Hola
Just passing by, seeing where you spend your time. Felt the warmth of the fire, and smelt the
.
Travel is such an educator. Mention of Inca treasure made me think of a time, years back, when I travelled a short stretch of the Inca Road as part of a small group with a guide. Naturally, we had plenty of time to imagine the movement of treasure along the beaten track and, occasionally, to dwell on the plight of those from whom it was taken.
One mid-afternoon, we trekked into some kind of way station to drop our packs, with a welcome halt to put on dry socks, and maybe get some rare luxuries. Nothing then really cost a great deal in Peru, and it was fine if you were on a budget. Inflation was rampant, and the numbers were huge - there were thousands of centavos to the British pound.
Around the plaza, if you could call it that, there was a handful of Peruvian women, each sat in front of a cloth, with what I thought were some very poor pickings, but I felt some fruit might go down well. I pulled myself off the wall and walked over to what must have been the most miserable-looking woman in Peru.
I squatted down in front of her and flexed my haggling muscles, poking disparagingly at her wares. She just glared, which I imagined was her flexing her own haggling muscles. I gave a sniff, the way you do, ready to get down to some serious dickering.
It’s a funny thing though, but big numbers always make things seem expensive. I hefted some fruit, as if it were the last thing I wanted to buy, and asked the price. I don’t now recall the numbers, but I was led to reflect on the transaction afterwards. In real terms, it went something like this (in Spanish):
Me: How Much?
She: A nickel.
Me: I’ll give you a penny.
She: Four?
Me: (with sharp intake of breath, and shaking my head) Two.
She looked at me hard for a full five seconds, and then asked: Señor, tell me, what’s a nickel to you?
I felt truly ashamed, and gave her a dime. I mentioned the episode to my marching buddy who observed that she probably made a few dollars a day from suckers like me. I thought good luck to her, because there was probably a very good reason they all looked so miserable. Relatively speaking, they probably were.
to the delight of the workers working on the roof next door, one of my roofers took delight in giving me this story.
He njust grinned and merely nodded his head. " Bill, I would never consider such a thing, besides they have just as much right to use that land as you" He looked upset as I stormed out of his house
l.
). Wonderful women, those...and discerning husbands who obviously recognise their value and honor it. 
. I must confess that, at present, I am honor bound to share a glass of....*shudders*...Gallo Thunderbird with a very possessive Sasquatch in the near future. 
