From Deepest Darkest Peru.....

It took me a while to decide what I should share as my first post....so much to say...so little time!

After some thought....I decided I'd start by sharing a bit about what makes me, me.....and the recent 50th Anniversary of Paddington Bear had me reminiscing about where it all began in my life....of my native homeland...Peru!



A Peruvian I am, however, I left when I was 4 and actually grew up in LA and Sydney....and despite not having grown up in Lima, two trips back there during my teens, allows me to assure you that apart from the terrible smog....Lima, where little Paddington is supposed to be from...is not deep and dark.....AND.....it got me thinking....I've known Peru is famous for its Spanish and Inca heritage....for its llamas, alpacas,"The Condor Pasa" and other Andean music, ceviche( yum yum), the Nasca lines, etc.....BUT....BEARS?

No fellow Peruvian has ever spoken to me about native bears!
Does Peru have any bears at all?


So the homeschooling mum in me did the next logical thing and made this question part of our homeschool studies today....Are there Bears in Peru? Could there be Paddington 'primos' (cousins) back home that I had never heard of?


Research proved that Paddington's creator originally made Paddington's homeland as Africa...thus he was to come from 'deepest darkest Africa'.....however, his editor soon put him straight on the fact that there were ...no BEARS... in Africa!

Thus.....little Paddington was made to come from Peru...andj the 'deepest darkest' bit was just too good to let go of...

Answer to the question:

Yes!

There actually are bears in Peru....Blow me down! Never knew myself!

They are actually the Spectacled Bear, called this because they have a curious white fur coloring around their eyes that looks like they are wearing spectacles....they are actually an endangered species and were once highly respected by the Incas and native tribes...sadly...modern man's developments and poaching has made them a rarely seen animal, striving to survive in the most remotest parts of the Andean areas of South America.

Little is known about their behaviour in the wild! In fact, they are the only South American BEAR !

So there you go....Paddington Bear...the most famous Peruvian... was actually teaching me something about my own homeland without me even realizing....and here I thought it was just another fancy of the wild English/Gringo imagination (nudge...nudge...wink...wink), like the awesome mexican music that was being played in the background of the scenes of the Last Indiana Jones movie when he was supposed to be in Peru......uhum...

Alas...Isn't there always something new to find out about ourselves?
And...Isn't it great to look forward to finding them out....
Great to build on the good and strive to deal with the bad and the ugly!

God Bless!