Independence Day in Cusco

Don ...Don ... De ... De ...De ... Don ... Don! Music boomed from trumpets and saxophones as they paraded around the main square, dominated by uniforms.
Guns and machine guns were held by every member of the armed force. Mortars and Howetzers set everywhere. There were people on the jeeps and people just walking, people that marched and people that just sung.
They marched on and on waiting for the signal to stop. The parade stopped and the forces stood completely still. We looked around to see everyone looking skyward so we looked up as well. We saw two men abseiling (repelling) off the roof of a buildin. As they did so, a gigantic Peruvian flag unfolded itself and looked amazing.

Independence day in Cusco on PhotoPeach



So after all of this in the heat of the day, we walked back to our hotel and guess what Zahn found ... 500 soles(250 NZ). We didn't know who had dropped it and we didn't hand it into the police because it we did they would have taken it and kept it for themselves. So lucky old thing got to keep it.
That night we went out for dinner. We saw a girl with her nose pressed against the windaw and her bulging eyes staring at the food left on tables. So when the customers had left, she and her little brother walked in, slid into the table and ate the food. Dad showed them more food, bought them an Inka cola each and they both sat down, enjoyed the meal and walked out with grins on their faces. Not knowing when their next meal would come they went outside, still dirty, to sit in the cold.
But as I sat there, with our table packed with food and us dressed like kings and queens beside our parents, I noticed the poverty of the life these children had. No parents, no opportunities, all dirty and sad. My luxurious life and them with nothing. By Amber