There are so many different types of misfortune that someone can experience while travelling… being robbed, stolen backpack/valuables, and missing a flight are some of the different scenarios. This is the story of how my backpack was stolen while visiting Lake Titicaca in Puno, Peru almost 5 years ago…

Let’s remember: This doesn’t happen to everyone, I just happened to be unlucky. Also as one of my friends said, I travel so much so the probability of a travel misfortune happening is higher!

Preface:

Allow me to preface that I absolutely enjoyed Peru. It’s such an amazing country with the most amazing mountains and culturally a really interesting place to experience. Keep in mind that this could happen ANYWHERE. My purse was stolen in South East Asia, some friends’ luggage was knicked in Europe. My main intention of sharing this story is to help you from making the same mistakes as I did. I would happily return to Peru and do the trip all over again 🙂 but probably just be more cautious of where I leave it overnight.

Leading up to the trip:

Picture this, it’s the summer of 2017, a fresh master’s graduate, naïve and doe-eyed, I decide to head somewhere out of my comfort zone as part of my graduation trip. My goal: fully immerse myself somewhere completely new. My decision led me to South America; Peru to be exact. I had been putting off visiting the continent because of all the horror stories that I’ve heard. After several years of solo travelling, I finally managed to pull the trigger and go.

I could describe my emotions in two words: Excited and Petrified. I would like to say I’m a seasoned backpacker and solo traveller but Latin America felt like a different ball game. While in Peru, I was more cautious than usual – locked up my backpack, avoided going out too late at night, and booked some accommodation beforehand. I did a whole lot more research, I kept in contact with my parents and updated them more often than not on my location and what I’m up to.

Where the backpack was stolen:

After travelling from Lima to Huacachina to Arequipa and hiking around Canyon de Colca, I started to feel more comfortable and confident. Everything was going swimmingly and I was having a blast! The next part of my plan was to head to Puno to visit the floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca and spend a night in a homestay before heading to Cusco.

I took an overnight bus from Arequipa and met a lovely Italian couple. We arrived in Puno at 5:30 am. Tired and exhausted, we were overwhelmed by people trying to sell their tours as soon as we disembarked. We took a breather to wake up and get ourselves together with a plan of action. Eventually, a gentleman approached us offering a tour where we could do a local homestay with a family on one of the islands. We had the opportunity to pay the families directly. Sounded perfect! We wanted to make sure a good portion went to the local family we would stay with.

Before the tour:

Prior to departure, we were told to only take a daypack. I hate repacking and leaving my bag unattended. Apparently, we weren’t allowed to take our main backpacks due to “insufficient space on the boat”. One of the employees showed us a locked storage room in the back of the office where other people had stored their backpacks. Uh… okay… we begrudgingly agreed. Whilst repacking, I was thinking of leaving one of my spare bank cards and my passport behind. It’s okay to judge me. I was naïve and thought nothing was going to happen. My friend felt something wasn’t right in her gut and repeatedly told me to take all my valuables and thankfully I listened to her. Left nothing of extreme value except my house keys and a nice handbag that was a gift from dad.

Whilst on the tour:

Honestly, the tour was… terrible. When we made it to the boat, there were other backpacks that were allowed on the boat. No one else had left their luggage in storage, except us. Alarm bells went off.

Anyways, we went on the tour. It was a rocky journey but I didn’t mind the boat too much; it was basic and reasonably run down. What was annoying was that the tour guide had no interest. He was just mumbling to himself. Just overall very unprofessional. Upon arrival, my friends and I were separated from the group and taken to our homestay. We did some small day hikes together. Our purpose in staying with a local family was to interact and learn about their culture. Unfortunately, our host family didn’t even want to interact with us, nor were we invited to the “island party” or the orientation, in the beginning, telling us about the customs, culture, and history. We did pay our host family directly but eventually, we realized we were put in a B&B-styled home. Completely different from what was offered to us and everyone else.

We went to bed. Everything felt off. Something in our guts wasn’t sitting right. It was all very suspicious.

End of the tour:

The next day, we returned to the mainland at approximately 3 pm; feeling extremely excited to reunite with our backpacks and leave for Cusco. As the storage door was opened, my heart sank… My bag was gone. G O N E. Maybe I had missed it or it was under another bag. I calmly asked the lady where my backpack was and she said it should be there. So I had another look – nothing. I started getting a bit more aggressive (a reaction of shock) and asked her repeatedly. She claimed my backpack was there but when I showed her a photo she claimed, “it might be in the other office”. I asked her to get it and she went missing for a long time. She came back and said it wasn’t there and asked me to check the room again.

