A Victim of my First Crime...I Called It Though

I mentioned that I thought Iquitos was a little dangerous, that I felt like there were more shady people here than anywhere I have been. And sure enough, I fell victim to my first scam since I have been in Peru. I always try to watch myself, and be careful, but damn- this guy was good.

I was changing money, and my first tip off should have been that the guy didn´t try to haggle the exchange rate with me, he just gave me the best rate straight up. Happily, I accepted, and handed over 40 dollars. At his rate, I was to recieve 126 soles back. He gave me 116, as I counted and checked all the bills for counterfit, I noticed that I was 10 short. I called him on it, and reluctantly, he took the money back to count it himself. Then, smiling and appoligizing, he took out another bill, and- I thought- added it to the pile. I again, checked the accuracy of the bills, but having seen him add the other bill, I did not count the money. Somehow, the guy actually took one less out of the pile! Now I´m out 20 soles. Damn it! I didn´t relize until later that night.

When I told the locals, they were a bit upset and told me to go back and yell at the guy! Fearing a far worse fate, I chose to let the incident go, and chalk it up to a learning expierence. I´m smarter now, and know what to look for, so at least it was only 20 soles and not much more. A good one to learn on.