That Time When I Left A Bag in a Taxi in a Foreign Country

Cusco, Peru.

I believe it was 2008 when I was there?

We decided to go on vacation. Peru was the best choice that we could go to see a world wonder for not a crazy expensive price. We were going to do Lima, Cusco, Macchu Picchu, and the Nazca Lines. We only had booked the first part of our trip to Lima as we were not sure where we were going to go and had heard if we booked at local booking agencies in Peru, it was much, much cheaper than doing it online. So off we went to Peru, where I was the only one who spoke decent Spanish , enough to get us to communicate important information.

Lima was wet and rainy, but it was humid – my hair was curly as hell, and I did not have a hair dryer because my plugs did not fit! While in Lima I am in search of a hair dryer so I don’t look like a crazy person the entire trip. Meanwhile, my relationship with the ex I had went with, was on the outs, and there was a lot of tension throughout this trip. Crazy the amount of animosity there was in such a beautiful place. 

Anyway, we decide to take a flight from Lima to Cusco on a smaller plane and stay there a couple of days then take a bus down to the Nazca Lines, like a 2 hour plane ride and a 6 hour bus ride. All totally normal things to do as we had no children and not to many bags. So why not?

Off we go to Cusco.

Cusco, in case you have never been, is absolutely beautiful, and such an amazing place and I highly recommend that you go there one day. We get to Cusco, and now we need to figure out how to get to the hotel. Mind you, no one speaks English at all, because now we are in the heart of Peru, and even though it is a tourist area, Macchu Picchu was the tourist attraction and it didn’t cause more English speaking which what one would normally expect.

Anyway, we hop into a taxi and I explain in broken Spanish where our hotel (Hostel) is. We assume we have made it, the name matched the name of the place on our trip papers. We pay the taxi, we go into the hotel, somehow get our room, and bring everything upstairs. As we are still not the best of friends on this trip at the moment, I am ignoring him and trying to get ready to shower to get ready for the rest of the day. I had my luggage and then my one important bag, that had my makeup, my books, my passport, cell phone, wallet; you knw- the essential of life in a bag form.

Luggage was there, but essential of life in bag form? Missing. Gone. Nada.

I am freaking out is an understatement. I just left my bag with my passport and my license in a taxi in Cusco, Peru….. uhm hi, welcome me as a citizen then?

Holy shit – how was I supposed to get my bag back?

Typical male response, “Well you should have taken it with you.” No SHIT!

After I stop hyperventilating, I run out of the hotel, my only chance is to try. I remember where in the airport I found the taxi, I would go back and look in each cab and then somehow in my broken Spanish ask someone to help me, ayuda!!!

I make it back to the airport. Of course every taxi is the yellow and looks the same, but I am determined – I am not getting stuck in Peru with no passport!

At this point, I know that I am unlucky based on the shit time the ex I was with was giving me, but I needed this luck. I needed to find this bag!

I looked through every single taxi window and finally, finally! 

There it was.

Sitting in the back of the taxi that we had been, completely untouched.

If I had been having some doubts about God during this trip, this pure luck instance really confirmed to me that god was good, and I was going to make it through. I felt like I should have played the lotto that day. I gave that taxi driver a tip and a hug and got the hell out of there!

Cusco, Peru.