We were happily brunching on cinnamon French toast and a bacon mushroom scramble in one of Cusco's many gringo joints today when we met 10-yr old Manuel.He approached our table with a smile, "You are American? George Bush is no good," he stated plaintively. "Why are you here? For rest and relaxation?"Oh, and did we want to buy some hand painted note cards?

I told him that he was a very good salesperson to which he replied that I was a good person too.When I asked how he could tell he continued his pitch - "because you buy from all the kids here."Usually I'm a toughie but Manuel had me there and we bought two note cards after a bit of bargaining. It still surprises me how many kids here work; we've had child waiters, chefs, shoe-shiners and guides.

Overall Cusco has been an interesting experience. I was here 3 years ago on a short trip to climb the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and was struck then that the number of tourists outnumbered the local population, but didn't think it tainted the city's considerable charm. This time after being offered art, tours, food, and especially massages over and over I wanted to print a shirt reading I DO NOT WANT A MASSAGE. Maybe I'm just jaded from traveling for too long or maybe after seeing places less affected by tourism Cusco and Machu Picchu just feel a bit Disneyland-like.

Also there's the fact that everything is muy muy caro. The hostel I stayed at 3 years ago for $20 is now charging $45 for a private room. The tourist ticket, which does not include entrance to the main cathedral or Inca museum, costs $40. We've spent much of the past week boycotting overpriced ruins and churches, preferring to spend our time and money supporting Cusco's many cafes and restaurants ;) I have to admit that we're a bit hypocritical as far as travelers go: We don't want to pay a lot for a standard room or museum entrance but have no trouble springing for a gringo breakfast on occasion!

We did suck it up and book the $100 round trip train ticket to Machu Picchu - it had to be done. The ruins were every bit as spectacular as I remembered, although reaching them after a train and bus ride rather than the infamous 4-day uphill trek wasn't quite as memorable, or as painful!

We did go on a great hike the day before in Aguas Calientes, the town next-door to the famous ruins. We had been warned that it was a bit steep but weren't prepared for the vertical ladders we encountered. I got over my initial fear of climbing up the ladder only to realize we would have to get down those crazy things somehow! After 1000 ladder rungs up and down we felt some serious gratitude just to be alive and on tierra firma.

Tonight we're escaping tourist central for Arequipa in southern Peru. After a few days there we plan to head to Lake Titicaca and then into Bolivia. We are probably going to have to modify our route to avoid some of the provinces that have seen escalating violence in recent days as the mostly upper class opposition clashes with Evo Morales' indigenous government. But if we're careful to avoid certain areas it sounds like the worst thing we're likely to face are road blockades and travel delays. And we've heard great things about Bolivia, including the fact that it's quite cheap - welcome news as we near the end of our trip. So we'll keep you posted!