Various Things, Returning to Cusco

There are lots of little interesting things to see on a bus trip, that don't belong in any one category.  The bus itself was like any Greyhound bus.  The roads, on the other hand are not.  Our worst roads are not as bad as most of the roads we've been on here, even the paved ones.  So no matter how nice the bus is, you're still getting bounced around a lot.  You wouldn't want to be prone to motion sickness!


The tour we were on for Ollyantaytambo had 18 people on it, but all of the other ones were a maximum of 10, and once just 4.  We've had one so-so guide, one pretty good guide (excellent knowledge but walked way too fast and we kept losing him), and two extremely good guides.  They really knew their stuff and you could tell they weren't just reciting facts and figures, but talking from in depth knowledge of their subject and the area.


Did you know that Peru gained its independence long before Canada did?  I think our guide yesterday said it was about 1820, but I'm not exactly sure.


Now for some photos:

Bromeliads growing on the hillsides were very common in this area.

Mosses growing on the roof tiles.  We saw various plants and cacti growing on rooftops.  It's a very dusty area and when the dust piles up deep enough, things can grow in it.  We saw the same things happening in China.

Couldn't resist!!!  Actually, it's an election sign.  This was the candidates first name, the rest is hidden by the vegetation.  During an election, instead of putting up paper, cardboard, or wooden signs, they just paint them on the side of buildings and walls.  In a lot of places, just about every flat surface is covered.  The election was over a couple of months ago, so obviously they don't go back and cover them over.

Soccer/football game.   The women on these teams come from neighbouring villages to compete.  Don't you just love their uniforms?  Our driver was kind enough to stop and let us take some photos.

The goalie.  These are Quichua people.  In actual fact, there are no Incas.  The Inca was the ruler and the people were Quichua (or Kichwa or Kechua).  It was the Spanish who started calling all of the people Inca.  The play-by-play of this game, over a loudspeaker, was in Quichua, not Spanish.  It is only in the last decade or two, as schools have been built in local villages, and the children are being taught Spanish, that these people are starting to use anything other than Quichua.

Wouldn't you know it would be almost dark when I finally found an agave actually blooming! 

Just because.