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Puño: Passport Problems

8 June 2006 16 Comments

Day 212 - Wednesday 19th April 2006

A nightmare day. Things started ok, we caught a bus to the border and crossed over into Peru without a hitch. We then took another bus to the town of Puño where we bought tickets to Cusco. Our bus was to leave at 15.30 which gave us time to watch Arsenal beat Villareal in the Champs Lge Semi. After that it all went horribly, horribly wrong - for me anyway!

I boarded the bus and put my bag in the overhead compartment. Normally I have on my money belt which contains my passport and bank cards, but for some reason on this particular occasion it was in my bag. I would also not normally put the bag in the overhead bit, I would normally have it between my legs.

As we were waiting for the bus to be loaded up and leave I was looking around at the people on the bus, seeing what they looked like and were doing. We left a bit late at 16.00, and as we pulled away and into the streets I started to read.

After about 20 minutes I decided to listen to some music so got up to get my MP3 player out of my bag.

WHERE THE HELL IS MY BAG???????

It wasn’t where I put it. Pretty much instantly I knew it had been stolen, my gut instinct knew it. I looked around the bus and got the driver to stop so I could look in the underneath luggge bit, but I knew it had been stolen. Some absolute cheeky fucking wanker had taken it from right above my had.

I felt sick. I felt sick knowing that I had been stupid to put my passport and bank cards in the bag. Sick because I put the bag above my head, not between my legs. Sick that the fucker who took it was laughing at how easy it was. Sick that he had my money, my passport, my bank cards, my diary, my MP3 player - my bag. Sick that I was on a bus with no way to cancel my cards for the next 8 hours. Sick that I had lost all the stamps in my Passport. Sick that I had been so stupid.

At the next stop I made the bus wait while I tried to cancel my cards. I managed to getone cancelled, but the Alliance and Leicester - yes name and shame - specific lost and stolen card hotline was busy and I was put on hold for 10 minutes, eventually having to give up as the bus was leaving and I had run out of change.

This didn’t really help matters and it was not what I needed. In the middle of nowhere in Peru and put on hold because Alliance & Leicester don’t have enough staff to man the Lost and Stolen Card hotline, probably one of the most important things you would need to contact your bank about. Rant over.

Over the next 8 hours all kinds off stuff ran through my mind and I was worried about my card being used. The thoughts I had were not very positive but I realised that what was done was done and after lambasting myself for being a twat I tried to concentrate on other things.

When we finally arrived in Cusco I managed to get in contact with A&L - after being put on hold again - and cancelling the card, which lifted a weight from my shoulders. Now I could get on with remedying the situation rather than worrying about my card being used.

I couldn’t do anything at that time as it was about 2am, so after checking into a hotel it was time for a night of dusturbed sleep.

« Copacabana: At the Copa…..

Cusco: Getting Things Organised »

16 Comments »

SMITHY said:

wankers!!!!!!!!!!

I know it isn’t nice when things like this happen buddy, but in the context of things if you get home and thats the worse that has happened then you have done well.

I am now imagining some greasy wop, sat in his mud hut listening to the Thundercats theme tune on your Ipod.

Chin up

# 9 June 2006 at 08:32 am

Lyn said:

Just another adventure - you will look and laugh at the experience in time - hope you are back to yourself now..

# 9 June 2006 at 09:45 am

Mannequin Man said:

I Fucking Hate Pikeys!!

Just to get your hands on the little Spik Bastard hey mate!!
Well, I must thank you for the phone call on saturday - wicked to hear from you and I passed on the news to all the lads!
Got Pistol suitably wasted, along with myself and the other 17!! Poor show from the homeland’s finest in Germany I’m sure you’ll agree! Game viewed in SoHo where Pete was hit on by some Screaming Bible Bashing Queen! Ha!!!!
All in all a very good weekend, and great to have everyone together!
Hope your still enjoying the beach life? - Git!

# 12 June 2006 at 10:23 am

OC said:

Tossers! You get on track mate, ya hear!

# 13 June 2006 at 12:42 pm

Roy (author) said:

Hola folks, all is back to normal (has been for a while) and I am loving it all once again, so never fear!

Glad to hear Pistol got a good turn out, sorry I couldn’t be there, tried calling but as usual my timing was poor!

With regards to Smithy’s comment….if I return home with just my passport being stolen I will be pleased…………read on……………

Last week in my hostel there was a guy who got something in his eye when he was on the beach. He left it it, it scratched his cornea and then got infected. He went to the doctors in Colombia over a period of about 10 days, each day getting a different diagonosis and different treatments. Just before I left he got diagnosed as having a parasite under his cornea which was burying through and no drugs coulds cure it. I left that hostel on Sunday, as he was in he process of arranging a flight home to Holland to have a cornea transplant. Puts having a Passport stolen into perspective.

# 14 June 2006 at 00:44 am

Joker said:

nasty!

Hope your getting on well. Keep on trucking.

Where you watching the England game tomorrow?

# 14 June 2006 at 09:07 am

Liz said:

Hey Roy

So sorry to hear about all your trouble, they’ll get what they deserve one day don’t you worry!

Apart from all that it sounds like you’re still having a great adventure so make the most of it cos it’s gonna be a wounder coming back to this place and especially going back to work - boooo!

Take care
Love Liz x

# 16 June 2006 at 17:29 pm

Mannequin Man said:

Hey mate!!

Just a quick note to say I seem to have trouble with Messenger on the home PC - It logs me on automatically, even though I’ve deleted the old program from the computer and still shows me online when other users are logged on. ie my housemates. I keep coming to use it and seeing that you’ve tryed chatting when I wasn’t on the computer myself - Just thought I’d clarify this and explain its not me ignoring you!! Ha. Not such a “quick note” really!!??
Hope your well - Keep us posted!!

# 20 June 2006 at 13:01 pm

Roy (author) said:

Well folks I just hate making you jealous but I am going sailing to the San Blas Islands, a collection of small tropical paradise islands where I will be lazing around for a few days. Unfortunately I will miss the England game but i am willing to make this sacrifice.

Also I have booked my flight home. Look out people, 7 weeks and I am back.

# 21 June 2006 at 19:17 pm

SMITHY said:

LETS ORGANISE A MONSTER NIGHT OUT IF YOU PLS

# 22 June 2006 at 12:20 pm

Joker said:

hell yeah, are you back for Aug 12th????

# 22 June 2006 at 13:45 pm

OC said:

WE GONNA GET MULLERED!!!!!!!!!

# 23 June 2006 at 15:15 pm

Mannequin Man said:

I’m on the case boys above - Spoke to Royston on the phone when I was in London for Pete’s Stag Do and agreed to look into some sort of mass gathering for the reunion! Any thoughts thrown my way would be much appreciated!!

# 24 June 2006 at 12:11 pm