CUZCO! (…or is it cusco?)
today ushi (the sentra) and i finally made it to one of the two major destinations of the trip: cuzco! (the other destination is iguazu falls). the inca stonework really is quite amazing and it’s nice that, as far as i can tell, the knockoffs are pretty obvious…..so you can appreciate the originals even more.

driving into cuzco is a bit overwhelming. it’s a densely packed, stone filled little city. the central area is very easy to manage by foot…but a bit more difficult by car (at least at first). in most cities i follow the major flow of traffic…hoping it will lead me to a major destination (such as the central plaza). here, i followed cars so i could know which streets were passable for cars and which weren’t. like in parts of europe, many streets are barely wide enough for cars. after driving around peru, i think we need to invent a new mode of transportation…in some parts of nepal, they’re using ziplines instead of building costly roads…interesting idea.

SOUVENIRS
souvenirs in peru are, for the most part, very nice and very affordable. instead of the ‘i heart sf’ shirts, they sell intricately carved gourds and nice paintings. so what’s the downside? EVERYBODY sells the same stuff…so it loses it’s value. even in lima, they sell the same stuff. why do we need thousands of identical stores selling the exact same stuff at the exact same price? it’s really ashame — i’m ok buying mass-produced products (iphone, etc.), but mass-produced art work just doesn’t sound right. also…where are the inca wall puzzles? seems like a good souvenir idea, no? 3d or 2d puzzles which interlock like the walls…not like traditional puzzle pieces.
finally, at one of the artesanal markets (‘artesanal’ is used loosely), they had a cool visa card reader, which is shared by all the stands….not a bad idea.

BEMBO’S BURGERS
like in n’ out, bembo’s seems to have a passionate local (peruvian) following…and is better than mcdonalds…but is just another hamburger chain (like in n’ out). they wear these really dorky wool hats. well…that’s what i thought at first. then i saw some of their artwork on the wall, illustrating their hat in different styles (lichtensten, warhol, etc.). then i liked the hat. now i want to buy one. i guess advertising does work.