"At first we thought Ted was crazy when he got up and went into the kitchen to interrupt the staff as they watched a telenovela to demand the check," said Peter Allen, leader of the Perigrinaje de Pedro al Peru. "I mean, they have knives in there. But what do you know? He was right. They did bring the check, albeit a half hour later. But who knows when we would have gotten out of there otherwise."
No physical injuries were reported, but the condition of two members of the group who wanted soup to help them overcome altitude sickness has in fact deteriorated. The other four members of the group quickly disappeared into the crowds and their condition could not be ascertained.
The trouble began when the group separated in the morning so that one part of the group could hike to the Inca ruins at Saqsuhuman. Afterwards, they descended back into Cusco to find their missing members. When they were finally located, the frustration of those left behind was palpable.
"I'm sick and tired and all I want is soup," said Sara Allen. "What the hell took you so long?"
To appease Ms. Allen, a schoolteacher in Arlington, VA, the group told her to choose a place for lunch. Under mounting pressure and an intense afternoon sun, Ms. Allen chose a dubious restaurant on a small hill leading off the Plaza de Armas. Locals were not impressed with the decision.
"The food is ok, but see that guy there with the gray hair?" said street art vendor Miguel Angel Cabeza de Vaca, pointing to an elderly man who had dozed off at a small table near the kitchen. "When he went in there he was 29. He is now 58. He still hasn't gotten through his appetizer - a mediocre caldo de gallina. Seriously, he is almost falling in the soup he is so tired. But the gringos, they don't know any better. They might never get out of there."
The restaurant, according to Mr. Cabeza de Vaca, is known for its "just in time" delivery business model, the first of its kind in Cusco. Rather than keep food on the premises, they wait until a customer makes an order, then send out to the grocer for fresh produce and meat.
"It takes longer -- well, a lot longer -- but they say the food is really fresh," added Juan de la Cruz, a pick pocket legend in the Plaza de Armas. "Not that I would know, I never could wait around long enough to get my food."
By the time the gringos finally got out, the museums they intended to see in the late afternoon had closed.
"I'm not sure who I blame more at this moment, our logistics manager or our translator" said Peter Allen in reference to Ted Allen and Sara Allen. "On the one hand, the logistics officer should have these things mapped out and he should have had the scoop on that awful joint. On the other hand, Sara did pick the place and there was no way Ted could convince her otherwise. I'll need to think hard about it tonight to formulate a mitigation strategy going forward. In the meantime, I need a pisco."
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