general thoughts about Peru and traveling

for the last post i'll get some general thoughts down about Peru... Lima was really a shocker and as much as i was able to ask and query it is a dangerous place to be. if you got white skin then getting mugged is common, i guess usually the attacks happen in a taxi.. you get drugged and guns are involved... if you have money they take it and if you don't then they might be interested in your liver or any other organs you got. human life is not worth much over there.

people in general are not well educated... around 50% of people get about 6 grades of education (which is more like 4 grades here in Estonia) and many can't write and read. this information is not based on any hard facts.. just something that came out from conversation with somebody who has lived there for many years... somebody who is living amongst and with the locals. so take it with grain of salt so to speak. university system is there and public universities are for free, but it is very difficult to get in there... which makes sense since you gotta finish all 12 years of school first :)

if something needs to get done.. it will get done, but in a very simple way... and sometimes that is better than spending all this money and effort on making things complicated. locals will figure it out and get it done and you will be amazed of how creative they can be with duct tape and rope ;)

things are dirty and broken and nobody cares.. peruvians don't really have much perspective.. they live one day at a time and enjoy the sun. it is not their culture and common practice to thrive for better education or better life.. things are as they are and they simply live. it is hard for me to understand and i was told constantly that this is something very difficult to get used to even after living amongst the locals for years so i should not try to understand it after 4 weeks :)

country is gorgeous though... and people in the countryside are very friendly.. they got everything there... high mountains.. the ocean.. jungle.. desert.. lakes.. beaches.. everything... it is great. the food is good, nutritious, tasty and there are lots of options and variations. peru is full of raw materials.. so it is very rich country.. although economically speaking it is not being realized very well at the moment.. and perhaps that is what is saving this country from trouble... as there is not much knowledge and initiative there... so all would be flowing out as soon as foreigners get their hands on the goods/materials.

traveling in peru is quite easy (if there are no strikes at the moment ;) ) .. infrastructure is there and used widely... and this country (and perhaps whole southern america) is full of pack-packers... not so many regular tourists who can be an annoyance with all their demands at times... pack-packers are friendly, open minded and great companions coming from all kinds of different cultures and sharing their experiences at every occasion.

now about the future.. i'm getting all kinds of fun ideas already of what to see next :) .. for an example next year there will be olympic games in China :D :D .. that would be fun! ... there are plenty of things to see around there :D :D .. just an idea ... will see what life brings!

you take care of yourself and till next time!