WanderingWhy…

I hate to sound like a commercial, but we love PacSafe products. As you have already heard Dawn sing praises, now it’s my turn.

Dawn’s experience was minor compared to this one. Had the pickpocket in Quito gotten into Dawn’s bag, she might have gotten a guidebook, $10, and a roll of toilet paper (don’t laugh, TP is a valuable commodity here in Ecuador). We keep most of our valuables in my bag and secure it as best as possible—I don’t let anyone touch it and it never leaves my sight.

We traveled by bus from Otavalo to Latacunga here in Ecuador. Unfortunately there is no direct bus between these two towns and we needed to return to the den of thieves in Quito to change buses. Don’t get me wrong—I really enjoyed Quito but you do need to watch your back in certain areas.

We boarded the bus and were the only passengers on board. We grabbed the prime seats at the very front with all the leg room to stretch out. I put my bag under my legs and cracked a book for the long ride.

Some guys got on board and sat directly behind us. I assumed they wanted to watch the soccer game on the TV in front. The conductor was standing in the aisle and chatting with them for a good half hour.

As the bus was bumping along, I looked down and noticed the bag had “slid” underneath my seat. I pulled the bag out and propped my feet on it. The conductor told me to take my feet off the wall. When I did this he tried to grab the bag. I grabbed it first and he started snapping at me in Spanish. I could not register what his was saying fast enough but eventually I figured out he was telling me I needed to store the bag underneath the seat. I didn’t like his tone and when he said it for the forth time and tapped me on the shoulder I snapped at him and told him no.

This “conductor” got off at the next stop with the two people that were sitting behind me—and they ran. It was then Dawn heard someone in the back of the bus say they were “Ladrons” (thieves). I looked at my bag again and noticed it was unzipped but still locked.

I didn’t think much of it since this is how it looks 90% of the time when its locked up in my room. I didn’t recall opening the bag on the bus for any reason though… I inspected it a bit more closely and noticed the cable near the padlock was damaged—they had tried to cut it! It seems this “conductor” was working with the men behind me to try and break into my bag from underneath my seat! When they couldn’t get into it he was frustrated enough to try and grab it (and brazen enough to tell me I needed to store it under the seat). I expect to encounter pickpockets, but to carry a tool in an attempt to cut cable?!?! These low-lives were really prepared.

Only on arriving here in Banos did I see the following warning in a café:

Beware of a robbery scam currently popular on buses coming out of Quito. They target foreigners and enter the buses posing as official controllers… counting seats and indicating to passengers where to put their bags—under their seats or above in the racks—then they plant someone behind you to get the bag when you’re not looking. Watch your bags at all times!!!

As usual it’s probably just me, but wouldn’t it have been better to have gotten this information IN QUITO!?!? .

But, PacSafe didn’t just save the day—in this case it has saved our trip!!!

Pacsafe actually took note of Dawn’s story and thanked us. I have written to tell them of our latest experience as well. I am waiting to hear back from them on a possible replacement bag. Seeing as we still have a lot of travel ahead of us and we keep our lives in this bag, I hope they can come through for us.

I hope their customer service is as great as their products. I’d like to note for anyone considering one of these bags, even if these thieves had managed to cut this section of cable the bag would still be locked. Nothing is foolproof but these bags are a damn good deterrent.

Bad element aside, and there are bad elements everywhere in the world, we are loving Ecuador. Most people here are kind, friendly, and very helpful. I don’t want to leave any readers with the impression this is not a place to travel… honestly the more we see the more it’s becoming one of our favorite countries.

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