Things escalated.

It was nowhere to be found. After a while, they changed their story and said another backpacker might have taken my backpack. Why would anyone do that? Wouldn’t it have been suspicious that someone walked off with 2 backpacks?! It wasn’t a generic backpack – it had flags stitched, my name was written on the side in gold, and two hiking poles sticking out the sides. The story they were spinning just did not add up. Eventually, they used yet another excuse to explain where my backpack disappeared to. They claimed that they must’ve accidentally put it on a bus heading to Copacabana, Bolivia. I had NO intentions of going to Bolivia so I’m not sure how my backpack ended up on a bus there. We waited for a while until they managed to get in contact with the bus driver in Bolivia… which, never happened.

My emotions got the better of me. The commotion attracted the attention of security and the management of the bus terminal. Apparently, my voice was “scaring off the other tourists”. They ended up intervening; trying to figure out what was happening, and the events leading up to it. Turns out, none of the agencies in the bus terminal are allowed to keep hold of bags onsite! I was furiously when I learnt this. This entire situation could’ve been avoided!

The Aftermath:

There wasn’t much time to try to sort this out. We had a bus scheduled to Cusco that evening! Here I am balling my eyes out, being comforted by the Italian couple and the employees doing what felt like nothing. One of the owners of the agency offered me USD$ 750 to replace everything that was in my pack, so I wouldn’t file a police report. This didn’t satisfy me. I knew they had broken the law by holding our backpacks and that amount of money, while a lot, wouldn’t have covered half of my belongings. In order to make an insurance claim, I needed a police report. I refused to do anything else until they agreed to go to the police station.

At the police station:

Filing the police report was a headache in itself. As I didn’t speak Spanish and there was no translator available, my new Italian friends helped to translate what they could so we could make it in time for our bus. We recounted everything to the police and the owner told her side of the story. I managed to get a police report within 2 hours and she agreed to give me USD$300 – a reduced amount because I decided to go forward with a police report! The police claimed they would try to keep an eye out for the backpack and contact me if it was found. Honestly, I was just happy to get out of there and out of Puno. However, as we were thanking the police, we saw the owner bribing the police. Probably so they wouldn’t file the report officially and the agency wouldn’t get a fine.

What happened to the rest of my trip?:

Well, we did make it to Cusco, without a backpack. After arriving, I just stayed in my room for a whole day, feeling pretty upset and trying to figure out what to do next. I managed to contact my bank to inform them and see what was needed for my insurance claim. My parents and I devised a game plan. My initial plan was to eventually head to Huaraz for more hiking however, without proper hiking gear that I felt comfortable in, I forfeited that plan. I did, however, manage to visit Machu Picchu and hike Rainbow Mountain while I was in Cusco.

As part of the new plan, I would cut my trip in Peru short after Cusco and take an early flight to Miami for some well-deserved R&R and shop for some of the missing things… however, little did I know a Category 5 Hurricane was making its way to the east coast of Florida when I was planning this. But more on that next time 😉

Lessons learned from getting my backpack stolen:

So, what have I learnt from getting my backpack stolen? A fair bit. Hopefully, these tips can help you prevent the same thing from happening to you!

• Use an Air Tag: This wasn’t invented when my backpack was stolen. However, this would work really well to keep track of your baggage! I’ve seen a lot of people investing in these gadgets, especially with the chaos at the airports.
• Get Travel Insurance: Or even check if your bank has travel insurance when you purchase flights/accommodation etc. through them. It will save you a headache and a lot of money if your things need replacing.
• Keep your valuables on you: Goes without saying, if you’re parting with your backpack, remove any items of value – passport, money, credit cards etc.
• Pack some clean clothes: Even if you only intend to be away from your luggage for a day, pack a couple of extra clean sets of clothes with you. At least then if your backpack is stolen, you still have some clothes to change into.
• Book a tour ahead of time/Research reputable companies: This would definitely save me from my headache. Had I only done some research on tour companies prior to arriving to Puno, I would have avoided my backpack being stolen completely.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY: Don’t let it ruin your trip!
  Honestly, I did let it ruin my trip. I was having an absolute blast prior to Puno however, the incident got the better of me and I let it impact the rest of my time. I missed out on visiting the salt fields near Cusco and I ALMOST missed out on Machu Picchu. That would’ve been an absolute shame. In the end, it is just belongings and can be easily replaced.

There you go, the story of how my backpack was stolen while backpacking in Peru. It is really unfortunate but I hope you learn from my mistakes wherever you visit! Go forth and enjoy the life of travel… May the travel gods forever be in your favour.