Cuzco and The Broken Camera

Our weekend in Cuzco had to be documented with Jacob's camera only, because I was getting our zoom fixed. We are back in Cuzco now after our trip to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu this week and so I will worry about them first.

Cuzco was a suprisingly cool city. I thought all the tourists would make it too... touristy, but I'm really glad we've got to spend time here. It's very beautiful. That said, man oh man is it touristy. And why are there 3 people on every block selling massages, 10 minutes free? Every restraunt will hound you to go in when you walk by and there may be even more knit hats for sale here than in Arequipa. It's kinda unpleasent how the police all walk around with their oozies pointed at you and riot gear on. And how there is all of a sudden a McDonalds in the main Plaza. Not many of those around, luckily. Gillian and Jennea got some awesome boots, one pair brown, one pair orange! The Incan stonework from 500 years ago still serves as the foundation of many buildings, but you have to be careful: If you stop too long, someone will start telling you about it and want money in exchange. Also, people walk around town in traditional dress with llamas and sheep in hopes that you will snap a photo. Then they got ya. You owe them 30 cents, crap! Sometimes they can be very pushy and whinny about it, "Si, amigo, si... Si, un sol amigo, si, un sol..."

So after arriving at 5 am on Saturday, we set out for the ruins before the ruin Monday afternoon; We began our pilgrimage to Machu Picchu (but in a non-hippy way. Like in a cool, we're-a-little-smarter-than-you-jerks way.)