Changing currencies in Cusco/Cuzco (Peru)

On my third day in Cuzco, I had to go to the Banco de Credito to change some money and went early to beat the queues.   The window was still shut.  First in the queue was a young lady in her mid-20s.  Behind her, a man in his early 60s, then me.  When the clerk came to open the window, the man stepped straight up to the counter, bypassing the young lady, who didn’t demur in the least.  She must’ve had it done to her many times. 

As an instinctive defender of underdogs, however, I wasn’t putting up with this, so I went forward and tapped the man on the shoulder, saying the only Spanish I could think of, “Primera, primera,” pointing at the young lady.  They were both equally taken aback by this.  He immediately deferred, stepping back and gesturing in a sheepish way to the young lady to go up to the counter.

I’d changed only a small amount of money that day, in the optimistic belief this might restrict my shopping.  It turned out to be over optimistic, for I spent it all in one day, so the next morning, I was back at the bank, this time even earlier than the previous day, and I was first in the queue.  Behind me was a new old man (also in his 60s), and behind him the old man from the day before.  The old man from the previous day was probably getting the best rate out of Banco de Credito to earn a small margin outside as a floating money-changer.  Maybe the young lady, too, come to think of it.

Anyway, as soon as the clerk opened the window, the new old man moved up to the counter, bypassing me.  Before I could say anything, the old man from the previous day tapped the newcomer on the shoulder, and said, jerking his head in my direction, “Primera, primera.”  The new old man was quite startled at this intervention and looked quizzically at the first old man.  The old man from the previous day said, in Spanish, with a resigned shrug, “I did that yesterday and got told off by her.”

(Cusco/Cuzco, Peru, 1986)