2006.12.20. Meshuga Nutcracker at Seattle Rep, a Hanukkah musical. Simple stage, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music and some Klezmer songs, loosely knitted 8 stories. 8 actors for the 8 candles on the menorah, some of them have pretty good voice. However, this production is not as good as what UW students' drama or opera performances.

2006.12.16. Seattle Women's Chorus 's holiday concert "Ho Ho Ho, Fa La La, Ha Ha Ha" at UW's Meany Hall. The special guests Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt were fabulous. Their comedy sketches were hilarious, but some not suitable to children.

2006.12.14. Seattle City Hall. Seattle Opera's Bravo event, a panel discussion about the next production "Don Giovanni". Not very interesting. Had sushi before and chocolate afterwards. However, no fish in the sushi, chocolates were too sweet. Gusty wind and rain making the traffic terrible, and bus routes were in a disarray. It took me 40 minutes on the bus to go from work to barely downtown (I walked the rest). Would be 20 minutes to walk.

2006.12.5. White Christmas at the 5th Ave Theater. Frequently changed stage sets, sumptuous costumes, synchronized dances (lots of tap dance, and my favorite is the piano number), and of course, the treasured Irving Berlin's songs. The fun ends in a sparkling "snow fall".

2006.12.3. Cornish College of the Arts' Peer Gynt project at Ned & Kayla Skinner Theater.
Part I: Norway and the Troll Kingdom, directed by Sheila Daniels. The play ran a bit less than 2 hours, ending at Gynt's departure after his mother's death. Peer Gynt was portraited by three students (one of whom is a girl), often at the same time. Quite nice songs and simple dances. No stage sets, primitive costumes.
Part II: The Sphinx and the Onion, directed by Robert Leigh. No stage, no costume, chaotic. The kids tried to be comic, only made things harder to understand. Less clearly articulated. Ran for 3 hours, with Gynt's reminiscence of his past as in Part I.

2006.11.24-25. Winter Camping, first time in my life. Leftover Thanksgiving meal cooked in snow made a perfect warming stew. Wine and candles (crazy idea to have brought them up), flying snow flakes, blissfully calm.
Woke up with ceiling dripping with condensation, and the interior volume reduced to half, as the snow has piled up on the top of the tent. Serene, pristine, blindingly bright. Trails were almost completely obliviated by the overnight snowfall. On the way out, met a few cross country skiers, despite the snow. Maybe lured by the sunshine in Bellevue?

2006.11.16. Seattle Symphony

Arild Remmereit, conductor
Seth Krimsky, bassoon
Grieg: Selections from Peer Gynt
John Williams: The Five Sacred Trees, Bassoon Concerto
Schumann: Symphony No. 1, "Spring"

The conductor is energetic. Memorized the entire Peer Gynt. John Williams' piece sounds so dissonant, complete changed my perception of him, which was mostly based on his melodic soundtracks.

2006.11.15. Bravo Club event at Columbia Tower's 76th floor. Three "young artist"s performed a funny operetta in English (only two sang). Fabulous view. Awfully windy. Fun to watch the clouds swift by. This is the second event I went during my two years' membership. I was utterly bored the first time. Much better this time.

2006.11.10. Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin directed by R. Hamilton Wright staged at UW Meany Theater. Winner of the 2000 American Theater Critics/Steinberg New Play Award. Pretty funny. A backstage comedy about an ill fated cast in producing Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters.

2006.11.8. UW's opera performance. Kurt Weill’s Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins, conducted by Julia Tai, directed by Claudia Zahn) and Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica, conducted by Peter Eros, directed by Andrew Seifert).
I forgot the tickets after arriving at U. District. Couldn't even remember whether I left them in office or home!

2006.11.6. Seattle Repertory Theatre stages Simon Levy's adaptation of F. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Efficient and mobile stage sets. Enjoyable.

2006.11.5. Dead Sea Scroll exhibition at Pacific Science Center. Well organized. Audio guide. Background and research methods also presented. Each of the dozen of so original fragments is displayed in a climate controlled glass box with lights switches on and off automatically, accompanied by enlarged copy, its translation and description. A brief lecture precedes the timed exhibit. Arrived too late for the reception (actually good food).
Stopped by the butterfly dome after the tour, where the butterflies can easily land on your shoulder.

