So, as it turns out, the one time that I didn`t take the usual precautions, something went wrong. You would think that your purse would be safe while on your chair in the back corner of a restaurant with mirrors on the walls at a table with three guys for lunch in the plaza. But no. Alas. It was stolen. And, again, the one time that I had my passport with me (because I just returned to Peru after a quick trip to Bolivia so I needed it) it was in my purse. Along with the credit cards, sunglasses, Lonely Planet guide that I had written in, and worst of all...my camera and flash drive with all my pictures from my trip. And again, the flash drive was not in my purse 99% of the time. However, on this particular day, I was moving pictures from my camera to my flash drive. So, believe me, I can think of a million different things I could have done to prevent this mishap, so don`t comment on that!
Point is, since I lost my passport, I called Darcy for help in Perù, and Lindsey was luckily having a snow day from work and helped me out immensely on the States end of things. After spending the day at the police station, I took the next bus back to Cusco. There is a US Consulate office here, and they were able to help me out with getting a new passport.
One day, I would like to go back to Arequipa, but I think the city and I need a little time apart right now.
