Thursday, February 05, 2009

a splash of color from cusco

above: lots of stray dogs in cusco.  don't be surprised when you see more dogs (or animals, in general) in my photos!!! hehehe.


above: so, it may seem like nothing, but let me do an image/geographical breakdown for ya...we are a fair distance, above the main plaza (and the majority of the city).  the altitude in cusco, is roughly 11,203 ft...that may mean nothing, but let's do some comparisons...

cusco is about double the altitude of denver...

better idea of how altitude effects people...here, in southern illinois (my place of longtime living), it's REALLY easy to walk up 2 flights of stairs...in cusco, it's f'in hard to walk up 1!

yeah, yeah, yeah, that's nothing, w/ the exception that these guys, above, are friggin' playing a soccer game.  let me tell you, if walking up a flight of steps is hard, i can't even imagine how quickly my wee heart would explode if i had actually played w/ those guys while i was there!

above: a common sight, this little girl is one of many who wanders the streets, looking for someone to take un foto.   usually, these kids dress in native attire, and are accompanied by baby goats or llamas (they're easier to carry); as well as friends who are similarly dressed.

after taking their photograph, it's typical to pay un sol por un foto, for their service, unless there are multiple people in the image, then it's un sol/person.  (1 sol = 33 cents).  

today, there had been a protest (something that occurs often in the city)...unfortunately it began to rain during the best part of the march -- the people were burning a full size dummy that resembled the peruvian president (they were comparing him to former-president bush).  though that last bit has little to do w/ rain, it's a fun sidenote!

oh yeah, this is the plaza de armas (the main plaza), and this is what it looks like wet! (them stones is slippery, don't lett'em fool ya!  ie: crocs are bad shoes to have when this happens!).

francisco, a remarkably kind hearted man, who not only sells beautiful textiles around town, also spends time as a shaman. 

(insert me knowing more about shaman's and shaman rituals here)

actually, i lied, the one we had done, a despacho -- it's an offering, used as a way to cleanse the space in which you live, and to ask for good blessings for future goals/projects/life plans/etc).

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