PW_2_2023

Article

Celebrity, Spiders and Paddington Bear: A Journey through Peru Mark Faunt, Scarborough Branch Chair Contact with other International Sections has certainly improved with modern technology. My first encounter with travel forms in 1992 took months to contact colleagues in Hawaii, but contact with Section Peru was almost instantaneous. A month before travel I submitted the forms to Fox Road, and received a phone call the next day to clarify a few points. Then three days after posting

got to experience a little bit about what the ethos of the IPA is all about. We exchanged experiences and talked about local issues in Arequipa and in Scarborough, where I worked up until retirement. Many of the issues were very similar. My fellow travellers on the bus had seen me being met by police officers and having my photo taken with them. Several asked why I had personal security and why everyone wanted my photograph. Even the bus drivers and tour staff were getting in on the action with photos. One of them had been told that I was famous, hence their requests for photos. It made me laugh because the more I robustly denied being famous, the more my fellow travellers refused to believe me. What made it even funnier was that one of my fellow travellers looked remarkably like Tom Hanks, and said it was nice that someone else was getting attention instead of him. Whilst in Puno, I was fortunate enough to visit the Floating Uros Islands on the vast Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world). Here there are no police, they have their own passport stamp, and the law is administered by the leader of the islands. After a few days in Bolivia, where there is no IPA Section, I returned to Peru. I had been up to 4,444 metres above sea level, been to a witches’ market, and travelled around the highest capital in the world in cable cars. From La Paz I took the Peruhop bus to Cusco, travelling a little under 24 hours on the bus with a stop at Copacabana in Bolivia. Cusco is the heart of the tourist area near to Machu Picchu, and after being met by the local tourist Police, I went to my hotel where my now celebrity status paid off. Arriving at 5am, tired from overnight travel on the bus, I was given a room early in my hostel. Sadly, I had developed a cold and was feeling a bit under the weather, so I declined a guided tour of the city by cops, as being at 3,500 metres above sea level, difficulty breathing was not ideal, so I took the advice from the guide book, drink lots of water and walk slowly. I was in contact with the police on a regular basis, but they didn’t have anyone who spoke English, so I looked after myself. I visited Machu Picchu (the main reason for me travelling to Peru) and on my last night went for a beer, as I was feeling better, and got chatting to the local Honorary British Consul. He asked if I was police or military. Curious as to why he had asked me that, he informed me that in his role he had met

my form, I heard from Section Peru’s Secretary General. A few days before flying, I was contacted by the Section Peru President, and we made plans to meet on my arrival at Jorge Chavez International Airport, in Lima. On exiting the airport I was accosted by a crowd of people offering taxi’s to downtown Lima, which I declined, as I was being met by Alex, Section Peru President and two members of the Airport Tourist Police. We took photos and swapped IPA Pins, before I was greeted by my Limo Driver. We had to stop at the Police Aviation Section of the airport, so that Alex could collect his car. The Limo driver was chuffed to drive into the Police unit’s HQ, and quickly took a selfie to prove he had been into the location. Alex left me at this point, but invited me to his house the following day for a meal. The next day was Peru’s National Day and many restaurants were closed, but Alex wanted to show me how Peruvians celebrated their National Day. Traditional food was served, and we chatted for many hours within a large family gathering. I spoke to his brother in law, a retired Navy Admiral, which was interesting as I am now an instructor and Cadet Officer with the Combined Cadet Force Royal Navy Section. This conversation steered towards the Navy’s role in fighting drug trafficking and other criminality, and how relations were improving with the UK due to a newly appointed Ambassador. Alex explained that since taking over the role of Section President, the government had brought about Tax changes for Peruvians, hitting them hard, and as a result some 2,500 IPA members had cancelled their membership. He hoped that my visit would be a useful marketing tool to inspire their recruitment and retention plans. I didn’t know it at this point, but Alex had contacted the Tourist Police at all of the locations I was stopping at, and arranged for local police officers to meet me at the bus stops, to ensure that I got to my hotels safely. I met local officers at Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipa, Puno, and after a weekend in Bolivia, back in Cusco. Whilst in Arequipa, two officers were assigned to show me the town, I also got to see the Special Police Riot Headquarters, and some viewpoints that would not normally be on the tourist trail. It was a little surreal having an armed escort most of the time, but it was nice that the local officers

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POLICE WORLD Vol 68 No.2, 2023