Always bring a map

A good one. A fairly detailed one. Preferably one that isn't a mish-mash of two different maps and thus drawn at a strange scale. And one that at the very least has the places of interest in the correct spot. Unlike the following hand-drawn map by yours truly.

This hastily drawn map shows food place of interest, Point 1, several blocks away and in an entirely different direction than where it is physically located. This little gem of a map had us wandering around the streets of Huaraz, dazed and confused from hunger, looking for a place we were never going to find because in my haste to get out the door and get fed I had neglected to put it in the correct place. A small but significant error.

It is also a mistake to rely on simply a list of restaurants with street names in order to find a place to rest your feet and fill your tum. Even if you've been thoughtful enough to include street numbers on some this is still an inefficient method if you are not entirely familiar with the town you're in and where the heck these streets actually are.

This sort of behaviour will result in you eating 3 slices of cold potato smothered in Huancaina sauce with a quarter of a hard-boiled egg and a sad olive on top. Yes, Papa a la Huancaina is delicious. No, this is not a sufficient amount of food for lunch. You will then be forced to scavenge fries and boiled rice off your significant other's plate because there is nothing else on the menu you can eat.

So next time when you're considering leaving the guidebook at home because it's weighty and hurts to carry it, don't. It's maps are always better than yours.


Post-script:

Highlight: Saw a dog wheel-barrowing a slightly smaller dog around with it's hee-haw in a moment of doggy lust. It wasn't very dignified.