The campaign for the Amazon to be elected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature is being led by…Peru. It is fitting, perhaps, that the majestic river shared by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela, is being urged to a new level of greatness by the country where it has its origins — at the foot of Mount Quehuisha in the Peruvian Andes.
At a press conference yesterday, Sergio Markarian, coach of the Peruvian football team and leader of the Amazon Peru Official Supporting Committee, said, “I wish the Amazon will be chosen as a natural wonder.” Markarian was joined by the President of the Loreto region, Iván Vasquez, and Peru’s deputy Minister of Tourism, Claudia Cornejo Mohme. If Markarian’s wish were to come true, Peru would have two wonders to its name, as Machu Picchu was voted one of the Official New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
For Peruvians wishing to vote via SMS for the Amazon, it’s as simple as sending AMAZONA to 9966 (cost PS1.70).