Alpaca

Maybe so, but their beans are delicious.

 

A city that has 8+ million people and one of the hottest economies in SA is avoided by its own people?

I will be the first to say that the air quality is not the best and that is due to fact that most cars run on diesal gas. I have traveled enough not to compare places to the US anymore though so I got over that pretty quickly. Mabe I am just used to it here now. Besides, much of the public transportation down here has switched to natural gas for fuel (something their counterparts in the US should do) and that has improved air quality somewhat.

When did you visit Peru?

 

According to the few Peruvians I know, yes. Of course, part of that is because the natives feel like outsiders in Lima due to that old cultural clash with the Castilians who dominate there.

About six years ago, but some quick googling showed that Lima was still up to 9 times worse than the air quality standard established by the World Health Organization as of last year, meaning it's still one of the worst in the world. Some of it is just geography, since the Andes trap pollution on that side and there's not enough rain to clear the air regularly. The rest of the country was breath-taking, although it took me a while to get used to the altitude. I really envy you being able to go there so often.

 

Speaking of breathtaking, Peru has it all. We are actually going to try and retire here whenever that time arrives. Until then I want to have home in the States and one in Peru so we can live the perpetual summer. This country has snow capped mountains, beautiful beaches, incredible sand dunes, the Amazon jungle, and the cost of living is extremely affordable although that is changing with the growing economy.

As far as the air quality, I guess Peru still is a third world country but life expectancy is comparable to the US and the family bond is so much stronger here. I still love the US but can definitely see myself living in Peru.