If you are going to live in Peru for a long period of time as a wandering outlander, you better well like it. However the life of a vagabond is not always full of adrenaline-rush-water-rafting-paragliding-mountain-climbing fun. I was warned by many fellow adventurous wayfarers before my Peruvian journey of the notorious traveller’s cycle in which we are eventually entangled into three distinct stages. First we are drawn into the romance of the honeymoon period where the novelty seduces our senses and our exploration of the country is full of endless possibilities. [Continue reading...]

Living in Lima, Peru has been interesting and eventful. Taking cabs and combis are an adventure within itself, feeling like your life is going to come to an abrupt and sudden stop because of oncoming traffic or a truck barely missing your door. And the food, food venders available near our humble abode have really made it easy to call Planeta home. The area in Lima which you can find the Karikuy team is located near Cercado de Lima in a local barrio called Planeta. Although the local peruvians might think of this area as ‘movimento’, I have come to really enjoy living here and taking advantage of everything it has to offer. [Continue reading...]

Amongst all the excitement we volunteers experienced this week in Huaraz, there was a moment of reflection and composure as we entered the memorial site of Campo Santo. To the back of the site lies Mount Huascaran standing at 22,205 feet above sea level in the region of Ancash. The mountain is Peru’s highest and is part of the Cordillera Blanca, or “white range” in the Huascaran National Park. [Continue reading...]

Anyone with Asian features quickly stands out as a foreigner in most of Latin America. But not in Peru, where a large percentage of the population is of Asian descent.

The first Chinese and Japanese who left their countries for Peru trusted that their hard work would give them the chance to return home. Many decades later, their children and grandchildren are well integrated into Peruvian society. [Continue reading...]

The Zampoña — I had never even heard of the instrument before Peru, so if you are like I was and hadn’t heard the beautiful sound of a zampoña before, you are in for a treat.  In addition to the guitar and charango (a guitar-like instrument), the zampoña is a marked instrument of Peru and the Andes region.  It dates back to at least the Incas and possibly even further.  The only examples I can think of that anyone might know is that reoccurring flute-like melody in the beginning of the Lion King’s “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” or in the interlude of “The Circle of Life”.  Yeah, that’s right – I listen to the Lion King soundtrack.  Actually, it was mostly arranged by Elton John and musically [Continue reading...]