I finally got around to typing up an entry from my travel journal. After I finished high school, I traveled around Peru and Ecuador for four weeks. I kept a journal during this trip, and this entry is by far the most interesting day's worth of events:
August 5th, 2011
After a restless night on the bus sitting next to the toilet, which did not smell very pleasant by the end, today was pretty eventful. Early in the morning, the bus I was on with my brother ran over a person. Though I did not see the trapped body, I believe only the legs were trapped. Men were pushing the side of the bus trying to lift it, and others were letting air out of the tires.
After about 15 minutes we were let back on the bus as if nothing happened. We arrived in Tumbes with no further incidents. Once there, a guy asked us if we needed the Cifa International bus to go to Ecuador; we said yes. He claimed he worked for the company and would take us there for free. Though he had an unmarked vehicle, which was suspicious, I thought that with the two of us it would not be a problem. Except, then another two people entered the car, one beside us. This was too much. We took our bags and left, eventually catching a mototaxi to Cifa International. The guy first said it would cost 1 sol, but at the end of the ride claimed that it cost 10 sol! He said that 1 sol would have been to take us to the Plaza del Armes. We eventually gave him 10 sol, not wanting any trouble. The 6 hour bus took us first to the border town of Agua Verdes, where we cleared customs, and then to Guayaquil. This bus-ride was uneventful.
We started to look for an Ecuador Lonely Planet guide, as we did not have one with us. Searching online at an internet cafe, we found that a shop in a mall was selling it. We took a taxi to the mall. We were running low on funds at this point, so we took 400 dollars out of the ATM machine off of my account. After dinner, we took a cab back to the hotel. It is at this point that the story gets interesting.
When we were about 5 blocks away from the hotel, the driver takes out the card we gave him to check for the hotel’s address. At this point, two men get into the car, one in front, the other next to us. I tried to keep them out instinctively, and got punched in the right cheek as a reward. The skinny man who sat in front pointed a gun at my brother (I never realized they had a gun. Not very situationally aware on my part). My brother did not have any of his money, credit cards or IDs on him, but I had all of mine in my money belt. The most sensible solution was to give them what they wanted, which I did. No reason to anger them by refusing. I gave them my money belt after which for some reason, one the the two men proceeded to stick his hand down my underwear, maybe to check if I had more money. I should sue him for sexual harassment.
They took my credit and debit cards, and I gave them my PINs for both. All the while they were yelling at us “take it easy my friend,” and “close you eyes,” neither of which we entirely did. Then the skinny man left with the cash and cards, and we were left driving around sitting next to the fat man, who was now the man with the gun. I was sandwiched between my brother and the fat man and felt the fat man’s heart beating fast and his breathing laboured. I think he was also really scared of what the was doing. We drove around in circles until the skinny man managed to take money off of the debit and credit cards.
At this point, we drove into deserted, dimly lit streets and the fat man told us to get out. We thought he was going to kidnap us or something, but we got out. He closed the door and drove away with the cab driver.
I would like to comment on the language barrier we faced while being robbed. It’s very hard to do as you are told when you don’t understand what you’re being told. Also, when you are trying to explain something to your mugger, it is easier when you speak his language.
Anyways, after we got out we started running, turning a corner until we saw some people standing outside of a house. We tried to explain that we had just been mugged at gunpoint, but with limited success. Luckily, there was someone who spoke some English. We called the hotel from the house of the people and then the English-speaker drove us to the hotel for free, out of kindness. We trusted him because it looked like he could be trusted, looking like a calm person. In addition, the house we went into had a child’s birthday party happening in it, which put us much more at ease. Once at the hotel, we cancelled both my credit and debit cards. Luckily, the muggers had no interest in stealing my passport or driving license. Now, after a long, eventful day, my brother and I are ready to call it a day.