Getting Robbed in Cusco, Peru. And Catching the Thief.
While in Cusco, Peru, Jim and I had a couple hours to kill before we were to catch a flight to Lima. We decided just to wander around town.
We were walking in a non-touristy market-y area on a beautiful Saturday morning. There were lots of people out on the street as you can see in the photo below.
I just want to note, than when Jim and I are traveling, the person who is NOT wearing the backpack (is this case I am referring to a small daybag, not a giant backpack) is in charge of keeping an eye on the backpack being worn by the other person. We are very vigilant about this. In fact, literally two minutes before the incident happened, we were standing on a bridge and Jim was taking some photos. I put my arm around his back, over the backpack, while it was exposed to passersby. This is just an example of how careful we usually are around protecting the bag. Even when we are walking around, I will stay ever-so-slightly behind Jim just so I can always keep an eye on the bag.
The photo Jim took from the bridge a minute before being robbed
Back to the story. Suddenly, the sidewalk got extremely crowded to the point where all of us were pushed up against each other. Jim got separated from me and was about one or two people in front of me. At that moment I realized this was not a good situation and that I better keep a closer eye on him and his bag.
Then I saw that a bird crapped all over the back and side of Jim’s neck. I saw him sort of turn his head when he realized it happened, but he didn’t really react. I remembered thinking, “That sucks, we will have to go get him cleaned up.â€
As I was staring at the bird crap I realized that it did not look like bird crap. It looked like spit.
Then, in the next two seconds, a few things happened. I realized immediately that someone spit on Jim and that it was part of a scam and my brain went into defense mode. As a backpacker, you have either read or heard about the scam where someone either spits on you, squirts mustard or hand lotion or crap on you, then comes over and helps you clean it off, all while robbing you. I immediately looked at his backpack and sure enough I saw that the small outer pocket was UNzipped. I starting yelling to him, “Jim! Your bag! Your bag is open!â€Â Remember we were in an extremely crowded area.
In that same second, I looked around to see if I could see someone actually robbing him. There was a small older lady next to me, maybe about four and a half feet tall, and I must have seen her hand on his bag or something – I can’t remember what I saw now – but I knew it was her. I grabbed her. I grabbed her arm so she couldn’t get away. I don’t even remember what I said to her, but likely she didn’t understand since I don’t speak Spanish. I am still surprised at myself that I actually grabbed her like I did.
Immediately she reached into her pockets to show me she didn’t have anything. I thought this gave away her guilt that she even knew to show me her pockets’ contents.Â
By this time, Jim was next to me and he even patted the pockets on the front of the lady’s sweater and there was nothing there.
I asked him what was in that front pocket of his bag (I had thought it was empty anyway, other than some change). He said, his iPhone! I couldn’t believe he had his phone in there!
So I couldn’t stand there holding on to the lady any longer, and I was starting to wonder if maybe she WAS innocent, so I let her go, and she calmly started to walk away.
At that moment, two police officers showed up out of nowhere. I pointed at the lady walking away and exclaimed “She robbed us!â€Â It felt like a scene from a movie. Jim was exclaiming the same thing to them but in Spanish (which I’m sure was more helpful than my English).
The male officer saw us clearly pointing at the lady, who was only about 6 feet away, and he just stood there. He didn’t make any moves to go talk to her or anything. He just let her go. We couldn’t believe it. He just stood there!
Then, I saw a woman standing at the side of the bridge point to the ground. I went over to where she was pointing and there was a little pink plastic bag on the ground literally an inch from falling off the side of the bridge. I looked closer and saw the iPhone was inside the bag.
Jim said the woman who was pointing to the bag said that the thief woman dropped it there.
I couldn’t believe we recovered the phone. My heard was beating fast.
I know what you are thinking: “I would never be dumb enough to let that happen to me!â€Â Jim and I are usually extremely, extremely vigilant when we go out – almost to the point of paranoia. All it took was just one moment of laziness.
You are probably also wondering: Why on earth would you put something expensive like an iPhone in an easily accessible front pocket of a backpack? This was my question for Jim! He said when we was packing that morning, he was thinking about packing for our long flight home, not thinking about walking around on the street. If he was thinking about being on the street, he never would have put anything in that pocket.
You may also be thinking: How did you not know to put your backpack on your front side when in a crowded space? This is another bit of laziness on our part. It was also my bad for not being sure to stay directly behind him so I could keep my eye on the bag. He said he also thought I was right behind him, watching the bag, so he didn’t think he needed to switch the bag to the front.
After we found the phone, I wiped the giant mound of spit off Jim’s neck. It was so gross. I was actually thankful that he got spit on, though. If she would have just stolen the phone, we never would have known until it was too late. But the spit called my attention to the situation.
Tags: Cuzco, Peru & Bolivia 2010, scam
Kelly
Empowering Amateur Radio Enthusiasts, Echolink Florida connects
you to the best amateur radio services. Discover our conference
server located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, powered by AT&T First Net Fiber Network.
I’ve been browsing on-line more than 3 hours nowadays,
yet I by no means discovered any fascinating article like yours.
It is pretty value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the net shall be much more useful than ever before.
prescription drug
great post, very informative. I wonder why the other specialists of this sector do not realize this.
You must continue your writing. I’m confident, you’ve a huge readers’ base already!
