Maybe planning ahead would have been a good idea

So I got into Lima last night around 10 30 and decided to let one of the concierge guys in the airport get me cab to the bus station so that I could go to Ayacucho where the orphanage is. To make a long story short, they took me down some dark alley and fed me some crap about how they don´t accept nuevo soles (the currency here) and that I needed to pay in pesos. They then told me that the ATM would give me pesos and I needed to take out 1400 (which in Pesos wouldn´t have been too expensive) but then it spit out nuevo soles (1400 is about $500) and they took them and ran off. I then got another cab to take me to a hotel but he gave me the same crap and I wasn´t buying it but he pulled over on a dark highway and basically made me give him what I had while a very angry Peruvian came and started banging on my window. Needless to say I paid him and he brought me to a hotel. I told the lad at the counter what happened and she was very sweet and felt sorry for me so in the morning she called me a cab and he brought me to a bus station (the cab fare was only $5 this time not $500. I had called my mom and she told me to go to a bus station called cruz del sur because they had reserved a bus for me but apparently the cab driver brought me to the wrong one b/c there was no reservation...but no fear!!! I talked to some cops that reminded me a little of cheech and chong the way they discussed where the other cruz del sur was until they finally just called me a cab so here I am at the right cruz del sur waiting for my bus that leaves in 10 hrs (not quite sure what I´m going to do for 9 hrs but I´m sure I can manage to get into a little bit of trouble.

Having said all that I feel like I should sum it up a little bit. I got scammed, then scammed again, then found a nice lady at a hotel (oh yeah her daughter was rather attractive and nice as well as was her husband, the nice part not so much on the attractive). But I am now at a bus station and all is well. I am not angry at the cab drivers and am rather sad for them and actually spent some time praying for them because they they took advantage of my fear/tiredness/ignorance and frankly they did need the money more than I did but I really wish I could have used that money at the orphanage because they need it even more than these cab drivers. So for all of you out there supporting me and praying for me say a little prayer for those cab drivers and a prayer of thanks for the sweet lady at the hotel. That is it for now and if I have access to the internet in Ayacucho I will be sure to do my best to update the blog.

In Christ,

Brandon