than in the city of Cusco, situated close to Machu Picchu. This city receives 1.5 million visitors a year who come to marvel at the Inca and Spanish legacy and travel to the "Lost City of the Incas". Even with all these "modern day" many people passing through the city there are thousands of indigenous men and women living on the edges of the city and in the nearby countryside that perform, socialize and dress as they have for hundreds of years. When these correct residents come into the city, the contrast between native and foreigner is marked, not only in the color of the skin, but in their dress and even things like height. Andean many people are a lot shorter than Europeans or North Americans, so as a foreigner you regularly feel like a giant as you walk the streets of Cusco. Going dwelling following a long time in Peru, you then really feel like a midget when everyone is suddenly as tall as you, if not taller.
Aside from the physical differences, the contrasting way of life can also come as a shock. Get a small off the tourist route and inside 30 minutes you will feel as if you have been transported back 200 years with people today employing hand ploughs, manually carrying water and goods, utilizing various farm animals (such as teams of donkeys to thresh corn) and following old traditions that we in the west consider ridiculous (such as moving a live Guinea Pig over a patient to find out what is incorrect with them, which is ascertained when it squeaks over a distinct portion of the physique!).
The vast majority of indigenous persons live at or beneath the poverty line, but amazingly seem very content with life. When you walk by way of remote villages neighborhood individuals smile and say hello, and want to speak to you. They are certainly not tainted by the city dwellers' expectations of the tourist trade. An unfortunate side impact of seeing a lot of foreigners come through the city and eat at restaurants exactly where 1 dish can expense a lot more than a nearby will earn in a day is that a lot of the poorer Peruvians living in the cities see tourists as a limitless source of money, whereas the indigenous persons in the countryside are typically happy to strike up a conversation for cost-free.
As a foreigner in cities like Cusco, it is very easy to turn into hardened to the poverty about you, primarily when being observed as a walking cashpoint by the majority becomes too irritating. But, attempt giving a piece of bread to one of those young children in the street and you will see that the mercenary attitude is only skin-deep - they really are grateful for almost everything they obtain.
