Centenario

The back streets of Cuzco are surprisingly serene and offer not only a respite from touts but also a glimpse into just what made this city so special in the first place.When it came time to pay, the cards were indeed the price quoted but it seemed the price of the shoeshine had gone up a bit. I asked why and of course, it was because I had gotten the ?special? shine, not the regular one. I explained that I never asked for the special one. He asked whether it was a really good job. I had to admit it was, but he was asking for about a dollar now. I knew I could have just paid him what he had originally quoted me. These kids are actually not allowed to work the square by law (though nobody seems to enforce this!) and no policeman would side with him in a dispute. I didn?t want to argue with a little kid over such a small amount of money so I decided to play his game too. I told the kid with the postcards that we had bought so many that we wanted a discount on them. He knew he had a big sale and if I decided that I would just take the shoeshine, he?d be out some money. He relented and wound up giving us three postcards for ?free,? which pretty much paid for my shoeshine. I conveniently didn?t have any change to pay the boys separately and gave all the money to the postcard kid, and told him to pay the other boy for my shoeshine when he got change. I also told the shine boy that he had got me to do something no one had ever done, to pay for a shoeshine. That it was a one time thing and to never try again. He smiled and said sure and we went on our way having enjoyed our little exchange with the local kids, who were charming if savvy. The next day while window shopping, I suddenly felt something at my leg and looked down to see a kid starting to shine my shoe! I couldn?t believe this kid?s nerve but before I could say anything, he looked up and winked as he said, ?shoe shine, mister?? Of course, it was the same kid as the day before. My laugh showed he was an amigo, but it said no thank you just the same.