2006.10.30. Piano Trio at Benaroya Hall by guest artists. Gil Shaham plays the 1699 Countess Polignac Stradivarius violin. Lynn Harrell plays a 1720 Montagnana cello. Yefim Bronfman - piano.

• Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major. Op. 99
• Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50

Encore is a Mozart piano trio, one movement only.
I worked late and arrived at the ticket office 5 minutes late. Graciously the ushers seated me after the first movement. The three performers sometimes re-tune their instruments between movements.

2006.10.28. Chain Lake trail at the foot of Mt Baker. Road was closed shortly after the ski area. Mostly cloudy. Didn't see any mountain. Started from the upper ski area parking lot. Bagley Lakes, Iceberg and Hayes Lakes (the prettier ones among all, and next to each other), Mazama Lake. Already snow on trail. Turned back after passing Mazama Lake, because the hikers coming from the other direction warned us not to proceed, due to deep snow. Lots of blueberries still left, half frozen.

2006.10.27. Seattle Opera's premier of L'italiana in Algeri (set in 1920s). Music by Gioachino Rossini. Libretto by Angelo Anelli. Directed by Chris Alexander. Simple yet clever set by Santa Fe Opera. Cheerful music, silly plot. Mustafa played by Kevin Burdette is awfully funny.

2006.10.25. Stephen Sondheim's musical The Company at The 5th Avenue Theater. Winner of six 1971 Tony awards including best musical, this is somewhat disappointing. But better than his A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which was completely disorganized (staged here about a year or two ago). A bit modern in plot, simple stage, funny lyric, good acting (as always). 2nd act in-cohesive.

2006.10.23. UW Walker-Ames Room. A conference commemorating the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Keynote Speaker: Peter Dobay from the University of Pécs. A panel of eyewitness: Helen M. Szablya - the Honorary Consul in Seattle, a psychiatrist who participated the downfall of the Stalin statue in the central square, woodcarver László Józsa - one of the 256 (about half) in the Sopron University exodus to UBC. The retired foreign service officer David Hughes recounts his experience in Budapest in late 1989. The evening was concluded with comments by former Ambassador Mark Palmer (Dec. 1986 - Jan. 1990). Quite an emotional and educational event.

2006.10.17. Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater from St. Petersburg:
Valery Gergiev, conductor
Alexander Toradze, piano
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"

2006.10.14. Merritt Lake. 2 hours' drive from north Seattle. Hwy 2, at milepost 76, turn north on Merritt Lake Road (FR 657), 1.5 mile bad gravel. Elevation 3000 ft to 5000 ft. 3 miles one way, mostly in forest. Quite some fall colors around the lake and along Hwy 2.

2006.10.01. Skyline Ridge. 3 hours drive, 2 miles (~ 1500 ft) to the open meadow with tremendous views of not-so distant snowy peaks. Mt Baker was shrouded in clouds, Shuksan was clear and the Table Mountain in front of it. Very low lying blueberry bushes, with different hues of red, but no berries at all. A few ash trees are brilliantly yellow and orange.

2006.9.25. Seattle Repertory Theater Doubt, a parable by John Patrick Shanley (won Pulitzer and Tony for best play of 2005). Directed by Warner Shook. Only 4 characters. One small incident in a Catholic school in Bronx in 1964. Single act. Nice stage design that changes between two scenes by moving apart the first set, and moving forth the second set.

2006.9.16. Seattle Symphony season opening night concert, conducted by Gerard Schwarz

Rossini: William Tell Overture
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (piano by Lang Lang)
Verdi: Triumphal March and Ballet from Aida
Respighi: The Pines of Rome

All festival tunes. 24 year-old Lang Lang is a great performer, obvious trained to play with a body language. The slow movements were extremely touching. However, the forte part was drowned by the orchestra. Two encores by Lang Lang, and one by the symphony.

2006.9.14. Bombay Dreams at The 5th Avenue Theater. Lots of dance and action. Busy stage, glittering costumes. At one point, a set of fountains were spraying water over the dancers. My favorite song is "Love is not Easy" sung by three transvestites.

