Backpacking South America

So, it needs to be said, not all of our experiences have been “hoops and glitter.” We have been traveling now for 8 months. We have seen big cities and remote towns. We have survived crazy bus rides and avoided countless dangerous situations. But, no matter how cautious you are or how “on” you are, traveling can be tiring and sometimes you feel as if you can never be “off.” Sometimes you feel like you need to sleep with your eyes open.

We have had such a positive traveling experience. We have met wonderful locals and fellow travelers. In comparison, it is a relatively rare occasion that we meet legitimately unfriendly, unhelpful people. But, while the majority of people are friendly and often eager to help, one Sunday morning we happened upon a bad apple in a good area of town.

We had arrived in Cuenca the night before. It was late and we were tired, so we didn’t venture too far from the hostel into town. Sunday morning we woke up to a dreary, rainy and quiet town (nothing too far out of the ordinary for a Sunday in South America). We decided to take a look at this new country (our first stop in Ecuador) and the city we stopped in. We stumbled upon a lot of closed doors (normal for a Sunday). Eventually we happened upon a cute little café. For a rainy Sunday, a good cup of coffee was just what we needed. Unfortunately, they didn’t have WiFi, but the place was super comfortable with a delicious menu and wonderful décor. It was most definitely a gringo hangout, with several gringos eating breakfast and others coming in and grabbing a quick cup of coffee. It was comfortable. So, we decided to grab this little table for two tucked into the corner by the front door. Jared took the seat sandwiched between the corner and the table, squeezed right next to the wall. He set his bag down right beside the chair and the wall, thinking “what a tight squeeze, it’s sure to be safe here.” Usually, he attaches it to his leg or something to just be sure there’s never a tug on it, but it was near to impossible to reach and we thought “no worries.” So, we ordered our coffee and engaged in conversation.

Two men entered the café and ordered bottled water and proceeded to leave. As they were leaving they seemed to linger by the door for quite some time. We noticed their presence, but thought nothing of it, until right after they left. Jared decided to just peer down and double check his bag as the door closed. Missing. Immediately, he said “what happened to my bag?” And immediately the staff said, “Robo?” And it all happened so quickly, but Jared was out the door with the waiters at his heels. The two guys who just came in for a bottle of water were walking down the sidewalk and kindly pointed out our bag, sitting on the sidewalk, no more than 10 feet from the door. It was amazing how our bag grew legs and walked right out the door behind these guys. The two waiters didn’t wait to see the bag, they took off yelling and running after the men, who in turn were running and yelling that they didn’t take it. Jared and I scooped up the bag and went back into the café. We made sure everything was there, which it was; there really wasn’t any time for these men to take anything out of it because we realized right away that it was gone.

The wait staff chased these guys down the street, caught them and called the police. As they waited for the police it attracted a crowd and people started yelling and chastising them. Apparently there is some citizen justice to be dished out to crooks like this. Old ladies approached them shaking their fingers yelling, “You should be ashamed of yourselves! Get a job. You’ll deter tourists.” Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and sure, theft is going to happen, but the local people don’t tolerate it.

Once the police arrived, they arrested the men and then drove down to the café to speak with us and see if we wanted to file a report. Since nothing was stolen, it was sort of a difficult situation. We asked the staff what was best for the community. If filing a report was beneficial, we were willing to do so. So, we told the police we were willing to file a report and they proceeded to tell us that it would probably take about 2 hours. We told them we had time, after all, it was Sunday, there’s nothing else to do. Then they went on to tell us they would need to retain our bag for a few days. And well, that was the deal breaker. They won. They got their way and we decided against filing a complaint. The police simply assured us that they were going to hold these men in prison for a few days on other charges.

Whether or not justice was served, we hope the public humiliation shamed these crooks to change their ways.