Trivial 'Peru'suit

These are some mundane shots from the streets of Peru, but stuff that I found interesting enough to stop and take pictures of anyway. You dont get to see these everyday, well, north of the equator atleast. Click on the pictures for enlarged views.

Mobile moneychangers in the Miraflores district, Lima, Peru.
These guys walk around with loads of currency. I almost mistook them for traffic cops at first!


Cola truck, San Blas neighborhood, Cusco, Peru.
Inca Kola is a popular local drink. Tastes like Dr. Pepper spiked with cough syrup!


Do you.. Yajuu?! Cusco, Peru.


Streets often have both spanish and quechua names in Cusco, which was the capital city of the Incas. After the invasion, the Spanish razed the old city and founded the current one. Hence many buildings such as this have the original Incan stone base with brick and mortar on top.


Another example of bilingual street names. The apostrophe is pronounced as a 'click' in Quechua, the language of the Incas. Quechua really doesn't have a script, and is still banned in schools. But it is the main language of the Peruvian Andes, and is widely spoken around Cusco.


Bata shoe store, Cusco, Peru.
This seems to be a common sight in south america, which was strange to me since I always assumed Bata was an Indian brand (not my fault - every street in India seems to have a Bata showroom, Bata even sounds like the Hindi word for son 'Beta', so I thought it was just like Tata!). Turns out it is a 'Czech' brand, now based out of Canada! Prff.


Inca trail to Machu Picchu, late afternoon, Day 1.
We came across this soda stall after hiking through 10Kms of wilderness, and they take plastic money! There would be nothing but the trail for the rest of the trek.


Well, that's it for now. Teaser pictures of Machu Picchu coming up tomorrow. Hasta Manana!