Yesterday, I was walking down Avenida Garcilaso here in Cusco, stepping around indigenous women in traditional clothing selling bootleg DVDs on blankets on the street, and I got thinking about the kinds of imported goods which make their way here to Cusco, versus the things that don't. In some ways, it's amazing what you can get here, but it's also remarkable how imperfect markets sometimes are here.
Why, for example, is it easy to buy Japanese-made rice cookers in the grocery store, but impossible to find a Crock Pot (in Cusco, the beef is the toughest I have ever had. God only knows, they need Crock Pots here!)
Why is it next-to-impossible to find Mexican-style tortillas, but simple to find bread products from the amusingly-named Mexican bread company "Bimbo"?
Why does Guinea Pig cost 45 soles (about $15 US) in the center of town, but about 5 soles (about $1.75) five blocks away?
Why, on God's green earth, can I buy imported rice from Asia and the jungle here in Cusco, but cannot buy puffed Quinoa cereal in Lima?
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