stir deep intellectual interests. The visitor may come to enjoy the well-serviced comfort of modern life. His fancy will soon turn to the Spanish Colonial period, with its haunting relics of gracious and charming life and he is off to Cuzco. Then the spell of the deep past grows upon him, and he may seek the stone ruins of Machu Picchu or Sacsaihuaman. At no city in the world does dinner-table conversation cover a greater expanse of time and space than in Lima. The twenty United States newspaper and magazine writers who went to Lima had brilliant and unforgettable experiences. Peruvian International Airways showed them how a big four-engined airplane can make a one-day passage from New York to Lima with exact timing and complete comfort. The Peruvian Santa Corporation introduced them to the marvels of river harnessing and hard rock tunneling at the famous Pato Canyon hydroelectric project. The Corporación Nacional de Turismo ushered them into the matchless Alpine scenes and archeological mysteries of the Machu Picchu region. The President of the Republic, Dr. José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, twice welcomed the press party to the Presidential Palace, and was photographed with the group beneath the four-centuries-old fig tree in the patio. The writers received cordial welcome also at beautiful Torre Tagle Palace from Dr. E. García Sayán, Minister of Foreign Relations. On the fraternal level, Peruvian newspaper-men arranged a country barbecue-the traditional pachamanca-at the Hacienda Higuereta for their North American colleagues. The National Association of Peruvian Newspapermen (Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú) offered a banquet at the Country Club which One of the central squares in Peru's capital, called "The City of the Kings." Part of its tourist potential derives from the contrast between the old and the new. This Christian church rises on ruined walls of the great Incan Temple of the Sun. The picture shows how beautifully the ancient inhabitants of Peru cut and fitted stones, building walls without mortar. brought out most cordial expressions of good will between press men of two continents. El Comercio gave a cocktail party, and every newspaper of the city welcomed the writers to its offices and facilities. An incident on the trip to Machu Picchu typified the good will attending the press visit to Peru, and also the courtesy that countless other tourists may expect from common people. Arrived by autocarril at the narrow-gauge railway terminal, in the deep gorge of the Urabamba Canyon, the party transferred to horses and mules for the three-mile ride up the steep zig-zag trail to the ruined city. The animals were two short of the number needed. Without saying a word, a Peruvian newspaperman and a professor of the University started ahead on foot, taking breathless short-cuts to keep pace with the riders. Despite many appeals shouted to the Peruvians at each turn in the trail, they refused to take a turn on horseback. In the final mile of the journey, the walkers by great physical effort outsped the riders. At the mountain-top the two Peruvians greeted the Americans upon arrival with a brief ceremony and formal remarks of welcome fitting the place and spirit of the occasion. It was clear that they had supremely exerted themselves to extend welcome to Machu Picchu in a spirit worthy of the Inca himself. RUINS OF MACHU-PICCHU, AN INCA REFUGE IN PERU Awe-inspiring archeological marvels perch on a mountain peak in a majestic setting. |