Men and Boys of Peru

A group of friends and I had decided that we'd all travel to a new continent for the transition from 2012 to 2013. Our three weeks in the southern third of Peru was awash in colorful high adventure everyday filled with so many new sights, sounds, textures and flavors. We felt so privileged and grateful to be among the warm and inviting people of Peru and this included the gentle men and boys at every turn.

Yes, in addition to urban industrialism and commerce in full flush, there are people that struggle for their everyday existence...as it is all over the globe. And yet, most country people live in a simpler rhythm amidst a rich abundance of both material and cultural resources that ancient wisdom carried forward helps to sustain.

Deeply rooted in the land, Andean peoples still have tightly knit family, village and tribal group identities, affiliations and collective sustainable livelihoods. We began to experience an overall sense of peace and harmony as we moved through the many villages and across these breath-taking regions. It seems that all are engaged with each other and some activity that has meaning and satisfaction for them.

Wherever we went, whatever the work, we saw smiles and heard laughter (note Amazon basin truck drivers). Perhaps the greatest treasure to observe is that people know and have each other.

A village boy and his alpaca

A boys choir in the Cuzco main square

A Shaman and his apprentice son preparing the traditional "despacho"

Shaman and his assistant offer the despacho to the fire on Dec. 22, 2013

Truck drivers hauling machete cut logs to rebuild the fallen road in the Amazon

Uros Man paddles the traditional reed boat on Lake Titicaja

The "Knitting Men" of  Taquile Island, Lake Titicaja

Husband Alfredo looks on as wife Isadora receives a gift, Amantani Island,  Lake Titicaja

Taquile Island boy, Lake Titicaja

Taquile Island elder, Lake Titicaja

Professional guide in Arequipa, Peru's second largest city