At first sight I thought this was an remarkably progressive city, embracing the gay community like no other place I had seen before... that was until I realized this:
gay flag...
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The dots on the map show the site of Sacsayhuaman, statue of Jesus (Cristo Blanco), and the Plaza de Armas (the main square, and back in Inca times; the absolute center of the empire) with to the south with the rest of the city.
Below, you can see somewhat of what I'm talking about... sectioning off the paying gringos from the locals, and with a good buffer too! The mountain (and crowds) rose up behind me, and wrapped all the way around to the left... this is hardly half the audience.
I apologize for the small size, but once again I have to tell you that I'm working on getting some gallery representation for all my panorama's taken on this trip.. this being one of them. They will look amazing large and in print.
We sat for hours and watched the show best we could, also managing to get sunburnt although the sun only popped out for about 20 minutes... must be something with that UV thing I mentioned... oops.
Anyone order a truck-load of cops?
The infamous 12-angled Inca stone.
The whole wall (make sure to view large).
Church of La Compañia, Plaza de Armas
La Catedral, Plaza de Armas
gay flag......Cuzco flag
I'm sorry, but I hardly doubt I'm the only person who thought that!
Anyway, the day started with a 2km trek from Cuzco city up the mountain to the site of Sacsayhuaman ruins (all the touristas seems to just call it "sexy woman"), as that's where the Inti Raymi show would take place for the day.
This is where I get critical... there were hundreds of thousands of visitors (90% local) who sat around the festival site on the hills around, who were playing ball, eating, and spending a festivous day with the family to mark this festival of the sun that marks winter solstice.
The only thing blocking the view was a horribly massive tribune in the shape on the L, where all the f$%*ing tourists sat. Now get this... the price to sit there was OVER $200!
Although us gringos help the Peruvian economy with tourism, this is just a complete outrage, especially if you consider 44.5% of Peruvians live under the poverty line.1
Because of this atrocity, the police and even the military are in high numbers surrounding the site and city during the festivities, just in case some locals realize how unfair it is to take away a several century old celebration and milk the gringos with it.
This is where I get critical... there were hundreds of thousands of visitors (90% local) who sat around the festival site on the hills around, who were playing ball, eating, and spending a festivous day with the family to mark this festival of the sun that marks winter solstice.The only thing blocking the view was a horribly massive tribune in the shape on the L, where all the f$%*ing tourists sat. Now get this... the price to sit there was OVER $200!
Although us gringos help the Peruvian economy with tourism, this is just a complete outrage, especially if you consider 44.5% of Peruvians live under the poverty line.1
Because of this atrocity, the police and even the military are in high numbers surrounding the site and city during the festivities, just in case some locals realize how unfair it is to take away a several century old celebration and milk the gringos with it.
View Larger Map
The dots on the map show the site of Sacsayhuaman, statue of Jesus (Cristo Blanco), and the Plaza de Armas (the main square, and back in Inca times; the absolute center of the empire) with to the south with the rest of the city.
Below, you can see somewhat of what I'm talking about... sectioning off the paying gringos from the locals, and with a good buffer too! The mountain (and crowds) rose up behind me, and wrapped all the way around to the left... this is hardly half the audience.I apologize for the small size, but once again I have to tell you that I'm working on getting some gallery representation for all my panorama's taken on this trip.. this being one of them. They will look amazing large and in print.
We sat for hours and watched the show best we could, also managing to get sunburnt although the sun only popped out for about 20 minutes... must be something with that UV thing I mentioned... oops.
Anyone order a truck-load of cops?
The infamous 12-angled Inca stone.
The whole wall (make sure to view large).
Church of La Compañia, Plaza de Armas
La Catedral, Plaza de Armas 
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