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  Cuzco, Peru
Sunday, September 21, 2008

Weīve been in Cuzco for 2 days now, and have gotten a little cold. Itīs kicking us around more than it ought to, because I donīt think either of us have ever met this cold before. Itīs good for you guys, though, cause instead of sightseeing, it means I can laze around in the internet cafe and give you some more useless observations. Hereīs one now-

Peruvians do not own suitcases. Or any bags of any kind. Not even plastic grocery bags. For they are on the cusp of blanket technology. Anything can be carried with a blanket! Letīs say youīre on your way to see your great aunt in the mountains and have the perfect gift for her-an enormous piece of outdated electronic equipment, like a top loading VCR. It might be a little uncomfortable to hold in your lap for the entire 8 hour bus ride (although this doesnīt stop some), so what to do? Wrap it in a blanket! Throw it underneath the bus! Itīs just that easy! What about those 50 pound bags of fishmeal you bought at the market this morning? Back + blanket and youīre ready to go? Bale of hay to transport? Blanket that sucker! Goes without saying that the only way to hold a baby in public is in a blanket on your back. Useful until age 6-7.

Who carries this stuff around in said blankets? Big strong body builders? Young virile men in the prime of their life? How about a husky 12 year old, even? Nope, these blanket packages (at least the enormous ones) are carried exclusively by 4 foot tall ladies in the 40-85 year range. The packages are almost invariably twice their size, and itīs obvious from their posture that theyīve been doing this all their lives. When they get done carrying the enormous sack of fertilizer back to the homestead, theyīll spread it in the field and plow, plant, and pick it too. The men seem to be very busy hanging about in front of tiendas and slurping soup next to me in the comida popular (cheap restaurants i like to eat in, cause im cheap). Oh, and watching the soccer game in the TV store.

Tourists have no idea how to dress themselves. I know Iīm not exactly fashionable down here, but at least Iīve kept it to basic black and understand that, being in a 99% devout catholic country, itīs probably not polite to go bouncing cleavage everywhere and showing folks my nasty hiker toes. Some people donīt seem bothered at all though, and run around in shorts, sandals, and tank tops. This, as far as I can gather from the frequency with which Iīve seen the locals donning this attire, is the peruvian equivalent of leaving the house in sock garters and a smoking jacket. Do they care? Donīt seem to. Iīve seen people eating in restaurants I couldnīt possibly afford, much less the average resident, dressed in sweatsuits, basically. No shame.

I hope you guys understand these observations are all made in the best of humor, and hope you can read them with the same attitude. If not, then I donīt want to hear it.

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