Progressive Peru?

I spent most of the day walking around Cusco and booking my activities for the next week. One of the stranger things I noticed was that all the stores and government buildings were flying rainbow-colored flags. I thought to myself, "Damn, Cusco is way ahead of the curve. The city must be the most progressive city in South America, as they must have a very-well developed gay and lesbian tourism industry." It was only later that I learned that the rainbow-colored flag is actually Cusco's municipal flag. Apparently the flag's similarity to the gay/lesbian flag has caused much embarassement in Cusco, and the city is considering changing its flag. So much for being a progressive city...But it still doesn't explain why I was being offered "massages" by people on the street all day...

Also, the altitude is killing me. Cusco sits at 11,000 feet up in the Andes. It was a little embarassing to get passed reapeatedly by 80-year old women carrying groceries as I was doubled-over trying to catch my breath. Cusco's streets do the newly-arrived visitor no favors. I can only compare it to a 5-pack-a-day smoker trying to navigate the hills of San Francisco. If you don't mind, I think I am going to go throw up.