2006.9.10. Beautiful day. Cutthroat Lakes via Walt Bailey trail. Pleasant walk. Not very well maintained trail. Two blown down trees. Many little ponds, hence still some mosquitoes. LOTS of huckleberries. Leaves are beginning to turn color. Saw a bear dropping, purplish blue with quite some undigested berries. Also saw a few ruffed grouse on the way home (yes, along the gravel road).

2006.9.2. Pinnacle Peak at Mt Rainier. Trail starts right by the Reflection Lake. Well maintained 1.3 miles and 1000 ft to the saddle (5920 ft). At the saddle, splendid views of Mt Rainier and Paradise to the north and Mt Adams and vaguely St. Helen to the south, cool and shady. The peak is further on the left at 6562 ft. Give 30 minutes for safety concern for this last scramble over steep and sometime unstable rocks. Get a firm grip before each move.
Huckleberry is already out. Most flowers are gone. Gazillion flies on the very top.

2006.8.18. Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss & Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Conducted by Asher Fisch. Carol Vaness as Marschallin, Alice Coote as Octavian, Peter Rose as Ochs, Frances Lucey as Sophie. Comic. Pretty yet simple stage design. Lots of action. The most memorable tune is the self-absorbing waltz by Baron Ochs "with me, with me, the night won't be too long". The pre-performance lecture is, as always, entertaining.

2006.8.17. North Cascade Scenic Hwy 20. At Newhalem, North Cascade Visitor Center, a short stroll leads to a view of Picket Range (most of the peaks are above 7000ft, the closest is Pinnale Peak at 6819ft). A mile or two east is the Gorge Creek Dam. A short walk follows the creek up a couple of cool shaded cascades.
Between milepost 131 & 132, Diablo Lake Overlook is a must stop, with Colonial Peak (7771ft) to the south and Davis Peak (7051ft) to the north above the blue green reservoir. At mile 162 Washington Pass Overlook (5477ft) is a cliff overlooking some erosive rocky facades.
On the way back, did a wheelchair accessable 1-mile trail to Rainy Lake.

2006.8.8. First surgery in my life. Laparoscopy. Scheduled to arrive at the Swedish Hospital at 10am for the operation at 12, but at 1pm, I was still waiting. Powerful drug. I was completely unconscious before going into the operation room, and for ~2 hours after the surgery. Had to spend the night in the hospital because my bladder wasn't completely awake. The surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the night nurse were efficient and super nice. However, someone made a wrong cut on my thigh, and a resident punched through my vein while trying to put on the IV, an overweight nurse at the recovery room didn't straighten the tube of the Catheter, causing my bladder to "scream" in the night. Overall, I'm well and recovering.

2006.8.2. Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw at Intiman Theatre. Wonderful acting, as always. Witty and poignant dialogues. Highly entertaining.

2006.7.29. Artist Point at the end of Hwy 542. Mt Shuksan was as beautiful as every, but Mt Baker was no where to be found. Chilly. Lots of heather blooming.
Watched the annual fireworks competition. Today is China, accompanied by Yellow River Cantata. Fabulous. Back to Seattle the very night. The stupid border only had one station open, even though two guys were there. About 50 cars, took 1.5 hrs!

2006.7.22-23. Spider Meadow & Spider Gap. 3 hrs drive. 2 hr hike to Spider Meadow at mile 5.2. Flowers, not in full bloom yet. Bugs. Camped to the left of the creek (cold water!), with a beautiful view of the valley.
The next day, we went up to the foot of glacier, ~ 2 miles from the north of the meadow. Nice icy cold pool. Water gushing down to the valley. However, the trail up was dry and hot like an oven (still better than Seattle which was 95F that day). Easy walk up the glacier for 0.75 miles (8.2 miles from the trail head). The top faces another valley with Lyman Lakes just under our feet. The tip of Mt Baker is looming above other peaks.
Direction: Hwy 2 -> Hwy 207 (4.3 miles) -> right on Chiwawa Loop -> left again follow Chiwawa loop (towards Fish Lake) for ~10 miles -> gravel for ~10 miles -> right fork to on Phelps Creek for 2 miles.

2006.7.16. Lake Blanca.
As beautiful as ever. Snow still lingers on the trail and around the lake. Reasonable shade all the way. A bit buggy. A couple of blown down trees.

