The Sacred Valley

Today, I was at the Festival of the Virgin Carmen in Pisac in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. There was music and dancing in the central square, and celebratory hats were being passed out to all of the kids for the occasion. The interesting part is that the hats were just large ads for the local beer. I guess they like to get to them young here. Next year watch out for the Marlboro ponchos.

One of the customs here between the tourists and the local people is that when a tourist takes a picture of a local they give them a sole or two as a gratuity. Today I saw an American couple give some locals their unused Doublemint gum as a tip. Don´t take the picture unless you are ready to pay the cost, or better yet, give them the 20 sole note you refuse to get off your ass and get some change for. These people need to double their income, not double their pleasure.