Country Spotlight: Peru

So beginning today every Thursday will be a Country Spotlight.  Obviously, there are enough countries to last for a quite a while.  But, I thought that this would be interesting...

Peru, a South American republic, is located on the western coast along the Pacific Ocean.  It shares borders with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Chile to the south, and Bolivia and Brasil to the east.
Peru's climate is extremely varied, depending on which region you are in.  In the west, the coastal region is very dry and hot.  In the east, the jungle region is hot and humid.  In the central region, the Sierra, it can be pretty cold.
The ethnic groups in Peru are Amerindian which makes up about half the population, mestizo, white, black, Japanese, and Chinese.  Spanish is the official language of Peru, but Quechua is widely spoken throughout.  Roman Catholic is the major religion in Peru.
The history of Peru is somewhat depressing.  The Incas (see: previous post) were the reigning peoples in Peru, hence the Amerindian populations and the speaking of Quechua.  In the 16th century the Spanish empire invaded and conquered the Inca empire, hence the mestizo and white population, Spanish as the major language, and catholic as the major religion.
It is interesting to see that most of the colonial-age buildings were built upon the ruins of the Incas.  Cuzco, for example, is a museum of a city which displays the original Inca stone bases with colonial Spanish white buildings built on top of them.

Pretty much whenever Peru is mentioned the first thing that pops into mind of most people is Machu Picchu.  These hilltop ruins are reminiscent of the events of the past.  There is quite a reverent spirit that lays upon the ruins.  I would extend an invitation to all who have not been to Peru or Machu Picchu, to put it on their list of things to do before they die.  It is extremely amazing!