My maternal grandfather, Captain Luis Pio Campos Vargas, of the Peruvian Army, had seen action in the armed conflict with Ecuador of 1941. Later, during my childhood in Lima in the 1950s, he would visit us every so often, and typically stay for a few days.

One day, he thought of a project in which be believed passionately. Our house had a large patio, with a white-colored wall limiting with the neighbor's house. He painted a huge map on the patio wall, depicting the limit between Peru and Ecuador, as decided shortly after the war. A large sign above the map read: "This map should be in plain sight in all military posts, schools, and colleges."

It was my grandfather's way of expressing how proud he felt of having served his country in time of war.

Poechos Dam spillway, Piura, Peru.