Apologies to George Orwell for the title of this blog*, but I'm annoyed! Quite annoyed!
Since returning from the Galapagos Islands, I've sent most of my time in Quito, the capital of Ecuador and Lima, the capital of Peru. Just clarifying where they are in case anyone thought Lima was somewhere in Brazil :-) Frankly, neither of these cities are much to write home about, but I'll t least give it a try. Quito has some interesting architecture and an 'Old Town' worth the visit, even if most of the buildings are now food and clothes shops. I went sightseeing in Lima for one morning and was pretty well done with the by midday. The highlight was 60,000 human remains two levels below ground under the San Francisco Cathedral. To be honest, I struggle to come up with much positive to say about the place from the perspective of a tourist.
Ecuador's prinipal source of revenue (more than 50% of national GDP) comes from oil deposits. The United States commenced free-trade negotiations a few years ago, but dropped the negotiations when the Ecuaorian trade reps said they wanted to impose a special levy on foreign oil companies that would maintain or increase the existing tax on oil exports. Peru's principal sources of national revenue come from mining and, to lesser extent, oil revenues. Both countries, struggle with redistribution of income to improve the living standards of their poorest residents (in South America as with most of the New World, this means the indigenous population). Particularly tragic is Peru, which has 45% indigenous population (I *think* the highest in South America), and rather than this being a postive for pre-Spanish culture, the problems with malnutrition among indigenous children are as bad as anywhere in the continent but just represent a very large portion of the total Peruvian population.
This is regrettable, but it is still not why I'm annoyed.
Now while I understand the causes of poverty, and genuinely believe that people are genuinely inclined to act in good faith unless desperate. But frankly, I do struggle to be sympathetic when made a target of fraud. I lost over $1,000 on the ATM scam (hopefully recoverable through from my bank) and only about $35 on one fake bill at the Peruvian border, but am probably more incensed by the latter as its was my friendly and helpful taxi driver who took me (along with my bus companions Sam and Thomas) to the money changer. And he refused to accept payment in Peruvian Nuevo Soles saying he could only accept US$ at the end of the ride, which suggests he knew we had been given fake money.
Since returning from the Galapagos Islands, I've sent most of my time in Quito, the capital of Ecuador and Lima, the capital of Peru. Just clarifying where they are in case anyone thought Lima was somewhere in Brazil :-) Frankly, neither of these cities are much to write home about, but I'll t least give it a try. Quito has some interesting architecture and an 'Old Town' worth the visit, even if most of the buildings are now food and clothes shops. I went sightseeing in Lima for one morning and was pretty well done with the by midday. The highlight was 60,000 human remains two levels below ground under the San Francisco Cathedral. To be honest, I struggle to come up with much positive to say about the place from the perspective of a tourist.But that's not why I'm annoyed.
Ecuador's prinipal source of revenue (more than 50% of national GDP) comes from oil deposits. The United States commenced free-trade negotiations a few years ago, but dropped the negotiations when the Ecuaorian trade reps said they wanted to impose a special levy on foreign oil companies that would maintain or increase the existing tax on oil exports. Peru's principal sources of national revenue come from mining and, to lesser extent, oil revenues. Both countries, struggle with redistribution of income to improve the living standards of their poorest residents (in South America as with most of the New World, this means the indigenous population). Particularly tragic is Peru, which has 45% indigenous population (I *think* the highest in South America), and rather than this being a postive for pre-Spanish culture, the problems with malnutrition among indigenous children are as bad as anywhere in the continent but just represent a very large portion of the total Peruvian population.
This is regrettable, but it is still not why I'm annoyed.The significant income inequality and genuine poverty in these countries, make them relatively dangerous, this includes for tourists who can be the target of theft, scams and violence. Incidentally, Lonely Planet warns their readers that the border crossing between the two as having the worst reputation in South America. And this is the root cause of why I'm annoyed.
In Quito, I had the details of my ATM card stripped (I still have no idea how), so I needed to cancel the card and get some emergency funds transfered via Western Union. Then, rather than finding an ATM when I entered Peru to get cash, I needed to exchange money at the border, and was handed fake money by a dodgy money handler. Even more annoying is that I had taken the Lonely Planet's advice and boarded a long distance bus for the border crossing, but the bus had broken down and I (along with English and German backpackers Sam and Thomas who were on the same bus) got switched to a local bus which terminated at the border.
Now while I understand the causes of poverty, and genuinely believe that people are genuinely inclined to act in good faith unless desperate. But frankly, I do struggle to be sympathetic when made a target of fraud. I lost over $1,000 on the ATM scam (hopefully recoverable through from my bank) and only about $35 on one fake bill at the Peruvian border, but am probably more incensed by the latter as its was my friendly and helpful taxi driver who took me (along with my bus companions Sam and Thomas) to the money changer. And he refused to accept payment in Peruvian Nuevo Soles saying he could only accept US$ at the end of the ride, which suggests he knew we had been given fake money.Having got that off my chest, I've flown this morning from Lima to Cuzco, which on first impressions is a great place. It is an interesting, clean and safe city, as well as the launch point for the Inca Trail. So after some acclimatisation, in a day or two I'll be heading off up the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu. And in the meantime I'm off to find a Guinea Pig burger!
* The blog title borrows from George Orwell's first novel Down and Out in Paris and London.
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