Who: Lucretia Bingham
Date: November 15, 2023
Topic: Invaders of an Ancient Culture: Conquistadors, Explorers, and Tourists in Peru
Time: 5:30pm Reception | 6:00pm Presentation | 7:30pm Member Dinner
Cost: Members are Free | $20 non-member zoom or in-person access
Location: First Congregational Church of Old Lyme
Join us for dinner: Old Lyme Country Club immediately after presentation
The recently ousted president of Peru came from the altiplano of Peru, a vast austere landscape dotted with the rare wild vicuña, and their more plentiful cousins, llamas and alpaca. In the high mountain valleys, far from roads, the Quechua still maintain a symbiotic relationship with their animals as they have for thousands of years. Their culture, though threatened, survives. But these people and others who service the tourist industry were angry that their chosen leader was expelled. This outrage fueled the recent outbreak of political unrest. My talk will delve into the history of conquistadors, explorers and tourists in Peru, and how and why the indigenous culture still survives despite these incursions.
For many years, Lucretia worked as a food and travel writer. Her pieces have appeared in Vanity Fair, Savour, Travel and Leisure, and very frequently in the Travel Section and Magazine of the Los Angeles Times. But her most favorite assignment was for Condé Nast Traveler. They sent her down to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps. He was Hiram Bingham, who in 1911 brought the world’s attention to Machu Picchu. She camped where he had camped, and trekked to many ruins that he had discovered under layers of vines. In recent years she had returned many times to Peru, leading trips there for CT Audubon Ecotravel. Ms. Bingham is the granddaughter of Hiram Bingham who rediscovered Machu Picchu. She has walked in her grandfather’s footsteps along the Inca trail and has explored exotic locations as a writer and painter.