Peru is South America's geographical triple-threat with beach-front desert fronting the Pacific, the Andes mountains (the second-highest range in the world), and dense Amazon rainforest. It's also astonishingly beautiful with craggy peaks, lush greenery, lakes the color of aquamarine and sapphires, and so many very (very, very) cute llamas and alpacas.
It's also a mystical wonderland for travelers. There's the aerie of Machu Picchu and the wonder of the Nazca Lines carved in the desert, excursions amid the treetops of the Amazon, and the cities of Lima, Cuzco, and Arequipa, where you can visit museums by day, then dine of world-class cuisine and sip pisco sours by night.
In this episode, we explore Peru's history and culture, then recommend six books that capture Peruvian magic: two memoirs that illuminate Peru's enchanted landscapes, two cookbooks that explore the culture and fusion cuisine, a detailed account of Incas vs. conquistadors, and a gorgeous novel of friendship and adventure. 
Books we discuss include:
The Last Days Of The Incas by Kim MacQuarrie
Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams
The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon by Andrés Ruzo
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
The Fire of Peru: Recipes and Stories from My Peruvian Kitchen by Ricardo Zarate, Jenn Garbee
Ceviche: Peruvian Kitchen by Martin Morales

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2020-11-30-peru. 
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