I was on my way to Huehuetenango and had to get a bus (Transport Valesques, I think was the name of the company) in Zona 1. Even though it was around one in the afternoon, I took a cab. It is an unpleasant neighborhood, but if you want to catch that bus, that's where you have to go.

Anyway, I bought my ticket and got on the bus, putting my one bag in the rack directly over my seat. A few moments later someone outside called to me at the window next to my seat. He was holding a credit card and asked me if I had dropped it. It was right then, as I turned to speak to him, that someone on the bus grabbed my bag and took off. It couldn't have been more than a minute before I noticed the bag was gone. At that moment, my vacation was effectively finished. That bag had my spare prescription glasses, medication and other items that couldn't be easily replaced.

It was only later that I learned more about what actually happened, and I want to pass some of that on. First off, the thieves who pull off jobs like this usually work in groups, as many as a dozen people might have been involved. My bag was big and distinctively colored (an LL Bean duffel, for those of you who know the line); whoever actually took it would have had to carry it past the bus driver, his helper and several bus company employees who were standing outside, near the bus door. In all probability they were involved: how many people carry large bags OFF a bus just before it leaves? My bag, I was later told, might well have been sitting in a back room of the bus company!

So of course the bus company folks didn't see a thing. They refused to call the police for me. They could not tell me where I might find the nearest police station. It was only with a small bit of luck that I did find a passing police patrol.

Here I should mention that I am an Auxiliary Police Officer with a Department in a large American city. I carry Police ID which usually gets me a bit of consideration and professional courtesy from officers in other countries. Not here. These guys couldn't have cared less. They finally agreed to take me for a cursory ride around the neighborhood. With no description of the "perp" or any idea of where he might have headed, there wasn't a whole lot more that I could expect them to do.

It then took a whole lot more coaxing to get them to take me to their station house - not before a stop for gas that took even more time and, incidentally, guaranteed that my bag would be long, long gone.

Fortunately, I was able to get a police report - absolutely necessary if I was going to file an insurance claim. Just as a side bar here, if you carry baggage insurance and file a claim, you will find that your insurance company will require ORIGINAL RECEIPTS - not copies - for any items you are claiming. They don't usually mention that when they take your premium.

In talking to the commanding officer of the local police station - who turned out to be my only help in this whole thing - I found out that this sort of theft is very VERY common in Guatemala City, and particular in Zona 1. Most cases never get reported. Sometimes, as could have happened easily to me, victims don't even know they have been hit until they are far away from the scene of the crime. These criminals are not street hoods looking for a quick score: they are professionals and they are well organized. And they are very dangerous. I was told that there were probably a few watching me to make sure I wasn't able to chase after the thief if I had spotted him. If I had, they would done whatever was necessary to stop me. Guess I can consider myself lucky that I didn't? And to point out just how professional these thieves were, within an hour of taking my bag, they had charged over a thousand dollars on one of my credit cards!

Now, I am a fairly experienced traveler. I usually take as many precautions as is practical, and then some. This trip, I had been advised that there had been a increase in robberies from persons. That is, holdups at gun or knife point. I had therefore placed some of my cash, travelers' checks, my camera and a credit card in my bag. I carried a "fake" wallet with some small bills and "throwaway" ID to give up - if I had to - to potential bad guys.

My mistake here was letting my guard down for a matter of seconds, but that was all it took. I am posting it with the hope that it will help prevent the same thing from happening to other travelers to Guatemala City. I've also come up with a list of tips, more or less specific to that part of the world, that might be of help. Click here for some of those tips.

Questions?
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