Day 6 Rising above the crowds

As much as we are enjoying this adventure we were struck today by the paradox of modern tourism. Cuzco, as the ancient Inca capital and the gateway to the site of Macchu Picchu is a hybrid of ancient cultures and modern western tourism. Sadly at times western tourists seem to have turned this place into an Inca Disneyland. Cute kids on the street carrying a baby goat turn nasty when the tourist tip for the photo is not high enough. Old women in traditional garb huddle outside a 600-year-old church begging for coins. A kid in the street, expecting a fee stops us to tell us not to miss a crucial 12-edged ancient stone in the wall standing for over 500 years without mortar. As much as we don’t like the tourist “thing” at the same time we are tourists. But an afternoon walk takes us up the hill to where locals live and tourist are rare. Here locals gather in a square next to a church. They buy and sell, they meet and interact, the kids play and community is real. Women spin and weave as they have done for generations. Higher still, we see kids and dogs and ducks in a back yard. We see a picnic in a dusty park under (would you believe) gum trees. Further up the hill we notice squatters building on a cliff with little regard for occupational health and safety. And the highlight of the day we witness a young boy proudly carrying his evening meal
– baked guinea pig.