Thereīs an election on! Actually round 1 was last Sunday and with no clear winner itīs gone to round 2. Thereīs a whopping big fine if you donīt vote in Peru so itīs a big deal. Everybody had purple thumbs on Monday. The taxi drivers Iīve been able to chat with mostly support the military candidate, an ex-general who stands for stability and (people hope) less of the massive corruption thatīs normal here. One of his qualifications is that heīs never been a governor or senator. Thereīs also a woman whoīs seen as a successor to Fujimori (who started out well but got mired in the same corruption as everybody else) and another guy who was president before Fujimori while the economy was going to heck in a handbasket. I think that Ollanta, the ex-general, will win round 2. [Follow-up June 9: nope, Garcia picked up Lourdes' supporters. Says he'll do better this time round.]
On the Sacred Valley tourist track, which includes Cuzco and Machu Picchu, it is of course business as usual. Although most of the big money goes to interests in Lima and agencies with foreign ownership, thereīs enough slopover with the smaller businesses, taxis, shoe-shiners, kids with knitted llama finger-puppets etc. that tourism has managed to have a positive effect anyway. My first few days here were tough - the poverty is real but how many knitted llama finger-puppets do you need? Well maybe a few more.
Industrial tourism or no, Machu Picchu is still worth going to. The whole valley is stuffed with other sites that are all interesting and different, but Machu Picchu has them all beat for natural setting. The Incas must have had calf muscles like nobodyīs business.
I did manage to get a bit off the tourist track by staying a night in a town with no ruins. Urubamba is of course incredibly poor but the people donīt seem hopeless. I got some of the backstory talking with a British woman who was here as a volunteer a few years ago, back now to be godmother to a friendīs baby. My view now is a mix of my first impression and her information. Peru does tend to grab onto people who visit and hold them.
Itīs not holding me though, not unless the clouds and wind shut down the airport this afternoon - which apparently happens. Fingers crossed.
My best to all,
-Sarah