Standing in front of the plaque in the name of Hiram Bingham, at the entrance to Machu Picchu. He is the American scientist who showed the world Machu Picchu.
I pointed to the plaque, saying to Siavosh & Andreas "Oh that's the guy that discovered Machu Picchu!" All of the sudden an older Peruvian man said in good English "He did not discover anything! Machu Picchu has been here for thousands of years"
He was partly right, but I didn't like what he said, because MP as a settlement only existed for less than 600 years and the scientist opened up the glory of MP to the rest of the world. So I said "After all, we're here because of him".
In retrospect I should have given the Peruvian man respect for the glorious accomplishments of his ancestors and left him with his pride. But he has moved on and so have I. The mini-clash of civilizations at the entrance to Machu Picchu ended without a satisfying conclusion for either side.
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