Appreciate the recommendation. Let me try it out.
Hello! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of
my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him.
Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
What’s up to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting
more from this web page, and your views are good for new visitors.
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am truly impressed to
read all at one place.
If you are going for most excellent contents like I do, just go
to see this web page daily because it gives feature contents, thanks
Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading
properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking
issue. I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both
show the same outcome.
Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I in finding It truly useful & it helped me out
much. I am hoping to give something again and help others such as you aided me.
Hi to every , since I am truly eager of reading this website’s post to be updated daily.
It includes good material.
Howdy would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using?
I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and
Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different
then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
nasal spray
blog topic
helpful hints
blog topic
That is very interesting, You are an excessively professional blogger.
I have joined your feed and stay up for in the hunt for extra of your great post.
Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks
It is not my first time to pay a quick visit this site, i am
visiting this web site dailly and obtain pleasant data from here all
the time.
I guess color identification quizzes like this one are perfect for those wanting
to try new styles safely. Learning your optimal colors can build
confidence and simplify outfit planning.
It’s like having a personal stylist in your pocket!
We’re a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our
community. Your site offered us with valuable info to work
on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be
grateful to you.
Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask.
Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog article oor vice-versa?
My website discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could
greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested
feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forwward tto hearing from you!
Superb blog by the way!
777KING
blog topic
Reliable tips Thank you.
Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this web page on a regular basis, this
site is truly nice and the visitors are actually sharing fastidious thoughts.
Hi there, I do believe your site may be having web browser compatibility issues.
Whenever I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in Internet Explorer, it
has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up!
Other than that, great website!
Cheers! Ample write ups!
Excellent post. I used to be checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!
Very helpful information specifically the final part
🙂 I handle such information a lot. I used to be looking for this certain information for a long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality
articles or blog posts on this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site.
Studying this info So i am satisfied to show that I’ve a very
good uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I such a lot indisputably will make certain to do not
forget this website and give it a look on a constant basis.
datador para sorvete
blog topic
Appreciating the hard work you put into your site and detailed
information you present. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same
out of date rehashed information. Wonderful read!
I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my
Google account.
I really like it whenever people come together and share ideas.
Great site, stick with it!
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed
reading it, you can be a great author. I will make certain to bookmark
your blog and definitely will come back in the future. I want to
encourage you continue your great work, have a nice day!
Hey there! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs!
Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts!
Keep up the outstanding work!
Its like you read my mind! You appear to understand so much approximately this,
such as you wrote the ebook in it or something. I feel that you just can do with a few percent
to force the message house a little bit, but other than that, this is fantastic
blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.
Hi great website! Does running a blog like this require a massive amount
work? I’ve very little knowledge of coding however I had been hoping to
start my own blog in the near future. Anyways, if you have
any recommendations or tips for new blog owners please share.
I understand this is off subject however I simply needed to
ask. Kudos!
Hello to all, the contents existing at this website are really
awesome for people experience, well, keep up the good work fellows.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on bk8. Regards
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Many thanks!
Where are your contact details though?
Everything posted was very logical. However, what about this?
suppose you were to write a killer post title? I ain’t suggesting your content is not good., but suppose you added a
post title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean Getting
Robbed in Cusco, Peru. And Catching the Thief. » TravelBlog Archive » Quit Dreaming and Go Somewhere is kinda
plain. You should glance at Yahoo’s home page
and watch how they create post titles to get viewers to click.
You might add a video or a pic or two to get readers interested about what you’ve written. In my opinion, it could bring your
posts a little livelier.
Visit my site … pink salt trick recipe
similar internet page
blog topic
????? ?????????? ? Vodka Casino, ??? ?????? ?????? ???-?? ??? ????!
????? ??? ???? ??????????? ??????,
????????????? ????? ? ???????? ????? ?? ??????.
Vodka casino.
?????? ????? ??????? Vodka Casino?
??????? ????????? ??? ???? ???????.
??????????? ??? ??????? ????? ? ?????? ???????.
?????? ?????? ??? ????????
? ?????????? ???????.
????????? ???????? ??????.
??????? ?????? ? Vodka Casino ? ????????? ?????
??????!
TD commercial
blog topic
I really like what you guys are usually up too. This type of clever work and reporting!
Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve you guys to
my personal blogroll.
just click the up coming post
Getting Robbed in Cusco, Peru. And Catching the Thief. » TravelBlog Archive » Quit Dreaming and Go Somewhere
??????
blog topic
Thanks a lot. Very good stuff!
Its such as you learn my mind! You seem to grasp a lot approximately this, such as you wrote the book in it or something.
I feel that you can do with a few % to power the message
home a bit, but other than that, this is excellent blog.
A great read. I’ll certainly be back.
I’ve heard a lot about Lucky Jet, and this blog post explains it
perfectly. It’s such a unique game where you really feel
the thrill when that jet is flying higher and higher.
Thanks for sharing!
anyflip.com
blog topic
by http://www.socialbookmarkssite.com
Getting Robbed in Cusco, Peru. And Catching the Thief. » TravelBlog Archive » Quit Dreaming and Go Somewhere
nasal spray
Getting Robbed in Cusco, Peru. And Catching the Thief. » TravelBlog Archive » Quit Dreaming and Go Somewhere