I´ll have to entice you a second time with promises about sex and disease for another week. Today I write from Santiago, Chile. About 1,200 miles and at least one and half worlds (in a development sense) from Peru. If I recall correctly you´ve done time down here. So perhaps this is old hat to you. But the differences between the two countries harken questions about humanity, equality, and yes, even, raw fish. I suppose a PhD would better suffice to truly comprehend differences in economic development. Chile is all first world roads, parks, achitecture, and a subway system that makes MTA feel obsolete. Peru is all lack of clean running water, tuberculosis (since last weeks lesson), and want want want. The border crossing is more drastic than San Diego - Tijuana. So whats the story. Probably mostly has to do with the lack of an indigenous population in Chile (whatever did exist was quickly decimated). Peru has always had millions of underattended, discriminated, and continually forgotten lower castes (darker shades to be precise). It is this 60% of the Peruvian 30 million who live by and large far below the poverty line, often out in the mountains where clean water, schools, and hospitals are still not being built for lack of a tax base (the governments wax exstatic about decentralization, but I suspect that just means more tax revenue diverted to their pockets - literally (See Alberto Fujimori)). Futhermore, Chile has exerted its dominance over the region in a series of wars (most notable in 1879 where it fought against the poorer Peru and Bolivia, took the Peruvian capital, and what was left of the Bolivian coastline for good - thus relegating Bolivia to a landlocked, portless, economically enslaved country which continues to this day to be by far the poorest in S. America.). It seems every profitable business in Peru (movie theaters, car dealerships, grocery stores) are owned by Chileans (only the phone company which literally disables communication is owned by the Spaniards). Visiting Chile now (to run my fourth marathon - which I did yesterday in a time of 3 hours 52 minutes - keeping me on ice for most of the day yesterday and preventing this email from being scribed until now), those differences are intense. It´s gorgeous. A valley embraced by mountain ranges on each shouder, hardly a vista exists without breathtaking repercussions. The streets are lined with sunny parks, people dress the business part and signs of abject poverty are rare. But it was not until I sat to eat a meal with some Chilean friends did I realize how all-encompassing Chilean continental domination was. I asked what the specialties were - the food and drink I cannot leave Chile without savoring. My hosts´ responses - Pisco Sours and Cebiche, to my agape amazement - the national drink and food of Peru!