Getting scammed in cusco
Trip Start
Apr 14, 2004
1
12
25
Trip End
Jul 27, 2004
Cusco,
Peru
Sunday, June 20, 2004
anyways, i met my friends and we were wandering weren´t we???we managed to encounter the local market, where we walked down aisles and aisles of meat produce, with every possible body part, including many seemingly smiling severed heads...what a beautiful aroma meat has when not refrigerated, mmm yummm....next to these aisles were many fresh juice stands in way too close of proximity, but still not close enuff to stop us from indulging in some of the best fresh juice i have ever had...and cheap as borscht...gotta love these prices!!!another stop for some alpaca socks and hats, and we were on our way back to the center to be surrounded by all the touts on the sidewalk offering us free drink coupons to patronize their particular watering hole...after collecting a few of said coupons each, it was time to collect, and we went from one bar to the next solely for the purpose of having only the free drinks...cheap bastard gringoes that we are...
next day, and i happen to run into my bolivian amigo once again...after apologising for missing his show the night previous, i ask him where the bar is at that he is playing at that night...now keep in mind that all these conversations are going on in spanish, so i am only getting about 65 percent of what he is saying...so, i understand (or thought i did) that he was taking me to the bar that he was gona be at that night...however, somehow i guess i agreed to go to a restaurant with him to share a beer...okay, no big deal, he is nice enuff, and ill share a beer with him...well two beers come, and i think to myself, no biggy, they r pretty cheap, and i got nothing else to do at 11 am, what a great time for a beer...
after some really good and friendly conversation, and him finding out that i will be venturing to bolivia soon, he offers me the use of his fathers house/hostel and restaurant free of charge when i get there...after all, we are hermanos(brothers, not just friends) now, and we have ¨good vibes together¨(his words, not mine)...well those two beer were emptied and lo and behold, two more magically appear at the table...okay whatever, it still doesnt add up to very much and maybe he really is a good guy, i dont feel uncomfortable yet at any rate....
now the waiter shows up and is explaining the specialty plate of food on offer for the corpus christy fiesta going on for the weekend...well, i am quite hungry, and a little buzzed from the early morning beer call(these are 750ml bottles after all),and he asks me if it would be alright for us to share a plate of food (this of course being after laying the starving musician story on me half an hour earlier)...at this point, im starting to get a little suspicious of the fact that this might be a set routine for him to feed and water himself...but like i said, not quite sure, hungry, a little buzzed, and really it doesnt cost that much for me relatively speaking...so sure, why not, lets have a plate shall we...when it comes, i ask the waiter for another plate (i meant empty) so we can split it up, and guess what, out comes a complete other plate of food...now, being the complete softass and unaggressive little bitch that i am, instead of trying to send it back, i resigned myself to the fact that i am likely getting taken for a gringo with his wallet open, but what can i do, but go along with it till the end of the meal, pay the bill, get out without causing a scene, and chalk it up to another lesson learned...
halfway thru that meal, the girl from his band shows up, and starts eating as well, and starts talking about going for a puff after to thank me for the food and drink...still nursing the beer buzz and getting in the spirit of things, i pay up the tab for us(like usual), and we decide to go for a wander to a less busy street, where we share a little dessert...now they mention this cool resturant that they hang out at, and insist that i come along with them to check out the patio there, as apparently it was supposed to have this amazing view of the city...i go along and we end up at this diner, sitting at a table not far from a couple of families...of course they order some beer right away, after i thought i had made it clear that i didnt want to drink anymore (i was pretty buzzed and i wanted to be in control of the situation i seemed to be in)...
so keep in mind the fact that we are in a family restaurant, and all of a sudden buddy pulls out a flap of the local "white stuff" and asks me if i want a rip...not only did i not want a rip, i did not even want to see him pulling this shit out in plain view of all the people in this restaurant...he kept telling me that it was safe, and not to worry, but let me tell you, i was plenty worried...i could see it all going down in my head...he lays it out, the cops come in, gringo gets busted for it, and im in a whole boat load of south american alpaca shit...now im creeped out, but dont know how to get out of there fast enuff without causing a scene...i try to keep making polite conversation while trying to lead up to the fact that i hafta get going to meet my friends at the hostel...they seemed to get the hint, and i could see myself almost being able to make my departure, when the girl throws a little bag of green in my lap, saying to take it bak with me, sample it with my friends and if we like it, come bak to them later...i tried to convince her i didnt want to take it, and tried to give it back, but there was no way that was gonna happen...so i did what seemed logical at the time, and stuffed it down my sock for the time being as i felt like we were drawing attention...
i convinced them that i had to get going, and they left the restaurant with me, and as soon as we were on the street, she started asking me for money for the weed...i protested saying i didnt want it in the first place, and tried to give it back again...it was obvious that that would not happen...so i gave her a few bucks, which of course wasnt enuff, and she looked as though she was about to cause a scene in the street, which was the last thing i wanted, as there were more than a few people around...so after throwing her some more cash which finally was enuff to satisfy her, i bolted for the hostel, hoping never to see those two again...
at least i had some green i rationalized, and that evening after sampling some of it with my buddies, i stashed the rest for the trip to macchu pichu the following day...long story short, while at macchu pichu thinking that it would be a great time to enhance the experience, wouldn't u know it----i had lost the shit, so not only did i way over pay for smoke i didnt even want, but now i had also lost it...arghh...there must be a lesson in there somewhere to learn!!!!
now many of you may be thinking that one should be more careful who i hang out with or talk to, and should remove myself from the situation when u see it going in a bad direction...but that is not as easy as it sounds...these people are magicians at luring you in under comfortable and friendly circumstances, and then when you are starting to feel uncomfortable, they have a way of putting you in situations where you cant really get away without running the risk of causing a scene...u just hafta go along with it and try to play it out as smooth as u can...which usually involves coughing up cash...
alls well that ends well, and now it is just another interesting story to recall when i am old and senile...
