We Love a Parade

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  Cusco, Cusco, Peru
Friday, May 9, 2008

Running out of days and dollars, some tough decisions have had to be made. Top of the list is Machu Pichu in Peru, the Takesi Inca Trail in Bolivia, the famed train to the clouds (if it´s running) in Argentina, and getting home. So we decided we didn´t have the cash to visit the canyons on the off chance of seeing a new variety of condor. Instead we turned up at the plaza in Arequipa on our second morning, looking for some juice and bread from the supermarket there for breakfast.
It was a glorious, sunny Sunday, and two thing immediately struck us. Firstly, the supermarket was closed. Secondly, the whole plaza was filling up with military personel. We did the only thing we could do - went up on the balcony of a trendy restaurant overlooking the square for a leasurely breakfast and an excellent view. It soon became apparent this was the May Day parade. The first was Labour Day here, so naturally it was celebrated next weekend with lots of brass and guns.
The regular army, special forces, military police, various brass bands, national police, naval and airforce units assembling weren´t a big surprise. But it didn´t stop there, not by a long shot. There were the youth brigades aspiring to various military positions, the Lions club, pretty much the whole university, including admin staff. There were doctors, nurses, and school children. Special mention, though, must go firstly to the pharmicists, who were by far the best civilian goose-steppers, and also to Nicholas, who got a blushing wave from a women in an assembling airforce unit.

Many well pressed uniforms

The one group I felt sorry for was the riot police who, presummably like every other year, were on crowd control (and you can imagine how well the crowd behaved, significantly out-numbered as the were). Always the bridesmaid, never the bride...
And then to Cusco. Certainly, it´s all going on here. Probably 90% of westerners who come to South America will come here, largely to see the formerly lost city of Machu Pichu. A city of only 350,000, formerly the capital of the Inca empire and built on top of it, in recent years tourism has created a high pitched frenzie of all the money which can be made. I get the feeling if I stop at a shop window for too long I´ll be stripped down for parts. Within 2 hours of arriving we´d had 4 people try to talk us out of going to the hostal where we had a reservation (including the taxi driver, which is standard), been offered cocaine twice, and been offered numerous ´massages´, free drinks, meals, paintings, postcards, woven goods, shoe shines, phone calls (people make livings selling cellphone calls on the streets), tours, and train tickets. In the main plaza it is about 40% gringos, 50% hawkers and 10% locals, so about half the population there is after you. Every other shop proports to offer ´tourist information´, and the silver and jewellery stores in the centre are mostly equiped with ATMs inside. The climate is so competitive that a ´no, gracias´ is rarely enough on the street, and lately I´ve sometimes struggled to not follow it up with comments like ´you´ll have to catch me first´ (particularly shoe shine boys), and ´yeah, but life´s tough´ when pursued. I do particularly feel for the school kids who get sent out in the afternoon and evenings - selling cigarettes or postcards or sweets, or girls dressed up in traditional costumes hanging around central city street corners with their alpacas hoping for paid photo opportunities.
A highlight yesterday was going to a Peruvian food evening put on by the South American Explorers´ Club (the set menus are often very dull and sanitised), where we have also taken advantage of some great travel advice and a good book exchange. Tomorrow we take the train to Aguas Calientes (lit. Hot Waters) at the foot of Machu Pichu, which we´ll see on Sunday. Then we´re headed for the small villlages of Ollantaytambo and Lares, relatively off the beaten track, to see rural peruvian life in traditional Inca constructed villages. Also to take a break from the thick and fast hawkers and Inca ruins.
We like - trying on woolly hats - so many patterns and styles of knitted hats, so little time!
We don´t like - the way the resident dealer in the alley (one of the many old streets to narrow for vehicles) leading up to our hostal has to stagger against you before offering you drugs - he doesn´t go for the pockets, but he also doesn´t look very clean.

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Well discaplined secretaries	Arequipa by night	Cuzco	Cuzco - check what´s written in the hills

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