Serenity to Stupidity

After breakfast with our host family, we were led to the docks where Angel greeted us. Our stop today was Taquile Island, an island with beautiful views. These Indigenous peoples own their island and control how many tourists they receive. The men wear hats with very large pompoms-white for single men and red for married men.

We had a delicious lunch in one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen - up very high with Lake Titicaca on both sides and mountains in the background. Our group ate under a brilliant, blue and white billowing canopy, which cast a diffused shade over the beautifully set tables. I decided at this point to go against my doctor´s orders of no alcohol at a high altitude and promptly ordered a cerveza. This energetic New Zealand woman, who was in her early 70s, agreed with my decision and said,¨Good on ya!¨ The problem was, it wasn´t so good on me when I had to immediately descend 530 lopsided stone steps down the side of the mountain to get to the boat.

Upon arriving in Puno, we decided we would shop at the Artisan Market during our free time. Janet ordered open-air bicycle taxis for us and then we scurried off to the bank to get a little cash. We chose the Scotiabank since it was Canadian - MISTAKE #1. Stephanie and Linda went to the teller - MISTAKE #2 and after that mayhem ensued. Ruth Ann got American money from the bank machine and had to line up to convert it to Soles - MISTAKE #3. Janet marched up to the machine which promptly spit her card back out to her and said account non-existent. Carrie and I got Soles from the machine, but in such large bills that we too had to line up in the bank for half an hour to get them exchanged for smaller ones. Jimmy, the teller, took Stephanie´s debit card,looked at it, went to see the manager, and then indicated (since he had no English) that he had no idea what to do with it and flung it back at Stephanie. Stephanie immediately launched into a tirade about this being a Canadian bank and no one could speak English. That is when the police officer started to take notice. Linda, next in line, was lucky enough to get Jimmy as well (now renamed Jimmy the Jackass). She handed him her Bank of Montreal prepaid travel card - MISTAKE #4. Dear Jimmy demanded her passport and then escorted her back to the manager´s office. After 20 minutes, she was back at Jimmy´s booth and when I saw her trying to climb over the counter in order to grab something from Jimmy, I decided to get involved. Jimmy had swiped her card twice and would not relinquish the first slip. We finally appealed to the police officer, who by this time was quite fond of us, and Jimmy returned the paper he had hidden under his desk blotter. An hour later, we arrived back at the hotel to discover our open-air bicycle taxis had left and the hotel receptionist said, ¨No, no, do not go to market without taking precautions. Dangerous!¨ which turned out to be okay because after dinner that night when we ventured back to the bank to try Janet´s card again, the market came to us.

Stephanie, the street-vendor magnet, showed a scant interest in a sweater and we were immediately swarmed by very short women with long, dark braids. Carrie, panicked by the chaos, stood by on guard and was able to spot a potential pick-pocket. Janet, our persistent videographer, managed to capture the whole scene on film while shouting out instructions, ¨Don´t make eye contact! Walk away! Pretend you don´t like it! Scowl! Offer half!" One tenacious vendor trotted along beside us and kept trying to persuade me to buy a sweater as she continually dropped her price and finally said, ¨Okay, lady, FREE¨, which immediately broke down our defenses and Stephanie bought a sweater.