Although Julie is lookin’ mighty sexy in this picture, the title refers to the rock ruins, remnants of an Incan fortress called “Sacsayhuaman” in Quechua. It’s unbelievable how the massive boulders fit together to form a flawless, fortified puzzle. The Incans built Cuzco, the heart of their empire, in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman as the head. I understood why as we climbed to the top and gazed across the entire city. The surrounding mountains echo every sound, from a dog barking to a car braking.

There are a bunch of other ruins scattered outside the city, but we didn’t want to be numb by the time we see the Mother of them all. Furthermore, it’s impossible to avoid Incan remains when walking around modern day Cuzco, especially the ancient walls that are incorporated into newer ones.

As we walked down a cobblestone path into the main Plaza de Armas yesterday morning, we were totally confused. It was packed with people, mostly students marching around, waving banners and kicking in a bizarre militaristic style. We had just come to photograph the churches and colonial buildings, but we were soon lost amidst a colorful crowd. I approached a passing local and asked, “What’s going on in the plaza?” He responded indifferently, “Always something. Today? I don’t know.”

I’ve only been here two days, but I see the man’s point. Cuzco is full of movement, mostly aimed toward the large backpacker population. The people are certainly more aggressive than in Bolivia, flashing postcards in our faces and stuffing massage pamphlets in our hands. By the end of last night, I had enough nightclub cards to wallpaper my room. At Sacsayhuaman, there were ladies dressed in traditional clothing standing by llamas. Or rather, posing by llamas. I asked one lady what they use the animals for, and she had no shame in saying, “Pictures.”

So it goes on the Gringo Trail. The hotspots in South America are by no means low profile; it’s amazing how many times we’ve run into the same people. Everyone wants to check out the best places, but no one wants anyone else to be there. It’s a funny sort of “I hate how there are so many tourists, even though I’m one of them” mentality. We all want to have that untouched town to ourselves – full of indigenous people in loincloths who won’t charge for a photo because they’ve never seen a camera before. It’d be nice if it had an internet café too.

I can’t wait for tomorrow, when Julie and I get off the Gringo Trail and on to the Inca Trail. We’ll be hiking towards Machu Picchu for the next five days, so, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to take my last shower and enjoy a real meal – I hear guinea pig is the Andean special.