I think the rains in Cuzco are starting early this year. We’ve had occasional rain for the past month or so. This morning I woke up to a fabulous view over the mountains to the South.
I snapped a few pictures while walking the dogs this morning. The pictures don’t do justice but the view was wonderful with some of the mountains shrouded in clouds and a good bit of snow on the higher peaks. All of the snow was gone by mid day, here in Peru you have to go really high to find perpetual snow.
View towards the “Valley of the South”. The snow on the mountain was gone by mid day.
Looking down over Mariscal Gamarra in the direction of the Cuzco airport.
Overlooking the park in Mariscal Gamarra, Cuzco.
In the distance (click on the picture to see full size) you can see a number of houses on the far slopes of the mountains. Cuzco is beginning to have a very serious problem with ugly expansion. I think most of those houses are considered “illegal” (no building permit, no land title, lack of utilities). One of these days when I have more time I want to do a post on Cuzco’s ugly expansion – which is a colossal failure of the local authorities. I don’t want to be judgmental to the people who live there (everybody needs a place to live) but the next big earthquake that hits Cuzco will be an unmitigated disaster due to the substandard/illegal construction on the sides of the mountains surrounding the city.
Ready for breakfast after our morning walk
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Don’t believe everything you read on the internet:
Since we’re sort of on the subject of dogs, kind reader Carrie sent me a message a while ago that somebody had stolen a picture of our dog Manchita off this very blog and used it in on a fake Facebook “Pitbull rescue site”. The site has since been taken down but I managed to save a screenshot. This person was using pictures of dogs they found online, inventing names and stories and soliciting donations for their “rescue” of course.
A picture of my dog that was put on a fake Facebook Pitbull rescue site.
Life in Peru 
Is that really a pitbull? They are considered super dangerous vicious dogs here in OZ. They are always in the news for killing little kids, old ladies and other people’s dogs! Must say Manchita doesn’t LOOK too dangerous – but then again appearances can be deceiving!
We found Manchita as a stray so we can’t be 100% sure but we think she looks like a “Blue Pitbull”.
The problem with Pitbulls is not their character but all the B.S. that exists around the breed. I have no problem owning one or having any other responsible person own a Pitbull but in my opinion the problem with Pitbulls is this:
1) Many people still breed them to fight, which is dangerous and illegal, but it still happens.
2) Because the Pitbull has this image of a “bad dog”, people who want a “bad dog” (drug dealers, criminals, insecure young men, etc) like to own Pitbulls. Needless to say people who want to own a “bad dog” shouldn’t have any dogs at all.
3) In the US everything has to be such a black and white contrast now. So as Pitbulls got a bad reputation the people on the opposite side who defend Pitbulls go to totally absurd lengths to perpetuate this fairy-tale that the Pitbull is a nanny-dog (just Google “nanny dog”). A Pitbull in my opinion is not aggressive or any more dangerous than any other strong dog (Doberman, Rottweiler, German Shepard, etc) but people who want you to believe that a Pitbull should be treated like a Poodle are not doing the breed any favors either. Pitbulls are strong dogs, they will definitely become protective if they feel their home or owner is in danger, and they most definitely are liable to fight other dogs (but so are most terriers).
Long story short I don’t think there is any reason a responsible person shouldn’t own a Pitbull but you have to treat them with the respect that they are a big strong dog. I never let ours run loose off a leash, we never leave the dog unattended with strangers or kids, we never chain her in a yard (they know they can’t get away so they are defensive when chained in a yard and approached).
The problem with Pitbulls is not Pitbulls but people who want a “fighting dog”, people who want a “bad dog” or Pitbull nuts who are so naive they want you to believe you can treat your Pitbull like a goldfish.
Speaking of illeagle houses, did you here about the 437 illeagle homes they found built in the Sacsayhuamán archaeological park?
Illegal building in the Sacsayhuaman archeological park has been an ongoing issue for at least as long as I’ve been here (5 years now). I don’t follow the news closely but I regularly hear about these “houses” that just pop up over a weekend – or at least that’s the excuse the local authorities use for saying there’s nothing they can do to stop it. What the local authorities could do to stop illegal and substandard construction would be to build some roads and utilities, implement some master planning to allow building of quality residential areas. I’m not advocating US-style (sub)urban crawl but everybody needs a place to live.