Stolen passport, tickets etc.....

Hey all. I am not long back from a trip, having done Bogota, Cartagena, Bogota, Cali, Bogota...dept. On return from Cartagena and having resisted the Airline food I stopped for a bight inside the Bogota Domestic Terminal. I lined up for a burger, placed my large bag beside me and to the right and on top of this my smaller back-pack. Both were against my right leg. As I was ordering, two young kids came in....pushed in...from the left on the pretence of bying a couple of those small toys. P#@*ed off and distracted I corrected these two. Of course you know the rest......while this was happening, their partners came in from the right and lifted my back pack.

Lessons:

* Never eat junk food!
* If carring such vital docs...have them around your waist!
* ALWAYS have copies of your documents including tickets. Have two copies with you in different bags. Have also copies at home in prep for them being faxed to you.
* Try and have a sepperate credit card or savings type card in the sole of your most worn shoe.
* If you place a bag on the ground, try and have a foot through one handle, or tie it off....even if only for a minute.
* Don't expect too much help from the police!
* Suspect even the nicest person
* If it happens.....it is a pain.....but don't let it be the end of the world......and also consider that in most cases theft in Colombia is more for food then drugs and alcohol.

Now I was given great support from every one except the few police that was there on the eve. My insurance paid for the delay (8 days)and gained a great cheep holiday in Cali out of it whilst I was waiting. I worked very hard to turn the whole thing around.

Guys just be careful, but don't suspect or blame the Colombian People harshley.....they are after all so very nice.

Take care

D

D,
Thanks for the insight and reminder. It is something we all need to keep aware of. I'm sorry to hear that you had the misfortune, but at least you were not hurt. I was wondering about the insurance you mentioned paying for the incident. Can you tell us specifically what type of insurance this is?
I have heard of some types of insurance for a distruption of travel. Is this what you are referring to? I'd appreciate any further info you can share. Thanks!

Hey MT

....thanks for the reply and content. Yes the Travel insurance was well worth it, having taken it out before leaving. In dollar terms, it cost me around $150.00 (Australian Dollars), and as the agent told me, covered most. In my case, it covered all of the cost incurred as a result of the delay. Eg, I had to wait eight days for all of my documentation to be sorted out, therefore all of the costs for accom, meals etc, as well as the hefty taxi bills I ran up racing around the capital are being paid for. Ofcourse all of the equipment costs will be recouped, ie camera, cd etc......however the personals like film and diaries etc can not be replaced. I had to pay for the ticket to Cali, however Avianca who helped me out big time on the night gave me a seat up the front for next to nothing, and my motel contacted theirs in Cali (Hotel Dann) and I did also the 5 star thing for almost next to nothing. These two institutions were the best and sorry in a way for the trouble that had bestowed its self my way!

Hope this helps, and thanks again!

D

Vital, sorry to hear about your bad experience.

The travel pac is a good thing to carry around your waist or your neck in the airport, otherwise during your stay it should be in a safe at the hotel or hidden in your room. The Eagle Creek Travel Gear is a pac I bought at I Goldberg’s which I’ve used during all my trips. It has pouch for all sizes; plane tickets, passport, credit cards, cash & a top zipper pouch for keys.

A small useless wallet full of plastic cards with some pesos & cash rolled up is also good to carry. Around town the most you should carry is a credit card or better yet an ATM card & a copy of your passport.

When traveling some homeowners or renters insurance may have a clause to insure your loss, mine does. For $6.95 I also use AMEX flight insurance for trips to Colombia; it covers any losses from the time you leave your house till your return. You just need a police report for any stolen items and for lost luggage you need an airport report; they only cover over above what the airport will give for their max amount.

However the one benefit that I think is could come in handy is when your check-in luggage is more then 6 hrs late you can get reimbursed up to $400 along as you have a statement from the airport and the receipt for the retail articles you bought during that time which your luggage was delayed. Call me a shill for AMEX but I like some of their services and with all the gold, platinum & titanium cards over the years used “mainly” to achieve status, AMEX remained the classiest in my book.

Hey fjs

Great points and advice for the next trip there! I guess the big thing with any type of insurance is that sometimes we grumble when we have to pay it, however it soon switches to the other foot whenever we have to claim on it.

I have only been a member here for a little while and only reading the forum for a couple of days, however after reading and learning of some of the other members dissatisfactions, I wonder whether there is insurance to cover lousy agencies or even divorce for that matter? I shudder to even contemplate!

Take care fjs and thanks a lot!

D

[Bill123]

Hi FJS,

I have an Eagle Creek catalog right in front of me. Can you tell me the name of the exact product you have or find it on their website and send me a link.
http://www.eaglecreek.com/

I happen to have their catalog because I am developing a product to send to them, but I would really like to know which one you are using.

WGregg123@aol.com

Thanks.

Bill123, Thanks for heads-up on their web page, as a few people have asked me where I got it from and I really couldn't reference them..

Here are the different styles
http://www.eaglecreek.com/travelsecurity.htm

This is my choice (I chose the tan color shown)
http://www.eaglecreek.com/travel_accessories/40023.html

Shown enlarged (The only pouch not shown here is the top fold over flap that has a zipper pouch for keys or another place for credit cards)
http://www.eaglecreek.com/graphics/t...es/40023_l.jpg


BTW: No problem Vital1, this is what this gringos page is about most of the time...