There are 1000s of different potato species.

Did you know that potatoes came from Peru? I feel like we learned that in World History one year, so when someone told me that this summer, my brain went Oh yeah. Anyway, the people here know it and they really love it too. And they really love the potato: it's in almost every dish I've had since arriving a month ago.

The Incans or pre-Incans were the first to domesticate the potato some time between 8000 and 5000 B.C. Then they fell in love. We, myself and the scientists, believe that Spain brought the potato back to Europe some time in the 16th century while they were conquistadoring down in Peru. And then the world fell in love with the potato.

Today there are thousands of distinct species of potato and all ones I've tried down here have been pretty great. I'll be eating some great french fries—which are served at tons of meals—only to find they aren't french fries at all, but some potato-cousin-fries.

Peru, I'd like to thank you.

Temple of the 3 Windows.

It's easy to look at Machu Picchu and think Wow, I can't believe how intelligent and organized you'd have to be to have created such an incredible place. Machu Picchu leaves you with this sense of awe because you see what human beings are capable of achieving. It's really an incredible place—it's insanely great.

The people behind the place are even more incredible, even insanely greater.

The Incans created an empire throughout what is now Peru through the traditional means of conquering but also through showing people a much superior way to live. This lifestyle that they believed in and lived was based on three tentpole guidelines:

1. Don't Lie.
2. Don't Steal.
3. Don't be Lazy.

(The Temple of the 3 Windows served as a reminder of these three tentpole guidelines. You can find a Temple of 3 Windows at most Incan ruins for this reason.)

They boiled down, sifted through, and condensed the secret of life to just three guidelines. And it really worked for them. If you think about it, those three guidelines can well guide you through the day. The Incans and their empire were a testament to these beliefs; plus, they extrapolated on them.

The Incans had taxes, like all societies, but their taxes were a little different; your tax was a month of work per year for the empire: "Don't be Lazy." And the work was tough, but not what you think. There was constant music and plenty of food—not the slavery most societies have subscribed to. In fact when the Spanish came, they wrote of Incan work by noting that it was organized, joyful, voluntary, and that the workers sang as they works. Through this tax of work they were able to build incredible places such as Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman as well as build a free new home for every newlywed couple.

As I learned all of these things during our Machu Picchu tour, I was more and more impressed by the Incans. They really had things worked out. It's a little paradoxical that the Spanish were similarly impressed as they wrote again and again about how great and organized a society the Incans had, but then the Spanish turned around and killed and conquered that great society. It's a shame. These people were great.

This is really what Machu Picchu looks like. I took that picture. That's crazy, and it's crazier to be there. The place is so much bigger than you expect—pictures don't really do it justice. It's also supposed to be an energy vortex, a place where a considerable amount of positive energy emanates from the earth. I can believe that. It was a very peaceful, take-a-deep-breath kind of place.

Anyway, our guide led us into Machu Picchu and showed us a good view, a better view, and a best view of the ruins (the above picture is from the best view). We were happy that our guide rushed us pretty quickly past good and better, because by the time we got to the best view most of the other tourists—it was kind of sad to be a tourist again—were stuck at the previous two spots.

Actual Machu Picchu.

Along the walk to the best view Cosme, our guide (who has written books about Machu Picchu), told us about some of the interesting history of the ruins. Probably the most interesting tidbit is that we know very little history. When it was found in 1911 the natives who showed it to Hiram Bingham had only come across it 7 years earlier, in 1904—and they were only that far up in the mountains because they were avoiding taxes. They didn't know what it was, when it was made, or what the city was for. In fact we don't even know it's real name; Machu Picchu is actually the mountain in the picture to the left. Everything we know about Machu Picchu has come from archeology and good guesses.

What we've got so far is that the city was a place where the elite lived as well as couples who were planning to get married. For the couples, the city was a testing ground. In Incan culture you had to live together for one year before you could get married—Machu Picchu was one such place that you'd live together because obviously a potential-married couple isn't going to go out and find their own plot of land just to test their relationship. After the year, if you made it, you would actually be given a plot of land and other Incans would come and build you a house on it. As for the elite, they were what you'd think: political and religious leaders as well as very skilled people.

We also know that the city would have been brightly colored in red and yellow because archeologists have found evidence of paint near the walls and buildings of the city. It would have been an even crazier-awesome place at its height, which coincidentally was only 500 years ago. Because Machu Picchu is only 500 years old!

Woman making chiriuchu.

First let's talk about "chiriuchu." It's the main food at the festival that I'm about to talk about. It is chicken, tortillas, rice, other stuff, and whole guinea pigs! Guinea pigs. If you look at the above picture you can see the guinea pigs off to the left. They still have their teeth.

No festival is complete without tons of live music.

The Corpus Christi festival was two Thursdays ago. I don't know what it's a festival of, I just keep hearing that "it's very Catholic."  Anyway it consists of TONS of people, throngs of them, carrying huge statues of saints around the Plaze de Armas. The place was packed. And some of these saint statues were threatening to crush the 20-30 people who were hoisting them around. No procession would be complete with out music and flags, and Corpus Christi is in no short supply of either.

A bunch of people at the Corpus Christi Festival.

During the festivities, one saint caught my eye. This saint rode a horse, how chivalrous. This saint was also crushing an Incan. You have to ask "why?" And I did. What happened was the Incans had the Spanish surrounded, so many 100s of years ago, in the very plaza that the saint statues were being carried around in now. The Incans had a sure victory on their hands until… this saint--Saint Sebastian I think--came storming in on a horse from somewhere and started just destroying Incans: crushing, stomping, slashing. Now this was a saint! And the Spanish ended up winnning this battle and Saint Sebastian was ever remembered as an Incan crusher. Can you imagine! Let's see that pass as politically correct in the US, shall we.

The saint, crushing an Incan.