Peru grows thousands of potato varieties
Peru cultivates over 3,000 potato varieties, and the potato was domesticated in the Andes around 8,000 years ago.
Author not specified in the imported source
Peru · The Americas
External reference (site language): Peru ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Hakuna matata
Hakuna matata: there are no worries.
Swahili phrase
Africa · Africa
Attribution reproduced from the source, not authenticated.
Machu Picchu was never found by Spain
The Spanish never located Machu Picchu, which is why its stonework and terraces survived largely intact.
Author not specified in the imported source
Machu Picchu, Peru · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Diner coffee refill
The waitress topped up the cup four times without being asked and called everyone honey. The pie was better than any restaurant we ate at that month.
Author not specified in the imported source
Nevada, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Inca walls survive earthquakes
Inca masonry fits without mortar and is designed to shift and resettle during earthquakes rather than crack.
Author not specified in the imported source
Cusco, Peru · The Americas
External reference (site language): Cusco ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Pole pole
Pole pole: slowly, slowly. The pace that gets you up Kilimanjaro.
Swahili phrase
Africa · Africa
Attribution reproduced from the source, not authenticated.
The Nazca lines are best seen from the air
Some Nazca figures stretch 370 metres and were only fully appreciated once aircraft flew over the desert.
Author not specified in the imported source
Nazca, Peru · The Americas
External reference (site language): Nazca lines ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
A town of eleven people
The sign said population 11. The bar was open, the man behind it was also the postmaster, and he knew exactly where we were headed before we said it.
Author not specified in the imported source
Nevada, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Rainbow Mountain was under ice
The striped mineral colours of Vinicunca were revealed only recently as the glacier covering it retreated.
Author not specified in the imported source
Vinicunca, Peru · The Americas
External reference (site language): Vinicunca ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Route 66 remains
Half the towns on the old road are closed and half are museums about being closed. One motel owner has been repainting the same neon sign for thirty years.
Author not specified in the imported source
Arizona, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Bolivia has two capitals
Sucre is the constitutional capital while La Paz holds the government, making La Paz the highest seat of government on Earth.
Author not specified in the imported source
Bolivia · The Americas
External reference (site language): Religion in Bolivia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Inshallah
Inshallah: if it is meant to be. A useful attitude when the bus is four hours late.
Arabic phrase
Africa · Africa
Attribution reproduced from the source, not authenticated.
Salar de Uyuni becomes a mirror
When a thin layer of water covers the salt flat, it reflects the sky so precisely the horizon disappears.
Author not specified in the imported source
Uyuni, Bolivia · The Americas
External reference (site language): Salar de Uyuni ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Yosemite in the dark
We hiked out under a full moon without torches because the granite reflected enough light. A ranger told us afterwards that this was either wonderful or irresponsible.
Author not specified in the imported source
California, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Bolivia holds huge lithium reserves
Beneath the Uyuni salt flat lies one of the largest lithium deposits on the planet.
Author not specified in the imported source
Uyuni, Bolivia · The Americas
External reference (site language): Mining in Bolivia ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Mañana
Mañana does not always mean tomorrow. Sometimes it just means not today.
Spanish saying
Americas · The Americas
Attribution reproduced from the source, not authenticated.
Lake Titicaca has floating islands
The Uros build and maintain islands from layered totora reeds, adding fresh reeds every few weeks.
Author not specified in the imported source
Titicaca, Peru and Bolivia · The Americas
External reference (site language): Lake Titicaca ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Fog rolling into the bay
It came over the hill like water going down a drain in reverse. Ten minutes later the bridge was gone and it was ten degrees colder.
Author not specified in the imported source
San Francisco, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Chile is over 4,300 km long
Chile stretches from desert to glacier over 4,300 kilometres but averages only about 180 kilometres wide.
Author not specified in the imported source
Chile · The Americas
External reference (site language): Chile ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Getting off at the wrong stop
We got out at 125th instead of 116th and ended up eating the best food of the trip while waiting for the next train, which we deliberately missed twice.
Author not specified in the imported source
New York, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Atacama is the driest desert
Some Atacama weather stations have never recorded rain, and NASA tests Mars equipment there.
Author not specified in the imported source
Atacama, Chile · The Americas
External reference (site language): Atacama Desert ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Tranquilo
Tranquilo: relax, it will happen, and worrying will not speed it up.
Latin American saying
Americas · The Americas
Attribution reproduced from the source, not authenticated.
Atacama skies are the clearest
Dry air and high altitude make the Atacama the best place on Earth for optical astronomy, hosting major observatories.
Author not specified in the imported source
Atacama, Chile · The Americas
External reference (site language): Atacama Desert ↗
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.
Bluegrass on a porch
Four people, four instruments, no sheet music and no audience except us and a dog. It went on for two hours and nobody announced a single song title.
Author not specified in the imported source
Appalachia, USA · The Americas
Imported text; story or fact not individually verified. A reference may provide background only.