Early musings on Peru

Ms. Henderson has recently sent out a lot of important information and I urge everyone to look at it closely. I am going to be posting the itinerary and flight information on a separate page in a day or so. Please make sure that you have all your papers and everything ready to go - let's avoid last minute anxieties!

With less than 40 days to go, I hope students are getting excited - I know that I am! I have checked out some books to read in Spanish, I am going through guide books, and I am trying to figure out what souvenirs to bring home. For the first time on one of these trips, I will be covering new ground - a trip to Peru fills an important gap in my travel history and I am eager to see it with my own eyes.

I have always been fascinated by the cultural history of Peru. We are looking closely at the Inca, but they are only the last to occupy this part of Latin America. Like with an onion, archaeologists peel back layers of mud and rock to reveal ever-older civilizations. The west coast of the continent has been a rich place for human history - fish are brought to the surface by upwelling cold ocean currents, small and narrow valleys protected intense agriculture. The Incas (and the Aztecs in Mexico) absorbed the lessons from those who went before, putting their name on a veneer that really extends back for many thousands of years.

I encourage those who are equally fascinated by the cultural touchstones of Peru to check out Wade Davis' writings. I heard him speak at an IB conference a few years ago and found his presentation (and his books) to be eye-opening. He loves to turn convention on its head. He vividly describes cultural rites that continue today from historical precedents, and effectively explained how the Amazon was the site of a large, pre-Colombian civilization. Recent archaeological studies have continued to confirm this understanding.

Obviously, Peru holds great interest for me - and I hope for your children or (if Deal students are reading this) for you who are traveling on March 31 to Lima. Que divertido!