You excitedly pack your suitcase.
You arrive at your destination ready for fun!
Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub, Lub-DUB
You feel your heart drop
You try to stay positive
Your mind races thinking
This can't be happening
You triple check your purse
You retrace your steps
And you finally accept
Your wallet has been STOLEN.
This was a scenario that had not really crossed my mind when I was traveling in Barcelona. Sure I was aware that there were thieves. Sure I was warned to watch out for them. Sure I heard of stories. But, I never thought it would happen to ME. I categorized myself as a smart traveler. Who knew which people to ask when I was lost looking for directions. How to avoid eye contact with creepy strangers. Navigating myself to my next destination with ease. But yes I got my wallet stolen in Barcelona. And soon after I developed a habit of losing things while traveling like my phone, or my purse. I blame lack of sleep and awareness for a lot of these things. And maybe a little of greed and reliance as well.
What do I mean by greed? Well I get greedy to see everything I can when I am at a new place. I want to experience everything about the place. Wherever there were people, I needed to check out what it was about. A softer word for greed I guess could be curiosity. This is why when there is an explosion people tended to want and see whats going on. But the very action could cause them to become by shattered glass. Curiosity killed the cat makes for the perfect analogy for this human behavior. Like the cat we can't help ourselves from being curious. And pick picketers are experts on human behavior. There are all sorts of ways to get a unsuspecting tourist to become distracted. Asking them to take a picture, pretending to be the local police, pretending to be lost asking for directions.
My pickpocket experience was not so elaborate. I was at a very crowded place watching a light show. The show was beautiful. And I was aware that I needed to keep my purse close to me. So it sat on my lap the entire time. After the show when everyone was starting to leave, my purse simply hung on my shoulders by my side. I did not know at what point the zipper to my purse was opened. I did not know if there was more than one person involved, I did not know if it was the person taking the picture for me and my friend that had quick hands. I do recall not being terribly satisfied with the photo she took for me. And a few moments later I felt my purse was lighter than usual. Lub-Dub. Lub-Dub. Lub-DUB.
It's an awful feeling. I spent the entire night trying to cancel my credit cards. Thankfully I left a spare bank card and passport in a safe location. Otherwise, I would be I spent the rest of my vacation giving sketchy locals the nasty look. I did not take much pictures for the remainder of the trip. I was disgusted when a local pretended to be lost looking for directions approached us.
Had I been a little more alert. Picked a wallet that was not easy to take. Picked a purse that was not so easy to open. Been less eager to capture the moment on my camera. I would be 200 Euros richer.
Lessons learned on how to protect your wallet
- Don't carry all your money and valuables in one place
- Be aware of dark/crowded places
- Just because your on vacation doesn't mean everyone else is on vacation
- Sometimes the inevitable happens, try to make the best of it
The economy in Spain is not doing so well. There are lots of people sitting around and hitting on women making things uncomfortable. At night most of the clubs and bars are empty with the exception of places where foreigners go. The club that one of the hostels took us to was filled with hot guys from other parts of Europe. Their bathroom was disgusting. Remember when most people are travelling they are looking for a good time. Some of people we encountered were, the friendly american college grads studying anthropology, the friendly south american girls, the Chinese brother who thought I was Korean, the Korean pimp surrounded by women, the hot blond guy who wouldn't let go of my hands, the salsa dancers from Waterloo, the crazy fighting in a shots bar.
Always a good time travelling with my dearest friend JP.
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