Today is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples! When the European colonizers arrived in the Americas, the indigenous population was diminished by 80–90% within the first few centuries mainly due to epidemic diseases the new settlers had brought with them. The colonizers destroyed indigenous empires and butchered natives to capture gold and land. … Read more
It was late morning. Somewhere in the Highlands of Peru, the sun had just emerged from the fog. I was huffing and puffing on a steep uphill when a voice hit my ears, “Hola, amigo! (Hello, friend!)” I turned around and saw a woman, carrying a white chicken in her hands and baby wrapped in … Read more
Part 2 of Peru Independence Day July 28. Women of Peru, I saw them in many roles. Roaming the streets and mountains of Cusco with alpacas and baby sheep for some photo money. Pacing along with guide horses at 5000m altitudes, carrying babies wrapped in the shawls on their backs, wearing sandals made from recycled … Read more
Dear Peru! you were my 4th country between Argentina and Alaska. Today, when people ask me, “what is your favourite country from the entire trip?” I struggle to name a country, but in my head, I see vivid images of your majestic mountains touching skies and the road twisting and looping in them. It was … Read more
I see a swami talking to an indigenous man in colourful regalia—a Christian priest shaking hands with a Sikh—a rabbi talking about the need to overcome the ongoing Islamophobia—and a Muslim scholar condemning the recent terrorist attack on a synagogue. Hundreds of people sit together on the floor of the Langar Hall and share communal … Read more
This particular drum I have here is made out of a buffalo. We never harm an animal to make our instruments. We never harm an animal to make our outfits. We never take feathers from a bird that’s alive unless it comes off a nest and falls to the ground. Then we put down tobacco … Read more
[stag_dropcap font_size=”80px” style=”normal”]A[/stag_dropcap]s I stepped down from the bus, my head spun like a top. I barely managed to stay on my feet. I had just finished a tour of a tequila factory where I was invited to taste the samples, but that proved too much for me. This town is so well known for … Read more
As I cross the gate I feel as if I have entered a concert arena and suddenly someone has turned the volume up on my arrival. I close my eyes for a moment and as I slowly open them I see million dots of light flicker and sway left to right in different rhythms. Instead … Read more
The cathedral square in San Cristobal de Las Casas is a popular spot for both residents and visitors. Friends and families come here to pass time; couples lie in each others’ lap; indigenous women with babies on their backs and handicrafts in their arms walk all day long from one person to another and plead … Read more
Somewhere in the Guatemalan Highlands, there is a lake which goes by the name Lago Atitlan. Considered by many the most beautiful lake in the world, the Lago Atitlan is surrounded by a number of Maya villages, with Santiago de Atitlan being the largest of them. In Santiago de Atitlan, an elderly man guides me … Read more
© 2012–2022 Kamran On Bike. All rights reserved.