2006.7.15. Rainier.
Stopped by Grove of Patriarchs at SE corner of the Park. Pleasant walk along the shallow and clear Ohanapecosh River. Quite a few large trees up to about 1000 years old. Easiest, 1.5 mile RT, flat.
After lunch, hiked up Naches Peak (6452ft. The left photo was taken from Tipsoo Lake), instead of doing the conventional loop. Lots of flowers along the way (sadly, many killed by my steps): avalanche lily, glacier lily, white anemone.
On the very top, some bright pink penstemon and heather. 360 degree view. Gorgeous. No real trail to follow. Snow at times. Short but steep. Somewhat dangerous.

2006.7.9. Snow Lake. Snow is melting on the lake. Looks like clouds huddling on the water. Very pretty. Possible to walk across some half-melt icy blocks.

2006.7.7. Golden Ear Provincial Park. Rent a canoe for the afternoon at the Annette Lake. I managed to capsize the boat on the way back (against the wind) while little Lucy was on board. The poor thing was scared. We were rescued by a kind stranger who was taking his kids out fishing. The first thing he said to the kids were "now you see why I made you wear life jackets at all time". Among the things I lost to the lake is the car key. Had to hitch a ride to the park entrance to call for help (the only pay phone in the park, ~7km away), as no cell phone signals in the park. I guess I will no longer be entrusted with the kids.

2006.7.6. Whytecliff Park at Horseshoe Bay. Picked some mussels. However, they are all very small.

2006.7.4. afternoon. Bandera. The slope was covered with flowers. Rained for 10 min. Cloudy and partly sunny.

Evening: fireworks on Lake Union.

Two weeks in Peru. 6/26 - last day. Lima, the capital.
Flew to Lima 8:10 - 9:35am. Rented a locker (s/28), shared a taxi (s/36.5) to Lima Centro with Amy and Tom from Inca Trail.
It was ugly all the way in. However, Plaza Mayor is in full colonial glory, flanked by the cathedral to the east, Palacio de Gobierno to the north (a replica of Pizarro's residence once stood here), and Palacio Municipal (city hall) to the west. Guard change M-Sat 11:45-12:15 inside the gate of presidential palace. To visit, make a reservation at least one day ahead at the tourism office 201 Jr. de la Union, 311-3908 or www.presidencia.gob.pe.
The only thing survived the 1746 earthquake is the small bronze fountain (1651 by Pedro de Noguera) at the center of the plaza.
Catedral de Lima (s/20, free English guided tour, however, after trying about five guides, I still didn't get half of what they tried to tell.) claims to contain the remains of Francisco Pizarro, who died in Lima in 1541. In the center is 40-some-seat wooden choir ensemble carved by Pedro de Noguera. Below, all archbishops of Lima repose in the small crypt. It also houses the very first Peruvian university diploma. The declaration of independence was signed in this room in 1821.

A much more interesting church is Convento de San Francisco (s/5, free Spanish guide). Some priceless treasures here: a 2-story Franciscan library with over 25000 rare books, a bamboo dome able to withstand any quake, a painting of last supper with Peruvian food (guinea pig, potatoes, ...), and the beautiful cloister (now half as what used to be) inlaid with Sevillian tiles and murals depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi. An eerie highlight is the catacombs, narrow underground passages containing skulls and bones of over 25000 bodies, neatly arranged for photos. Before the city cemetery was opened in 1808, corpses were dumped under this church. Now only Franciscan brothers can be interred here.
There're many other churches to visit in Lima Central. A hectic pedestrian street La Union connects Plaza Mayor and the grassy Plaza San Martin.

Lima is big on cerviche, a traditional dish of raw white fish marinated in lemon and tossed with onion, or any seafood or fish. Prices are higher here than Cusco. Equally salty. I didn't find any chicha here. Lots of stalls selling fresh squeezed orange juice.

Miraflores, a well-to-do suburb bordering Pacific ocean. As the sun sets down, Parque Kennedy comes to life. A dozen venders set up their second-hand stalls. Even kids came out to play under street lights. I enjoyed a box of sweet concoction of hot porridge and purple fruit syrup, topped with shreds of coconut. Also bought a bottle of pisco sour in the crowded vicinity.

