"Why Don't You Have Texas Twang?"

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“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

Basically I have been just wandering around Cusco and seeing what I can see. It doesn't take much looking to see something. I just start walking and run into stuff.

Everywhere I go there seems to be a celebration. Cusco is the celebratin'-est place I have been!

Before I got here there was a celebration called Corpus Christi. There are fourteen cathedrals throughout Cusco. Each church has a rather large statue of their patron saint. During this time all the statues are at the main cathedral. OK, so I thought that I missed all of this. But now it was time for all the saints to go marching back to their own church. this procession lasted two days with much fanfare. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like this and mere words cannot describe what has been going on for the past two days.

While the whole celebration is Catholic, the activity taking place dates back to Inca times. I believe it was the Spanish way of bringing Christianity to the Incas.

All day and night a marching band would all of a sudden march by or there would be an unexpected street dance on a corner and fireworks would appear out of nowhere. Last night one church celebrated with the typical meal of "cuy" (guinea pig). Many families would set up tents outside their church and cook this meal, anyone could go and purchase their meal. there were tons of tents (I just stumble upon this). there was lots of drinking, dancing and eating.

On another note, one thing that I can't seem to get is peace and quiet. You cannot just sit in the Plaza and relax without people trying to sell you stuff! They just come around and sit with you (SIGH!). No I don't want to buy a gourd rattle, a "painting", sunglasses, a poncho for rain, hats, gloves, rugs, get my shoes shined, or get a massage. Not only that if you say "no" they ask "Why not?" I just don't want to.

Now it is getting so that people recognize me. "You said 'maybe' the last time". I don't think I did. They even see me on the street and say "hi" when they are not selling. It is so funny.

Some of them are very friendly and are dying to speak English. They can't understand how I am from the U.S. and can speak Spanish. They seem pretty amazed. Everyone is "my friend" too. You just can't make eye contact. I am now afraid to walk in the plaza because I am going to be recognized as the one who "MIGHT" buy a painting. LOL

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