Back in Business

I'm back, and better than ever. Once again I apologize for the long sabbatical, but I ran into some unexpected trouble on the road and had to put blog posting on hold for a while. Although it seemed pretty devastating at the time, in hindsight it's actually a rather interesting story, so here goes nothing.

We were biking across the Andes Mountains, pedaling through one of the most beautiful areas in all of Ecuador. Our day started at Quilotoa, the emerald green lake cradled in the crater of an active volcano. We began from there on our ride down through the valleys and over the mountains, passing through what could have easily passed as the set for The Hobbit. It was a very surreal experience, like being picked up and set down in the middle of a movie, the scenery was really that beautiful. Around midday we stopped by a river winding it's way between two mountains, huge sheer cliffs looming up on one side of us, and endless rolling green hills on the other.

Later that day we arrived at our hotel, hopped out of the Jeep, and stretched our stiff legs. Pulling our bags out of the car, I quickly realize that my backpack was not there. Not the giant backpack with all of my cloths, the small day pack that has everything important in it, the one I never let out of my sight. I quickly started digging through the bags, rooting around like a pig going through the compost... it wasn't there. Without that backpack, I was done for. It contained my passport, visa, ATM card, laptop, camera, cellphone, ipod, kindle, books, notebooks, and countless other essentials. I retraced every step I had traveled that day, the only time I took my eyes off the backpack was during our lunch stop, I would later get confirmation that that was where it was stolen. While we were having lunch, quite literally in the middle of nowhere (we were probably in one of the most remote places in Ecuador, there were maybe 5 houses that we saw along this entire road), someone drove up, opened the door to our car, grabbed my backpack, and drove off.

Later that night, our tour guide had the bright idea of calling my cellphone, which was at that time, with the thief. To everyones surprise, I got an answer. To be honest, I was so stunned that I had no idea what to say, I managed to choke out an 'hola', and got a reply, but they quickly hung up. We tried a few more times, and always got an answer, quickly followed by a hang-up. I sent text messages offering money for my things back, but to no avail. I went to bed with a pit in my stomach and thoughts of simply getting on the next plane to the U.S.

"Will, Will, get up! There's someone on the phone!" my Mom shrieked, stumbling into my room, blind without her glasses. I jumped out of bed, half dressed, and dashed over to the adjoining room. My Dad handed me the phone with little warning, and there I was, all of a sudden having a conversation with the thief of every important belonging I had. I was still in mild shock, and not in any condition to be negotiating. Went around in circles for about five minutes, before we basically agreed that he would return my passport, visa, and debit card (which we had already cancelled), for some amount of money. I offered $200, the reply I got was not encouraging.

"Listen, I'm Ecuadorian, if I lost my ID, drivers licence, credit card... I know how important those things are." he boasted.
"Well that may be true, but I've already called my embassy (a lie), and I can get a new passport in only a couple of days (a lie), for less than $100 dollars (a lie)." I shot back.

I essentially told him that because I could just get a new passport, it wasn't worth more than about $200... he wanted $1000. I told him there was no way in hell he was getting $1000 out of me, after having already stolen everything else of mine, and that $200 was a lot better than his alternative, nothing. That pretty much ended my contact with the thief, he realize I wasn't going to give, and just gave up. I sent another text, offering him one last chance to get some money, $200 is a lot better than nothing I pointed out.

The next day started out on a low note, pretty somber, but I decided to put all that had happened behind me, and enjoy the last day of our tour. It turned out to be a picture perfect day, it was clear, sunny, and we got a postcard view of Chimborazo. Sometime that morning, while we were on our bikes, I heard the phone ring; I could not pick it up. We waited until we had stopped, called back, and got an answer.

"Hello, who am I speaking with?" I asked.
"Uh..w-with the, uh, owner of your passport," came the reply. It was a woman's voice, not the man I talked to last night. This girl was unsure and stuttering.

We worked out that she had found my passport somewhere and was in Latacunga... we would be passing through Latacunga in about an hour on our way home I told her; she got scared and said she would call back later. When we got closer to Latacunga I called back, and told her I would give her money, a meeting point was set. We pulled up to the crowded bus station (our decided meeting point) and waited anxiously.

She was scared. The more I talked to this girl, the more I realized that she may really be innocent. She clearly knew nothing; I told her to wear the backpack so I could recognize her, and she replied that she didn't know about any backpack, she just found my passport and phone when she was going through the garbage (she claimed to be a garbage collector.) She was afraid of getting mixed up in a bad situation, and didn't want to cause any problems, she wanted me to come alone (that part felt very secret agent.) The whole time her voice was shaky and her breathing heavy, you could almost hear her heart beating over the phone. My own heart felt like it was about to crack a rib.

In my head this all went down very slick, like something from a James Bond film, or an exchange you would see on TV, with the briefcase casually set down and picked up by the recipient. In reality, it was much messier. We kept calling each other back and forth, trying to arrange a proper meeting place, trying to find each other.

"Wait, now you're at the bus station? You said you were at the traffic light." "Ok, now I'm at the bus station... oh you mean on the other side of the station." "Which mango tree are you under? There's like 10 mango trees out here."

After about 10 minutes of walking in circles, probably passing each other several times, I finally spotted her. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, put my head down, and slowly approached, trying to look as least threatening as possible. She was a young woman, probably in her late twenties or early thirties, wearing very plain cloths, all covered in dirt and stains. She was obviously very poor, and so far he story of being a garbage collector was holding true. As I walked up to her, she looked terrified, she stuck out her hand and thrust the passport and phone in my face. It would have been so easy to just grab them and walk away, without giving her any money, she never would have followed me, or said a word for anyone. But seeing this woman in her ripped sweater and worn out sneakers, with dirt smeared across her face and clothing, I felt sorry for her. I ended up giving her $100, making an about turn on my heals, and speed walking back to our car.

And that's how it ended, I got my passport, visa, credit card (now cancelled, and worthless), and cellphone back. We ended up staying in Quito for a few unplanned days, to purchase some replacements for essentials I had lost (computer, camera, headlamp, etc.) And I now write from a brand new laptop, sitting in the beautiful Galapagos Islands, enjoying life more than I ever have. I owe the woman who found my passport a lot, I will be forever thankful to her, and I hope she uses the money I gave her to feed her family, or something important... unfortunately it's likely more than she makes in a month.

There are some things I cannot get back, certain photos, and videos, some contact information, notes, and books. But I am just feeling lucky to have recovered from what could have really ruined this trip. I have a ton of blogs to post, on what I've done, both before and since this incident. I doubt anyone will read this whole post since it's basically a short novel. But thanks for waiting, and I hope to have more up soon!