Taxi to airport (s/25) to catch the midnight flight out of Lima. Hefty international airport tax ($30). Back to Seattle around 10:30 the next morning, sound and content, yet tired.

2006.6.25 - Two weeks in Cusco, Peru - day 14.

Huchuy Cusco (little cusco) is high up the hill (4.8km one way, steep) west of the village of Lamay (2930m, s/2.5 bus from Cusco, 11km north of Pisac), across the bridge over the Urubamba River. It took me about 3 hrs up, and 1 hr down. The entire hike was unshaded: dry dirt path lined with bushes barely half as my height. I was dead tired going up. At km 2.0, had to take a nap in the only resting place along the trail: a straw hut. The scotching sun turned to hail while I was dozing off. It later turned to rain, and then quited down. Luckily the sun only came out again when we began our descent, lost all its earlier force. At km 4.0, the slope becomes gentler, and you loose the sight of the bottom of the valley, and gain a glimpse of the adobe+stone walls of the ruin. It's thought to be the hideaway of Inca Wiracocha during the Chanca invasion. There's a community of 128 people, farming in this idyllic land, high above the world, overlooking snow capped mountains. We met a girl who was herding some sheep on the slopes behind the ruins. The three dogs of hers fought for the bread crumbs in my hand.

2006.6.24. Two weeks in Cusco, Peru

6/24, Saturday, Inti Raymi, the sun festival. This site offers detailed descriptions and nice photos.

All started at ~9:20am at the grassy square of Qoricancha. It took half an hour for all groups of performers to appear, men first, then the chosen women. A high priest gave a speech (all in Quechua) from the balcony of Qoricancha casting some plants down to the spectators. Finally the Inca came out, calling for God. At ~10am, the royal followers walked along Pampa del Castillo and Loreto, to Plaza de Armas, carrying Inca and his queen in elevated seats. From there, the whole assembly marched up to Sacsayhuamán.

We lunched before joining the hordes at Sacsayhuamán. Needed some food in order to hike up the rather steep 2km slope. By the time we arrived (~2pm), it was difficult to find a spot on the surrounding hills. (For $80, you can buy a seat from a central office ahead of time. Maybe the most profitable show on earth!) Many people picnicked here. Women selling popcorns and popsicles. Looked like a family outing day. Some of them didn't seem to care about the spectacle, settling comfortably in places completely barred from the view of the stage.
Pyres of branches and dry grass were lit, generating lots of smoke. A llama was selected and sacrificed. It started hailing before llama was killed for a short while, but didn't stall the performance. The high priest took out the entrails trying to read some future out of it. He threw a piece into the fire, and then offered the bleeding heart to the Inca, and the Inca ate a piece of it, while giving a long discourse. With the announcement of the beginning of a new year, more dances followed, until about 3pm. To me, it was equally fun to watch all the coming and going of spectators (sometimes in perilous locations), the noise, the comments, and business transactions (tossing popcorns and coins).

Finally everyone left, leaving the entire ground covered with litter. Before heading down to town, we walked over to the silly Cristo Blanco, a Brazilian present.

Two weeks in Cusco, Peru 6/23 - day 12. Fair at Huancaro (s/3).
Dumped laundry, moved hotel to Colonial Palace on the same street ($35), which I booked earlier. It was not a good move: noisy (a church group did a long sermon in the early evening that day), thin curtains. Reliable hot water.

Went to the fair at the Huancaro suburb. Apparently this had been going on for a few days already. Pet zoos / vendors for alpacas, llamas, cows, guinea pigs (s/20 live and cute) and rabbits. Endless stalls selling various produces (I bought some honey). Government agriculture display and even an environment awareness booth. And of course, food and drink. We watched one of the alpaca beauty contests, when it rained. Ate roasted pig (lechon) and guinea pig (cuy, not much meat, tender, but skin was a bit tough. Same salty spice. s/20.) I think I prefer these rodents alive.

