Lost in Puno
After 24 hours on the tranquil island of Taquile in the
middle of beautiful Lake Titicaca, we headed into the busy lakeside city of
Puno. I was enjoying my adventure tour
of Peru with 15 other intrepid souls but truth be told, halfway through the two
week trip the constant togetherness was grating on my nerves. As our van maneuvered its way through the
busy downtown traffic our guide told us
there was a wonderful market he
recommended we go to that was only a short rickshaw ride away from our
hotel. “Hmmm….” I thought “that sounds
interesting. Let’s do it”!! (meaning just me of course)
After checking into the hotel I dashed up to my room, dumped
my luggage and rushed back through the lobby to the street outside where a cycle
rickshaw happened to be waiting nearby. Wow, talk about luck I thought!
I jumped in, telling the young driver “La Mercado Por Favor” feeling like a real adventurer. And off we went and went..and went…ten minute
later I was getting a bit concerned.
Where was this market? What did
the guide mean by “a short journey”?
Five minutes? Ten minutes? Hmmmm…maybe I should have asked.
The young fellow cycled on and I got increasingly uneasy….where
is he taking me? I asked him to turn
around and go back to the hotel but he didn’t understand what I was saying and
kept going. Oh oh...
Ten minutes later he was still cycling – where the heck was
he taking me? I started calling out to
people “do you speak English”? as we cycled
past. They seemed bemused by this
seemingly crazy middle aged woman yelling at them and just stared back at me. That didn’t stop me from yelling it more times
than I am comfortable even commenting on.
By now I was getting into panic mode…even the rickshaw driver was
confused. I kept asking him to go back
to the hotel but it was totally lost on him.
We rode by police men standing on pedestals directing
traffic – yelling at them didn’t
seem to work either. I was getting used
to the “are you a crazy woman” look. Any
pride I had was gone… Where was this kid taking me? Would I ever find my hotel again? My tour company would leave for Cusco tomorrow
without me! The thought of that not
only horrified me but embarrassed me.
How stupid could I be to do such a spur of the moment thing without even
knowing what market I was supposed to be going to…. I had no clue where my hotel was or even the
exact name of it. I just knew it had
“lago” in it which is Spanish for lake.
“Lago hostal” I yelled at the now very confused young man….so off we
turned in another direction. I then realized we were going to the
lake. “no, no” I yelled. At least I knew one thing about my hotel -
we weren’t by any lake despite the name.
Finally the driver stopped and yelled out to a nearby police
offer who wasn’t directing traffic
from a pedestal. He came over and they
conversed in Spanish so of course I couldn’t understand but I swear I heard the
word “loco” in there somewhere!!! To my
surprise the policeman jumped into the rickshaw beside me and off we went! Who would have thought I’d be riding in a
rickshaw around a city in Peru with a very
good looking young police officer. Under
different circumstances it really could have been quite enjoyable.
In halting English he told me we were going to the tourist
office. I heaved a sigh of relief. Five
minutes later sure enough we rattled up to a building labelled Oficina de
Tourisma. The woman there asked me
where I was staying and I said it has “lago” in it and I am with the Explore
Adventure group thinking that might help…yes, I felt like a right fool. After perusing the map of Puno and a quick phone call she said in English the
best words I had heard all day “I know where you are staying”. My
knees literally sagged in relief.
When we got back to the rickshaw my police man friend told the
driver where to go and we settled in for
the ride back. Less than ten minutes
later we pulled up in front of the hotel – that was it! I don’t think I’ve said “gracias” so much in
my life. The police officer told me how much the driver
wanted and I gave him double that. The poor kid was no doubt exhausted. I was so excited and emotional I wanted to give
them both a hug. Both resisted…hmmmm..I
wonder why?
A short while later our group went out for dinner
together….the whole experience was probably an hour although felt like triple
that. I regaled my fellow travelers
with what I had gotten up to and they all had a good laugh at my expense. I deserved that. Never
have I felt like such a fool in my life.
As for the policeman and my rickshaw driver – I am sure
their families got to hear all about the “loco senora” they met that day.
And what did I take from this …always take a card with the
name and address of your hotel on it when you leave the premises!
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