Author: Bob Benz

Ever since I returned from Machu Picchu, I’ve seen tons of mentions and coverage of the sacred Incan site. Most recently, the New York Times Magazine had a piece yesterday on a tug of war between Yale and Peru over artifacts from Bingham’s “discovery” of the site.

Other curious mentions:

Cameron Diaz visited the ruins and managed to offend many Peruvians with her fashion statement, a bag that featured a picture of Mao and one of his spiffy sayings. Given the havoc the Shining Path and its Maoist crap have caused in Peru, it’s little wonder she saw fit to apologize for the incident

Another New York Times piece on Choquequirao, the “other Machu Picchu,” which is much less crowded. It drew this spirited letter in defense of Machu Picchu’s honor. I completely agree with the letter writer’s assessment.

Not to be outdone by Cameron, Bill Gates made the scene, apparently managing to get in and out without creating a fashion faux pas.

And finally, I’ve been getting almost weekly e-mails from “Dennis of Cusco,” one of the street kids Wes and I met while we were there. I gave him my e-mail at the time, declining to buy any of his postcards and never expecting to hear from him. But he’s been dutifully sending me e-mails about is life and times in Cusco. It’s awesome. He gets to practice his English and I get inside accounts of what it’s like selling postcards on the streets.

Small world, indeed.