Pickpockets

Here’s my first pickpocket story, (( which has a number of lessons in it. Getting on the Metro in Madrid one day, I found the train door blocked by two men who just stood there rather than getting on the train. As I moved around them another man (who had just gotten on the train) walked out; as he went by he bumped into me rather obviously and kept walking without an apology. Such rudeness is almost unheard of in Spain, and, not being a total nimrod, I felt for my wallet, which I was carrying in the front pocket of my shorts. It was gone. I immediately ran after the guy, got right behind him, and used my Spanish to call him a thief, a son of a whore, and other gross profanities. He kept walking without looking back. This convinced me beyond doubt that he was a thief, as any innocent Spanish man called such things would have fought me on the spot.

After a few more seconds of being called a male prostitute, my new friend threw my wallet in one direction and took off in another. When I recovered it, every peseta was in place, and virtue had triumphed over the forces of evil. All well and good, you may say. Except that I did everything wrong, and could very well have been seriously injured. The whole situation would never have occurred had I been using a money belt - the most obvious of security precautions. Those three guys wouldn’t have even considered me as a target. Second, following the thief as closely and insulting him as thoroughly as I did was asking for him to pull a knife. A far better tactic would have been to follow at a good distance and shout for a policeman as loudly as possible. I got lucky. Learn from my mistakes.

- Every serious traveler uses a money belt or neck wallet. Again, highly recommended.

- If you must wear a fanny pack, wear it in front. Three seconds on a crowded bus, train, or street are all a thief needs to slash and empty your pack.

- Unless you really need all of those credit cards, leave them locked up wherever you’re staying, or in a money belt - whichever feels safer.

- Be very careful in crowded trains and train stations. Hold wallets and purses (if any) at chest level. Both times my pocket has been picked I was getting on a Metro train. There were people moving around me in both directions, I was looking around for a seat - in other words, I was distracted. Be very careful in this same situation, especially in the middle of large crowds.

- Be exceptionally careful in Barcelona. Theft in that city has exploded recently, and the Spanish authorities aren’t doing a whole lot about it. I was in Barcelona very recently, was getting on a Metro train and literally waiting to be pickpocketed when, sure enough, I felt a hand reach into the front pocket of my shorts. (There was nothing in that pocket but some coins, a bag of candy,and some tissues - I’d learned my lesson.) Well, wallet in hand or not, that pickpocket “had the wrong sow by the ear.” I spun around, frothing at the mouth in anger. I was facing two women and a man, who were saved when a transit cop appeared out of nowhere, flashed a badge, and told us that he had seen the whole thing. This same crime probably happened in that city fifty times on that same day, and I’m sure some trips were ruined as a result.