At 4 am, when the wake-up bells ring each morning, the tall trees smell like earth and fog creeps around the elegant Burmese-style pagodas and gazebos, making their statues of mythical lions and other creatures look as though they have just emerged from another world.
After a few days of preliminary drinking and dancing in costumes that combine the best aspects of traditional Andean horse-riding gear with the most nightmarish aspects of traditional acid trips, the residents of Santo Tomas wakeup and head to the local bullfighting ring to beat each other silly.