Return to Ecuador: Part 1

Old city in Quito
In a few days time, I will be on my way back to Ecuador. The last time I was there I had my camera bag and, more importantly, my passport stolen. What a crisis! It was my last night in Ecuador after a really wonderful trip. I had taken some great photos. Mt Cotopaxi is a large active volcano which can be seen from Quito (the capital city of Ecuador, which is also built on the slopes of active volcanos!)  On my first trip to Ecuador, I saw Mt Cotopaxi as I climbed off the plane, but did not take a photo, as I would be there for quite a few days. I did not see Mt Cotopaxi again (due to cloud cover). On my second trip I did get to see Mt Cotopaxi, but not great - also clouds. On the fateful trip when my bag was stolen, Mt Cotopaxi was visible in all her splendour. Beautiful blue sky, with the snow capped volcano - stunning photos. I also went to Mindo (which is a small town in the cloud forest high in the Andies mountains) which is very well known as a great bird watching destination. I was taking hummingbird photos (in flight) with the macro lens on my camera. Looking at the photos on the camera, they looked great - perfectly in focus. I had also spend a few days in Cuyabeno flooded forest in the Amazon basin. Cuyabeno is a nature reserve in th foothills of the Andies and is basically the start of teh Amazon basin. I got photos of the pink dolphins (yes dolphines - fresh water dolphines which can be found in many of the rivers and waterways in the Amazon basin), giant otters and stunning sunset photos over the lake. Only I will ever know how great the photos were!
Local market in Otovalo
I was due to head out to the airport at 04:00 the next morning to get my flight back. I went for my last dinner in Ecuador. At the restaurant, I bumped into a couple who was also at Cuyabeno with me so I joined them for dinner. I had my camera bag "safely" on the floor by me feet. I thought that I always looked after my bag very nicely! At the end of the evening, when I got up to leave, my bag was gone! What a truly horrible feeling!!! My bag was gone!, My photos were gone, but most important, my passport was gone. This was not in some doggy backally, but in a smart resturant in a popular tourist area of Quito.
The owners of the restaurant were very helpful. They have CCTV and we watched what had happened, in the vague hope that there was some innocent explanation. I watched as a young couple came into the restaurant and sat at the table just behind me. The guy put his bag down on the floor close to my bag. After a while, they got up to leave and when he picked up his bag, he picked up my bag as well. Very smooth! Bag is gone. The tourist police in Quito were very helpful and tried their very best to speak English. They filled out a case report for me and told me that I should be able to still get on the plane the next day with the case report.
Not my photo - the coule at resturant sent me their photos!
I headed back to the hotel and told the hotel staff what had happened to me. They were also very sympathetic and helpful.
 So very early the next morning, I headed out to the airport and reported at the desk to check in (without a passport). I had no other form of identification with me (Important travel tip - always have  copies of important documents like your passport with you and stored in a different place to your passport). They would not let me on the plane. Also, I was listed as a "no show" so I lost my plane ticket. So there I was, stranded in Ecuador, no passport, no plane ticket home. The paw paw had truely hit the fan.
First task, get back to the hotel in Quito and then try to sort out the problems! I needed to draw out some money. Found the ATM at the airport and tried to draw out cash. No go! The transaction would just not go through. So now I am also stuck at the airport without any money! (Important travel tip - now you see why I always carry some local currency with me when I travel  - the ATM at the airport might not work!)  I just had enough cash to get an airport bus back into Quito and get a taxi back to my hotel. Fortunately I still had my phone with me so I could let my wife know what had happened. (Important travel tip - never have your phone in your bag - keep things seperate in case a bag gets stolen). I am running out of space on this post, so I will continue with my sad story in a later post.

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