At first, Michael thought this sign in the Cuzco airport was funny. He wanted to upload it to the "Epic Fail" website. Then we realized some people really were ill at that altitude and needed oxygen. But Michael, raised at the high altitude of Bogotá, did well.
Walking in Cuzco is like overlooking a park at a crossroads. You see so many different people you are sometimes not sure what country you are in. There are groups of Germans, and French tourists, people of various Latin american countries sprinkled in, and an unexpected number of Japanese. "Too much English!" we observed.
(note: The Japanese are apparently crazy for Andean music--look on YouTube for Bolivian music with Japanese messages (or even Bolivians playing IN Japanese malls)
Among the lugareños you see the whole range of dress; from hawk-nosed Quechua men wearing baseball caps to men and women in the same ancient styles they wore during la conquista.
Tourists tend to be considerate of their conservative hosts and you don't see spaghetti straps or short shorts.
