Cuscenos, weaving and a dog

Lots of Cusco locals dress in native garb, some for tourist work, some because it's who they are.  And many dress in normal western clothing.  Their native costumes are varied, and pretty fantastic -- the area is clearly into weaving, and they do quite intricate stuff.

These are ladies for hire for photos - and get pretty much business.  Skirts are woven bands sewn together.

Sales ladies taking a siesta.

Cusco clothing and area hat.  Not especially flattering, in part because there are 2-3 underskirts.

 

Typical couple, warmer day, sitting in the park.  Typical hats, although her flower addition is special.

These typically dressed (everyday clothing) ladies were walking through the park together and noticed something in the tree here, stopped to take a look, then went on.  Pigtails tied at the bottom is the norm, as are these hats for everyday wear.

This trio was selling weavings similar to the ones sewn on their skirt hems.  The visible packed baby has one leg hanging out and was eating corn kernels.

Cute kids abound in Peru.

The school kids are mostly all in uniform, surprisingly different from one school to the next and nice looking.  Their authority figures (teacher, admin folks) often have a slightly different shade of the school's colors in their uniforms.

School uniforms contain a hat component here.

We happened onto an annual weaving exhibition, and the attendees were stylin' for the conference.  Their clothing is mostly woven.

Their standard hat shapes made fancy for the occasion with woven bands, rims, and woven shawls pinned on.

His poncho had inverwoven tinsel and sparkled in the sun.  This was the only male weaver we saw.

Backstrap looms in use.

Seemed like old friends, just getting set up. 

 There was also a contemporary weaving exhibition, amazing stuff, plays on the traditional weavings.

 

 2-D weavings of standard themes, with a trompe l'oeil 3-D look.

And this is the Peruvian hairless dog, midsize -- looks a little like it's been frosted with a light dusting of fur in places.  Not a warm-looking, beautiful dog. 

We're taking a 4 day trip into the Manu jungle reserve (Andean Cock of the Rock! clay-eating parrots!) in the eastern part of Peru, leaving tomorrow, and we'll be off the grid for awhile.

We've been on the road for a little over 4 months, and have hit a wall of sorts -- perhaps its the altitude and oxygen (3400m, over 11k feet), perhaps it's Cusco, perhaps other stuff, but life on the road feels, and is surprisingly different. We felt like we'd adjusted well and relatively easily to Quito (2850m) and Cuenca (2,500m) and other high locales, and it's hard to parse what's going on, but it'll be good to be in an area, the jungle, with more oxygen, to see how much that is a factor in our malaise.  This is surprising, undesirable, unfamiliar territory.  : \