Attempted Thievery on Election Day

Last Tuesday through Thursday we had what I would call a typical trek into the Colca Canyon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colca_Canyon

We did get to see some of the famous Andean Condors which are a major attraction in the area:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condors

The tour was quite cheap through an agency so we decided to go that way partly to avoid another Misti experience. The first day was spent seeing some of the sights on the way to the canyon. Second day we hiked down and through and the last day we got up at 3am to hike straight up for 3 hours and then took the bus back to Arequipa. The bus ride back was amusing. We took a public bus at 7am from Cabanoconde and arrived at the bus minutes before expected departure. It took us 15 minutes to cram 8 more people onto the bus – it was full of local people who were bringing their handicrafts to the Cruz Del Condor to sell to tourists. Despite having reserved seats we remained standing for the half an hour ride to Cruz Del Condor and became somewhat intimate with some of the locals. When we reached Chevy (approximately 3.5 hours from Arequipa) many more people got on, and quite a few remained standing throughout the entire trip.

We took an uneventful night bus back to Cusco on Friday. Actually, we did get to watch V For Vendetta which had clearly been videotaped off of a movie screen and transferred to DVD. It’s difficult to find original media down here.

Today (Sunday) we’d hoped to buy either a bus or train ticket into the Sacred Valley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_valley

but almost everything is closed because of election day. Everyone in Peru is required by law to vote and will be fined $120 if they do not. Today they have the choice between a crook who was president once before and destroyed the economy and a man who wants to legalize cocaine, start war with Chili, and do a little ethnic cleansing. He actually wants to get rid of people who have too little indigenous blood which is backwards considering the history the of Americas. A local man joked with us in Spanish that today was the “bandito” election.

On our way to the local bus station we walked along some crowded sidewalks. Everything was fine until I felt some water splash across the back of my neck. Surprised, I looked back. The locals on the sidewalk (many were women) crowded in around me and pointed upwards to indicate the water came from above. I was confused momentarily, but my hackles were raised. People were pressed up against me. I quickly moved my hands to my zippered pocket on my pants to find the zipper mostly open and then without thinking shoved the man who was closest to that pocket. He gave me an innocent look and showed me his hands. The others backed away after my aggressive action and we walked quickly away. About a half block later a passenger in one of the taxis stopped at the light indicated to me that I was being watched. That was enough fun for today. We got some sandwich fixings at a touristy supermarket and then headed back to the hostel to wait out election day. Will try to keep to the touristy venues for the rest of the week.