Salsa, Sunshine, and ATM Senselessness

October 14, 2011

We arrived in Cusco in time for dinner and salsa lessons Wednesday evening. Up to this time, our tour guide had been very careful with his advice to us about what we should or should not eat or drink in order to remain healthy, but now that we’ve seen Machu Picchu he’s given us “permission” to try the food we want, including street food. This means I’ve tried eating in a few more “authentic” restaurants, including a traditional Peruvian market where I was the only non-Peruvian in the place. So far so good. (Knock on wood.)

Salsa lessons were quite fun. I’d taken a salsa class several years ago in Los Gatos, but they seem to dance it a little differently here. The instructor at the club led us through about seven different steps, and then we were let loose to practice. I spent the next hour and a half been twirled about and stepping on the toes of various Peruvian men. While I am by no means a competent salsa dancer, it’s amazing how much you can do with a good partner leading you, and it is a great time.

Thursday was a free day in Cusco. I awoke early without an alarm and decided it was the day to go for a run. (I hadn’t run since leaving California and was feeling a little bad about it.) We’ve been on the move a lot and I’d been using the high altitude as an excuse not to, but after our time doing the Lares Trek, Cusco’s 3400 meters above sea level seemed like it should be manageable. It was only a few mile run, but it felt good despite the lack of air. There is just something about that type of exercise, especially when the sun is out, which it was.

And that was the most strenuous thing I did all day. J The rest of the day was spent with my roommate Caroline getting a pedicure, a massage, and eating ice cream. The group celebrated its last night in Cusco by eating at The Fallen Angel, an interestingly décored restaurant with delicious steak.

Getting pampered

Perfect day for ice cream

Caroline feeling like Miss Congeniality

Caroline and me. Balloon hats supplied by the restaurant.

Dylan and me

The fallen angel?

Do you choose to use the facilities in heaven or hell?

There are live fish in the bathtub
supporting the  tabletop.
Not sure how they feed them.

We began our 8 hour journey to Punto, home of Lake Titicaca, early this morning. Due to bad roads the ride was especially long and slow. After 5 hours on the bus, we stopped for a 10-minute bathroom/snack break. They usually charge one sol ($0.33) for the use of public bathroom here, and there were a couple different public restroom stalls in back of the little store where we stopped. There was also an older woman who said there was a bathroom upstairs as well. I paid her the one sol and went to use the upstairs toilet, where I discovered I had actually been sent to the family’s personal bathroom. That’s some entrepreneurship in my book.

Punto is a city that is closer in traditions, customs, and ethnic heritage to Bolivia than Peru, and evidently many Peruvians don’t care much for it. According to our tour guide, the city also has a history of burning things it’s not happy with—stores, city hall, and even the mayor! Despite its residents’ tendency toward arson, it’s a very safe place for tourists.  

Safe it may be, but it’s not a very good place to lose your ATM card.

So here’s what happened: We were headed to dinner when I decided I needed to get some money out of the ATM. I put my card into the machine but accidently pressed a button to get dollars instead of Peruvian soles. So I canceled my transaction. The machine gave me my card back, and I put it in again to request soles. This time, instead of getting soles, the machine ate my card. I was surprised this happened, but I was feeling pretty lucky I had chosen an ATM connected to a bank that was open, and my tour guide helped me explain my problem to an employee of the bank. Less than 10 minutes later the employee had retrieved my card. I figured I would then show ID and the employee would return the card to me. It turns out bank protocol is to cancel any card swallowed by an ATM.

Now, I get why this would be protocol, but it seems to me as long as I’m there and I have ID, they should give me the card back. They wouldn’t. So, I asked if we could please call my bank before they canceled the card and get permission from them to return the card to me. Evidently they don’t have the ability to call an international phone number (even though it’s a collect call) from the bank. So, I went to a public phone two doors down and called my bank. (I do want to give a plug to Charles Schwab Bank: they have the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Also, they don’t charge an ATM fee. Highly recommended.) After explaining my situation and figuring out how to dial internationally, a bilingual Schwab employee called the Peruvian bank. After talking to several different people and then requesting to talk to a higher-up, we were told the bank was closed (it was after 6:00) and I could try to go back to the bank tomorrow morning and talk to the vice manager. The only problem is, I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a homestay on an island on Lake Titicaca. I’ll be back Sunday, but the bank is closed.

So despite the bank having my ATM card, my having proper ID to prove who I am, and Schwab giving the go ahead to give me my card back, I have to cancel my card and get a new one shipped to me internationally. Alas…