Photo Story — Connecting with the reality of Peru

Reality of Peru From Afar Photo Story

There’s no doubt that Peru holds amazing wonders such as Machu Picchu, the Rainbow Mountains and the great city of Lima. Yet, you will see poverty everywhere you travel in Peru. In June, I went with a university group to experience this reality firsthand of everyday people in the city of Lima, where the economical gap between rich and poor is astounding.

In order to preserve las Huencas de Pachacamac (a prehispanic archaeological site), the Peruvian government had to put a barrier to stop invasive houses from constructing more houses over this archaeological site.

Students practice traditional dances in a school located in San Agustino, one of the poorest districts of the city of Lima.

These are poorly built, invasive houses that were made during the migration of the people from the mountains of Peru to the City in search of a better life.

For extra security in the neighborhood, a lot of communities have gated entrances with a guard or a person in charge of supervising who goes in or out of the community.

A lot of people that live in those poor neighborhoods don’t have access to water and depend on rivers to wash their clothes or do their dishes

The battery of the van that was transporting us around dies and with the strength of the group we pushed the van so it would start.

This statue is known as “El Beso” (or the Kiss) and is located in “Parque del Amor” in Miraflores, Peru. Apart from the magnificent statue, this park have a view to the Pacific Ocean and many food trucks and attractions worth visiting.

This is were we spent our final day, enjoying some of the attractions of Peru.The entire journey was very humbling and thought me that kindness is found in every part of the world no matter the situation of the country. Even though the economical gap is immense in Peru, I was always treated with love wherever I went. I definitly recommend anyone to explore this manificent country.