Thursday, October 08, 2009

Getting Robbed

Before starting my trip, I expect to probably get robbed twice. It looks like I´ve only got one more time of getting robbed left now.

When my bus had first pulled into Mendoza, the crisp air and laid back people instant felt great. Unlike a large metropolitan city, Mendoza had no skyscrapers nor high rises and the streets were enormously less dirty. I checked into Hostel Independencia, an ideally located place hosting a relaxed atmosphere of young travelers and noticeably cute girls. I put my passport and wallet into a locker and tightly secured the padlock. Like my first few hours in any new place, before I fully unpacked, I decided grab my daypack, stretch my legs, and set out to explore the streets of this lively city.

Around siesta time, I came back to my hostel and went to the lockers to put away the rest of my valuables. Luckily my iPod and camera stayed in my daypack after the long bus ride because of my lack of desire to unpack and my urge to do something active. As I approached the lockers to fully store my valuables, I found a girl yelling at the hostel owners. Her iPod and electronic translator were missing from her locker. Frantically, I checked my own storage spot. My passport was still there and so were my wallet and credit cards. Phew. I was in the clear. But then, I peered deeper into my wallet. The two hundred American dollars I hadn´t yet exchanged were gone.

At first, I was struck with amazement. How could someone have opened my sturdy Masterlock? Of course my initial reaction was that this must be an inside job. But even a worker at the hostel couldn´t get through my personal lock that I brought with me. Over all the yelling (eight angry travelers had been robbed), I quietly packed the rest of my bags, walked out of the hostel, and informed the guy at the front desk that I would not be paying for my time.

Somehow, I remained optimistic throughout this whole ordeal. If I were to already get angry at the locals here, this would become a very long year fast. I had only lost some cash, compared to the other kids who lost iPods and the one kid who lost a laptop. I dodged a bullet for the mere price of $200.

Before I left, people often asked me what it would be like traveling by myself. Although getting robbed is an extremely isolating feeling, I´m grateful that I didn´t have someone else with me. Most people would have irately joined in the yelling at the hostel owners. Without traveling with other people, there was no group morale lost. As long as I stayed optimistic, this minor bump in the road led me to a better hostel on another street. With others at my new hostel, I ended up finding an amazing rappelling trip in the Andes (I still need to find a good way to upload pictures so you all can see the 150 foot cliff I climbed down) and I´ve met some great Norwegians who I´ve been spending a bunch of time with at my new place.

As I said before, I expected to get robbed twice on my trip. I´m hoping that was a realistic assumption, because my first experience getting robbed was as painless as ripping off a band-aid.


Share/Bookmark

3 comments:

CON October 08, 2009  

daang dude that sucks. but your attitude about it is great, and like you said, it could be a lot worse.

what a bunch of scumbags. but it all works out in the end i guess as it lead to meeting some good people and a great experience repelling. that sounds so badass. yet again i sit at my desk at work and am jealous. keep livin it up!

Anonymous October 08, 2009  

Sucker GREG! damn that sucks man but it sounds like overall everything is going well. Michigan lost to State last weekend, but Tate Forcier led one of the most exciting 4th quarters I've ever seen (Duffy's was insane). Keep postin' man - talk to you later

- Brenton

Unknown October 08, 2009  

Lesson learned, check for false backs. How lucky are you your passport still exists.

I think you did the right call by staying cool and not making enemies. Word up.