The good guide and the bad guide

The Lonely Planet guide describes the Museo del Sitio de Qorikancha as “small, mangy and underground” with “sundry moth-bitten archaeological displays”. I can now confirm this evaluation, but as this visit was included on our “boleto turistico”, we went anyway. Guides always present themselves once you have entered an “attraction” and, up until now, depending on feeling and my mood, I have accepted or not. To this lady I said yes, after agreeing on the fee of 15 soles for a 20-minute visit. What she told us was interesting enough, but she was quite speedy – she didn’t wait for me to finish reading the English explanations on the exhibits before moving to the next. At the end of the visit I paid her with a 50-sole note (12.50 euros), which caused tremendous problems – she went off to seek change but came back 10 minutes later not having found any… I suggested she ask at the entrance but they only had 100-sole notes. I asked her name and said I would pass by and leave her fee at the entrance the next day – but that was not acceptable either. By now I was getting a bit fed up – she had a problem yet I was expected to solve it. In the end, Anastassja saved the day by running off to nearby Maximo Nivel, where she did her TEFL course, and changed the note there…Phew! The photo  (above) was taken just in front of the museum – I gave these ladies 1 sole before taking the photo and yet they pestered me for more afterwards. This constant hunger for money (although, of course, I understand why) is one of the very tiring aspects of Cusco.

Later on in the day, by myself, I decided to visit the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus on the Plaza de Armas. The young guia who guided me was called Guido and he said his fee for a 15-minute visit was discretionary – i.e. I could pay him as I thought fit after the visit. I agreed. Well, he certainly restored my faith in guides – his visit was excellent – pedagogic and clear with lots of anecdotal information that you don’t find in the guide books. The church is well worth a visit– it so rivaled the splendour of the cathedral while it was being built in the late 1560s that the Archbishop of Cusco called in Pope Paul III to arbitrate, but by then it was too late – the church was finished. At the end of what ended up being a one-hour visit, Guido even offered to take a few pictures of me, from the choir with the Plaza de Armas behind me (photo above). As a fee, I gladly gave him a 20-sole note and he very gratefully thanked me for it… I realise this account of my experiences with guides may irritate, but surely the notion of value for money and service has its place in poor countries too – or have I become too Swiss? (One thing I should add maybe to give an idea of  "going rates" is that Anastassja is paid 20 soles an hour for the classes she teaches at respected institutions - this hourly rate includes her preparation time, which is probably another 30 minutes on average).