Saludos de Cusco

Mariana and I have been in Cusco for nearly a week. I got sick the day we arrived and spent a day and half in bed. I let my guard down and ate some raw vegetables...a definite no-no when travelling in developing countries. I am almost fully recuperated now though and am being very, very cautious with regard to my diet.

Cusco is a beatiful ancient city with lovely colonial and Inca architecture. It reminds be of the medina´s in Morocco a little. A lot has been going on here politicaly and culturally. I´m sure everyone has heard about the troubles in the Peruvian Amazon brought about by the Peruvian Congresses´ decision to hand over indigenous lands to multinational corporations for oil exploration. People have been killed in the Amazon and there are solidarity demonstrations all over the country, including Cusco of course. The protests here, as in most other cities in Peru, have been peaceful, but the population here is really agitated. There are also protests near Cusco over water rights and we have heard rumors that Machu Pichu may close. Two weeks ago protestors blocked the main road to Machu Pichu and shut down travel there. Mariana and I will be leaving tomorrow for Ollantaytambo where I will be working. It´s on the road the Machu Pichu,so it will be interesting to hear from the residents there what´s going on up here in the Andes.

July 24th is the winter solstice here, called Inti Raymi, and Cusco is gearing up for a major celebration. We won´t be here unfortunately, but I imagine there will be festivities in our village as well. Every day in the Plaza de Armas (the center of Cusco) there are processions and other cultural activities; in fact, there is a major dancing festival going on right now. July seems to be festivities month here. The mayor of Cusco actually asked the leaders of the social movements here to not spoil the fun of this month with protest marchers. Guess how they responded.

Hopefully the village of Ollantaytambo has an Internet cafe so I can send dispatches from there. Hasta luego.