Off the Sidewalk

…and here are some of my paintings.” Strolling the Plaza de Armas in Cusco is like running a obstacle course. Every few feet we are approached by one or more people trying to sell us something. Saying “no, gracias” becomes as natural as saying “buenas dias”. Some of the kids have a unique approach, like the boy claiming to be Picasso, offering us some “original” paintings from the stack he produced from under his jacket. Then there was Milton, a boy selling postcards who asked where we were from. When he heard California, he listed the facts he knew of our state: capitol is Sacramento; governor is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Next time we´re asked I´m going to say we´re from North Dakota and see what happens. Other sellers are pushing finger puppets, handmade dolls, carvings, anything and everything a tourist might want, but not need.

Today we toured the hilly area northeast of Cusco. Saqsaywaman (pronounced “sexy woman”) is an incredible Incan stone fortress covering many acres. The gigantic stones assembled there by Incan craftsmen fit together perfectly without mortar. An overwhelming accomplishment, standing in the presence of the magnificent stones is a moving experience. Similar to the giants on Easter Island or the pyramids in Egypt, it´s impossible to comprehend how something so huge could be formed and transported to the site.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 7th, 2006 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.