In the afternoon, we visited the Cathedral (s/16, 1559-1669) . Nice carved choir, some paintings by the Cusco School, many dull chapels. The only thing interesting is a painting of Last Supper, where Jesus and his disciples feast on a guinea pig. Museo Inka (s/10), housed in the 17th century Palacio del Almirante, is well organized. Excellent guide. A hour-long history lesson of the pre-Inca Chimu, Mochica, Nasca, Pucara, Tiahuanaco and Wari people, and their influences to Inca, the Spanish conquest. There is a 3000 year-old funeral cloth, still in wonderful shape and vivid in color. A model of Queshwachaka bridge over Apurimac River, entirely made out of straws. Our guide emphasized the organization of Inca and their agriculture skills. According to her, these are the two crucial merits that enabled Inca to govern and expand, welcomed by various local tribes.

Went shopping at the Centro Artesanal Cusco off Ave. El Sol bordering Pachacutec. Bought more alpaca sweaters and scarves. More parades, well into the night. Ave El Sol was full of people and food stands. Drank a glass of hot soy-based sweet concoction. I liked it.

Two weeks in Cusco, Peru. 6/22 - day 11. Chinchero - Moray - Las Salineras.
Chinchero (bus s/2, 45 min. elev. 3762m) was once Inca Tupac Yupanqui's country resort. Inca terraces, still in use by the local farmers. The small Spanish church (closes noon-1) is complete covered by colorful murals.

The tiny village of Maras is 4km west of the main road between Urubamba (~10 min) and Chinchero (~20 min). Beautiful scenery: snow peaks of Vilcanota Mountains, planted rolling hills, kids walking home from school (5km?) along the long dirt road, together with donkeys full of loads.
Hitched a taxi (s/55, probably was ripped off) to visit Moray (s/5, 8km NW.) and Las Salineras (s/5, 7km N.). Moray consists of three sets of concentric terraces (still farmed with potatoes, oats, and ...), in the natural depressions of the earth. Believed to be an agricultural experiment lab even before the Incas. Temperatures were said to be up to 15 degrees higher in the lower levels. However, I couldn't feel that.
Apparently, local potatoes tasted salty. There's an underground stream so saline that white crystals form on the rocks alongside the water. The water is also quite warm. The pre-Inca salt pans, 4000 pozas (shallow pools), dug into the hillside, still produce salt today.

A quick stroll and meal in the busy yet unimpressive town of Urubamba (elev. 2871m) in the valley. Caught the bus back to Cusco (last one leaves at 7pm). I must have eaten something bad, had a terrible fit in the bowel an hour later on the bus.

2009.6.21. Day 10 in Peru

Two weeks in Cusco, Peru, 6/21 - day 10. Rest.
More parades.
Campesino Festival in a basketball court (dance competition, sale of produces).

Visited Saint Domingo, and Qorikancha (s/6, gold palace), the most sacred place in Cusco. Unfortunately, no more gold. Temples of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Most of what we saw was reconstruction. You can see the cracks between the Inca stones in our attempt to put them back. The tiny museum (boleto turistico) underground houses limited items from the excavation of the ground, including some elongated skulls.

Early in the evening, we dropped some medical supplies at the Ninos Hotel, and went for a guided tour of the foundation (operates two hotels and two restaurants). Four separate sites, each feeds about 125 children of age 6 to 12. Peruvian elementary schools have either morning sessions or afternoon sessions. Kids, entrusted by their relatives, are dropped off here M-Sat for breakfast. Then half of the kids go to school, half stay on for either study help, game/physical exercises, medical/dental checkup. After lunch these kids go to school and the other half stayed on for the same assistance. The relative come and pick the kids up in the evening. Twice a week, they get to take a shower, and once awhile, all bus-ed to the city swimming pool for a cool down. We visited the kitchen (with a large log book of planned menus), dining room (doubled as classroom), shower room, washing room (lined up with colorful plastic cups with tooth brush labeled with names), an indoor basketball court, a doctor's room (paid by the foundation). Totally 40 some employees work here (most are paid). Seems to be well run and funded (mostly by the Netherlands government and private foreign donation).

At 7pm we arrived at the Teatro Municipal for a concert. This time we were the first audience. Again things started half an hour late after more people filed in. First group was the 14-year-old Orquestra de Camara Andina "Haylli". I like the second half better : chorus of about 20 voices. Somehow they love speakers. The volume was cranked up to the max.
After the concert, ate a pre-ordered stuffed guinea pig for dinner. Too salty.