I've finished writing about our adventures, but I still have some picture left that did not fit into any of the narratives, but still tell the story.
Within a few minutes of walking in Lima we started seeing entrepreneurs. People selling something. Most were waved off with a "no, gracias." Very few pushed beyond that. No one was ever aggressive, just persistent.
In Lima everything was too new to even think about giving someone money. There were shoe shiners offering to shine my Chacos. For a better pair of shoes, we should have said yes. The roads are very dusty, so our shoes would look better. Plus, everyone feels better being paid for a service rather than being given a hand out.
In Cusco the opportunity to buy something was in carts between the hotel and the cultural center of town, and beyond. As we waited in Cusco for our flight to Lima I brought up the topic of carts to Don, Ruth, and Bill. Ruth and Bill have traveled to Central American countries before and are familiar with tuk tuks (pedicabs) and the cart culture. Besides, it was a topic of conversation.
We listed the following types of carts:
- Prepared foods: cut up fruit, empanadas, churros, corn on the cob, cakes, prepared snacks, ice cream, ham sandwiches, geletin
- Produce: watermelons, avocados, broccoli, coca leaves (helpful with the altitude), small eggs (pigeon? quail?), strawberries
- Toys: metal cast VW bugs, cards
- Shawls, hats, alpaca stuff
- Household goods: cleaners, toilet paper
- Souvenirs
- Cans of soap (for Carnavale)
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