Dinero Management

Buenos dias mis amigos... I´ve arrived in Peru, more specifically in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas. Been here about five or six days and its a great place. I´ve got to tell you the truth, but I was a little bit apprehensive about Peru. When I encountered travellers coming from Peru, I frequently felt that they were quite negative about the country, especially its many touristy places (i.e. Cusco especially). Having enjoyed Bolivia and the company of the Bolivian people so much, I was afraid that Peru might be a bit of a downer... I heard stories of locals jumping into your frame when you took a picture and then demanding cash for it afterwards... about being ripped off left right and centre and about a general extortionist attitude of the localstowards foreigners.

I am thrilled to say that so far my fears have been completely misplaced. Although Peru is much more developed than Bolivia, Cusco especially being a significant hub on the Gringo trail (grace a Macchu Picchu), and the locals here are much better adapted to make the best of a thriving tourist industry, I find them pleasent and chatty and open to foreigners. Sure, they come up to you asking you to take a photo, or to buy something, but I think I have a very convincing first rejection that sends them walking immediately (as opposed to hounding you for hours)...

What follows is Conor´s guide to avoid getting ripped off and for getting value for money: (rules in no particular order of importance)

• Rule 1: Knowledge is power. First of all, if you do want a product of a service, then try to ask a gringo who has already done or bought it to tell you how much they paid and whether they felt they got good value for money. I.e. get an idea of the actual price before you approach the local seller... it gives you a significant advantage... you can react to his prices in a much more meaningful way.
• Rule 2: Don´t guarantee your custom. No prices are displayed anywhere and people generally make up prices on the spur of the moment depending on how much they think they can get away with. So before expressing any kind of interest, always ask the price (i.e. don´t put yourself in a position where you consume something without knowing how much it is, or that you let the seller know that you simply must buy something... let them think that you´re browsing or comparing prices... even if your purchase is already certain).
• Rule 3: Remember that all prices are flexible... the existence of a menu , price list or other form of formalised pricing does not mean that prices are set in stone... frequently if you say to people "Listen, what´s your bottom line for X, Y, Z?" then they will give it to (again, showing them that your custom is not guaranteed is always good... in a restaurant for instance, look at the menu before sitting down, choose (or just make up) what you want and go for a good price while standing... only then do you sit down!)
• Rule 4: Be chatty and friendly with people before you purchase, i.e. "buen dia amigo, como te vas" etc... if they like you, it´s less likely that they will rip you off...
• Rule 5: One chance. If looking for something for which there are lots of alternative offers... (i.e. taxi from station into town or something) and someone offers you their product or service (Señor, señor... ciere taxi?), you turn to them and basically say "OK, buddy... I'll go with you if your first price is right... you have one chance at my custom". Now they think to themselves (in Spanish of course): "bollix, what´ll I do... should I try to fuck this gringo over... but if he already knows how much its worth, then I´ll definitely lose him... maybe I´ll just give him the right price so as to be sure of his custom" and they generally make the right decision and give you a decent price. At this point, I usually then take away about ten percent and counter offer... its almost always accepted and if the service is good, I put the ten percent back on as a tip... and I´ve found that this way, I almost always pay very close to the local price and not highly inflated (x2, x3, x15...) gringo prices. If they give you an inflated price, then shake your head in a disappointed manner, turn around and walk away.
• Rule 6: Offer direct purchase. When there are lots of alternative offers, say to people "Listen, I´ll sign up with you / go with you / buy from you right now, without hesitation,at a price of X... anything else and I´ll look around first"... sometimes that works too.
• Rule 7: Downright bribery. This, the "piece de la resistance" works only when you are paying to pass into something or through someone (museum, site, national park etc.)... you wait until the ticket seller is on their own and you approch them to ask the price... you put on your best shocked face and say "What, that much, that´s very pricey... why is it so pricey... I mean how about I pay you a little less... and to tell you the truth, I don´t really need a ticket, I just need to pass through you... ". I find that I pay between 10 and 50 percent of the ticket price (which for national parks can be very expensive). Obviously this is actually bribery, and if you don´t get a ticket, the cash goes straight into the ticket sellers back pocket, but I have no qualms with it, as the corruption down here will guarantee that a certain percentage of the ticket price will disappear into some politicians back pocket so you might as well give it to the ticket seller who gets paid pittance...
• Rule 8: Stick with good people. If people offer you value for money straight up and it is clear that they´re not ripping you off, then buy as many things that you can there (i.e. there´s only one place in Cusco that I buy bottled water from, because on my first day there, the lady charged me the same price for a bottle of water that she had charged to the local who was in front of me - this may seem trivial but is actually quite rare - so now I go back there for almost everything).
• Rule 9: Steer clear from bad people. If someone really tries to rip you off in a bad way, then that´t the way they are... turn around, walk away and even if they shout lower prices after you, even something that you would consider paying... don´t give them your custom!
• Rule 10: Mass is important: Try to do things as groups, or to buy in bulk... an increased amount of business helps your leverage on price...

This all sounds very scabby and miserly, but people will exploit if you don´t take care... You should also turn the tables on yourself and let your value-for-money paradigm work both ways, not only in your pockets favour... i.e. pay for the value you recieve, no more, but no less!

Also, don´t grind people down to a price where they make no margin... this is unfair! I don´t think you feel a sense of achievement if you have haggled some poor person down to a point where they are not making cash... If you decide to buy from a vendor, sometimes there should be an element of charity in your purchase... you have to distinguish that from a purely functional purchase in a store.

Anyway, enough rambligs on how to be miserish, I´m off to the jungle on Tuesday for a months work in an Eco Lodge called the Picaflor Research Centre (website here)... Its volunteerish and it will guarantee me a cheap month... Won´t have internet access so will not update v. often (if at all)...

Have spent my time in Cusco boozing and seeing some Inca stuff... but I will go to Macchu Picchu upon my return from the Jungle at which point I will tell you all about the Inca´s and all the crazy stuff they got up to... because it really is very interesting. I will also be able to talk more authoritavely on Peru and its people, so I look foward to that...

Will try to update with a small post before I go direction Jungle... que se vayan bien, compadres!