Darn it, darn it, darn it!
I’m sure it’s happened to nearly everyone. A blunder, a mistake, an oversight. It happened to me in Miami just before setting sail for the Caribbean. I set a bag down to load up some other bags, hopped in the van and off we went. A few minutes and many miles later, I realized I never picked that bag back up. Despite the quick u-turn and return to the scene of the stupidity, the bag was gone and nobody knew a thing about it. No one had seen anything including, it seems, me ever carrying that bag in the first place. I could live without most items in the bag: sunglasses, a cheap camera, a little bit of cash. One thing, however, was important: my passport. Ugh.
Thankfully, things worked out. I was able to sail with other documentation thanks to a rule intended to foster tourism in the region. I called in immediately to cancel my passport so, should it have found its way to ID thieves, the damage might be mitigated. Whew. But what a pain! All because I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should. Most upsetting was the complete lack of sympathy or helpfulness by the staff at the car rental agency where I lost the bag. (I was so upset that, to this day, I have not used that company again.)
As we approach the summer travel season, I want to remind everyone to not let their guard down. Don’t do what I did, even if it did work out okay in the end. Thieves are out there waiting for you to have a moment like mine. They know you are travelling, likely far from home, and probably have some good stuff in your bags so they’ll wait and watch for that golden opportunity.
Of course, some will create that opportunity, as we’ve seen in recent reports from The Louvre. Even there, being vigilant can help save your day, and ruin theirs. You can vacation without fear if you take a few precautions, keep your eyes and ears open, and don’t do dumb things like leave a bag unattended.
Remember: You are on vacation. Thieves are not.
For some tips to help protect your stuff and identity while traveling, check out our post Tips to Protect Your Identity.
