Mira la gringa loca corriendo en las calles

Translation: "Look at the crazy white girl running through the streets!" That was pretty much the look I got from both the locals and the tourists as I ran through Cuzco this morning. I was just itching to get some exercise in, and what can I say, it is a great way to explore a new city very quickly. Seriously though, at these altitudes it was really rough going, but it felt great. Cuzco is adorable, but swarming with tourists. Today I visited the cathedral and La Compania, another major church in the center of town. The cathedral in particular was very impressive (see picture below), constructed from stones taken from the Incan sites and brimming with gilded altars. More than anything I marveled at the influence of Christianity on human history over the past 2000 years. Seriously, can I name one major city in Europe, the US, or Latin America where a church is not one of the top sites to see? St. Mark´s in Venice is still my favorite.

Really though I just like to roam around the cities, see what the locals are doing. I have a ton of pictures, like these of people sitting on the steps near the cathedral and two adorable little girls eating ice cream on the Plaza de Armas.