A Peruvian Education: Part I (Geography)

Preface: Since my job has a summer break, I’m traveling around this summer, visiting family and friends in Peru and the U.S. (Nashville, Seattle, St. Louis, Colorado).  In Peru, I’m visiting my cousin Kaite and her husband Chris.  They live in Lima, and Chris is a hydrogeologist contractor (usually working with mining companies, since the mining industry in Peru is booming).

Chris’ Peruvian coworker once asked him, “So, what do U.S. citizens think of when they think of Peru?  Pisco sours?  Incan ruins and Spanish conquistadors?  Machu Picchu?”

Umm...well, the average U.S. citizen probably draws a blank when considering Peru.  Most could locate Peru as a Spanish-speaking country in South America.  Some may think of Machu Picchu but may have difficulty pinpointing its location to Peru (“it’s somewhere in South America”).  Alas, I’m guilty of ignorance, too.

It’s a good thing that I was an education major, because you’re about to get an elementary education about Peru.  

Actually, this post will only be a geographical introduction; further posts will include more history and culture, including pisco sours, Machu Picchu, and the Spanish and Quechua/Inca peoples. Also, beware: I love figuring out how things work, which is why I was a physics concentration and why you may not find this blog post especially interesting.
 
For the visual learners (myself included!), let's start with a map:
 


As you can see, Peru is...
- in South America (not Central America).
- barely south of the equator.  (Hence, Peru is in the tropics.)

On this map, notice the bordering countries (and the location of Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu):

 

For the kinesthetic learners, feel free to build a 3-D model of this topographical map:

Notice that everything east of the Andes mountains is fairly tropical/jungle. Tributaries of the Amazon River (Amazon = largest volume and second longest river in the world) begin in the Andean mountains and flow east across South America (mostly across Brazil), emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. I won't be visiting the jungles of Peru, so this will be the only mention of that region.

Look at Lima, the capital and largest city (population approx. 10 million), sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean mountains.  As a coastal city, it’s quite humid.  Yet since we’re next to the mountains, the clouds are trapped and remain on top of Lima (especially in winter, which in the Southern Hemisphere, is right now).  Chris and Kaite call it “Styrofoam days,” the winter months in which an impenetrable blanket of clouds/fog hangs over the Lima.

Now, look at Cusco (also spelled “Cuzco”; biggest Peruvian tourist destination, partially due to its proximity to Machu Picchu; population approx. 500,000).  At a 10,000 ft. elevation, it’s smack in the middle of the Andes mountain range.  Yet, Peru is in the tropics.  A mountain range in the tropics?  Yes, a bit bizarre.  We (Kaite, Chris, myself, and Kaite’s family) flew from Lima to Cusco on Saturday, May 26, and came back to Lima on Thursday, May 31, with a 24-hour trip to Machu Picchu on Tuesday/Wednesday.  Going from sea level (literally, Lima is on the coast) to Cusco's 10,000 foot elevation within an hour plane ride wreaks a bit of havoc upon human bodies.  We spent Saturday afternoon lounging about our hotel and trying to breathe.  No seriously, walking across the room would make our hearts pound and lungs gasp (higher elevation = thinner atmosphere = less oxygen = body working harder to keep breathing and circulating blood).  Thankfully, God created a remarkable human body, and we adjusted fairly well by the following day.  

Anyways, as I was saying, Cusco is in both the mountains and the tropics.  Thus, in the midday equatorial sun, I was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts (and it’s winter here!).  But, if I stepped into the shade, it felt like a 20 degree difference, and I quickly grabbed my sweater.  Once the sun set, the warmth evaporated.  Heading out for dinner on our first night (dinner in Peru = 2-hour event that begins around 8 p.m.), I wore long underwear, two sweatshirts, a scarf, and a hat... and was still a bit chilly (a reminder that we were indeed in the mountains).  Cusco is a funky place.  

Ok, it's 10 a.m., and I have yet to eat breakfast. Oh, long-windedness! This concludes our lesson on Peru's geography. Stay tuned for further lessons.