Cusco, Peru

12/13/2005


hello everyone
how are yall doing... things are well here, cusco is a beautiful city. and
its official: i will not be hiking the incan trail. it has been a bit of a
hassle, getting the tour company to change my booking. but i went into the
office yesterday and made it happen i am sad to admit.
the problem is that they wanted me to pay extra for changing my booking
(from the hike to the train) they said if i had come in 4 days before the
hike i woulda been able to do it no problem, but at such a late notice, i
would have to pay for the train and hostel stay. well, i told them that i
had tried to change it in puno 4 days in advance. i sent our guide phillipa
to the office to change it for me but she was told i couldnt do it, and i
would have to talk to them in cusco.
so after i explained all of that, and how it was not my fault, they kept
going around in circles and even called miriam, the woman in lima that
originally booked our trek up to machu picchu.
it was a bad set up because they had this one guy that spoke english talking
to me, but he wasnt the one making the decisions. he would have to turn
around and talk to his bosses and they would tell him what to say. i really
felt bad for the guy cause it wasnt his fault. but i had to get ugly
american on them. they agreed to pay for half of my train and i told them
that wasnt good enough either. that is when i had to get real ugly. i
looked straight at the "bosses" and told them that they were cheating me. i
had tried to make the change in advance but was rebuffed. and now they are
telling me its too late? so i told them i would write to the lonely planet
(the guide book) about them and also contact the policia turistica and
inform them. i had quite the speech there. and in the end, they agreed with
me that they should pay for the whole thing.
i asked paul later how bad i got on the ugly american scale (of 1 to 5)...
and he said that it was between a 3 and a 4. that i never got to 5 cause i
would say to them, "i realize it is not your fault, that it is policy, but i
dont feel as though i am being treated fairly." unfortunately, its the
squeaky wheel that gets the oil. and it all comes back to the fact that i
was raised in america where we are used to getting our way and when we dont,
we have an uncanny ability to say the right things or make the perfect
threat that will get us what we want.
and the whole time i was going back and forth with the tour company (inca
wasi), edgar and paul were alternating between shaking their heads and
hiding their faces in embarrassment. i kept telling them to leave and wait
for me outside so they wouldnt have to witness the carnage of my entitled
sense of self, but they chose to watch and wait. i said to paul, "what am i
to do? i was raised white in american and we always get our way!"
well, i did get my way. and i have mixed feelings about that, but i am glad
that dont have to pay more money to change my trip up to the famed machu
picchu. so i guess i will except the benefits of my priviledged birth and
move forward. comments john m? hehehe.
having a good time.
more later,
joseph