Stolen!
The night bus from Arequipa to Cusco was a beautiful modern, double story bus. We managed to get seats right in front on the upper level. Unbeknown to us at that stage, this would be the place where we would experience the professionalism of Peruvian criminals first hand.
As always, our cameras were locked in our day packs which we carry with us without ever letting them out of our sight. I was sitting next to the window and Janine next to the aisle. Our bags were locked and literally under our feet, away from the aisle and there was no seat behind us, just a cupboard that restricted access to our bags. Even the sides of the seats had covers, so the only way to our bags could have been from right in front of our seats which was the front seats.
At about 1am, I still enjoyed some fruits that I kept in my bag for the trip and everything was still there. When we arrived to our hotel the next morning, I unlocked my bag and noticed that the lock seems bent. Inside we only found the empty camera and video camera cases - gone!
What an awful experience after all the precautions we took. One feels so helpless and angry at the injustice. The rest of the morning was spent at the Tourist Police getting a declaration for the insurance.
Fortunately we managed to get great replacement cameras in Cusco, even better ones than we had for lower than the price back home. Fortunately we did not loose too much footage as we back-up regularly. Unfortunately we lost our condor footage and photos which I think was world class. We will however put some photos in the gallery from the web and also from a very kind Chinese lady (Erwina) which we met in Arequipa who also went to the Colca Canyon.
But for now, we are armed (with cameras) and dangerous again!
As always, our cameras were locked in our day packs which we carry with us without ever letting them out of our sight. I was sitting next to the window and Janine next to the aisle. Our bags were locked and literally under our feet, away from the aisle and there was no seat behind us, just a cupboard that restricted access to our bags. Even the sides of the seats had covers, so the only way to our bags could have been from right in front of our seats which was the front seats.
At about 1am, I still enjoyed some fruits that I kept in my bag for the trip and everything was still there. When we arrived to our hotel the next morning, I unlocked my bag and noticed that the lock seems bent. Inside we only found the empty camera and video camera cases - gone!
What an awful experience after all the precautions we took. One feels so helpless and angry at the injustice. The rest of the morning was spent at the Tourist Police getting a declaration for the insurance.
Fortunately we managed to get great replacement cameras in Cusco, even better ones than we had for lower than the price back home. Fortunately we did not loose too much footage as we back-up regularly. Unfortunately we lost our condor footage and photos which I think was world class. We will however put some photos in the gallery from the web and also from a very kind Chinese lady (Erwina) which we met in Arequipa who also went to the Colca Canyon.
But for now, we are armed (with cameras) and dangerous again!
<< Home