It doesn't do to get complacent
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
18
61
Trip End
Apr 01, 2009
Riobamba,
Ecuador
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Riobamba. My handbag was stolen before the bus left the bus station
but I didnīt realise till the conductor came round collecting tickets
about 30 minutes out of Quito.
In the bus station a guy who I thought was the conductor made a
fuss about my daypack in the overhead rack and while I was sorting that
out I think my handbag was pulled under the seat by an accomplice.
Anyway I had to continue to Riobamba (4 hours) so the conductor
could get me a ticket back to Quito and I could report the theft of my
passport to the Embassy. Beside the passport I lost my purse, $200,
credit card, ATM card, camera, glasses, keys to troll in storage,
Spanish phrase book, nicotine substitute and the water for the journey.
7pm parched and starving by the time I got back to Quito and
walked half way back to the hostel (about 2km in the rain) before a
kind lady let me on the trolly bus for free.
Claus who owns the hostel lent me $20 and took bolt cutters to the padlocks on my troll.
Tuesday at the Embassy they let me phone all the card companies -
luckily I had a "spare" ATM card with another bank so I could pay $190
for a replacement passport. It'll be ready next Thursday and the
Consulate in Cartagena will let me use that address for my replacement
cards. So Iīll still be able to meet Jon on 15 Dec.
Iīd downloaded all my pix anyway and Iīm off in a minute to look
for a 2nd hand camera (might even find my own!!). Iīve still got my
Raybans and I had a spare pair of specs in my troll, and to be honest I
wasnīt totally enamoured of the lost ones. I got a nice new purse at
the Indian market and 2 new padlocks.
All in all it could have been much worse. Everybody has been
really kind, even the tourist police and the Embassy people were
great. But if I hadnīt started feeling comfortable in Quito it would
never have happened.
