A miner holds a nugget of mercury mixed with gold. The mercury is used to extract gold from river sludge. Rodrigo Abd/AP hide caption
Peru
Greenpeace activists stand next to massive cloth letters next to the hummingbird geoglyph at Peru's sacred Nazca lines. The Peruvian government is pursuing criminal charges against the activists. Rodrigo Abd/AP hide caption
With 13 angles, a stone has been found by researchers in Peru that could undermine the famous 12-Angle Stone that has drawn thousands of tourists. Peru's Ministry of Culture hide caption
Cuy, or guinea pig, one of the traditional dishes from the Andes. Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato hide caption
During the rainy season, a canoe is a handy vehicle to have in the waterlogged Peruvian neighborhood of Belen. Courtesy of Dave Ohlson hide caption
In Peru's annual Blood Festival, a condor is tied to the back of a bull and tries to gouge its eyes, while the bull attempts to shake off the giant bird. The event is popular in many parts of the country, but conservationists say this threatens a bird already at risk. Mollie Bloudoff-Indelicato for NPR hide caption
Dave Ohlson speaks with potential patients in a market in Iquitos, Peru. Courtesy of Dave Ohlson hide caption
An aerial view of the Caral-Supe site. Chris Kleihege hide caption
Potatoes come in all colors, like these Red Erik, Snowball, Cariboo, Purple Peruvian, Caribe and French Red varieties. David Cavagnaro/Corbis hide caption
Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot as he arrived for a court hearing earlier today (Jan. 11, 2012) at the Lurigancho prison in Lima. Ernesto Benavides /AFP/Getty Images hide caption