Attempts to Steal
We travel a lot, but this was the first time we lost such a large sum of money! As you know, we’re from Perm. Our city leads in the number of crimes per capita. From childhood, we’ve been distrustful of any stranger, instinctively checking our wallets and phones in our pockets.
This summer, we drove from Perm to Italy by car, and nothing was broken or cracked, even in Poland.
When we walk on the street, we tie strings on the zippers of our backpacks to make it impossible to get into them on the go.
Unsuccessful Theft Attempts
A few times, thieves tried to get into Lena’s backpack. When we were in the Madrid metro, transferring between stations, an old lady with a map followed Lena. On the escalator, she stood behind her, holding the map with one hand and trying to open the locks with the other hand under the map. But no way, they were tied!
I yelled at her, and she nervously scurried away, even having to run against the flow of the escalator. It was hilarious.
The Brother with Cola
Another incident was in Lisbon. Again, a swarthy brother followed Lena. The situation was comical. He held a cola in one hand and a bag of French fries, and with the other, he was rummaging in Lena’s backpack. He had already unzipped the lock.
“What the hell!” I yelled at him.
He was so scared that he dropped the fries. He quickly turned around and walked away unhurriedly, pretending it didn’t happen. I even took a photo of him. Then I caught up with him, but there was nothing to accuse him of. He didn’t succeed. Well, good.
But let’s get back to our story on Tenerife.
The Day Should Have Been Successful
On that day, we were seeing my mom off at the airport. After that, the plan was to exchange our car at pluscar for a cheaper one. We made the exchange at their central office. We returned our lively Renault Captur.
Due to changing the return flight, I had to ask them to modify the rental period. They recalculated the price, and it came out to €270 for 12 days, instead of the previous €194 for 14 days. But I persuaded them to charge the old price, and I just gave them 2 days for free.
Happy with the €86 saved, we headed to the shops in Santa Cruz in our brand-new Opel Corsa.
But how were we robbed? We’re approaching the climax.
Underground Parking?
We left the car in the underground parking lot of Decathlon. As the armchair analysts taught us, the seats should be pristinely clean, and there shouldn’t be a single thing in the cabin. The glove compartment was almost empty, just the car documents. We checked every door – all locked. We perform this ritual every time.
Happy after a successful shopping trip, we returned to the parking lot. And what do you think? Was the window smashed? The door broken? No – everything was in order. All the windows were intact, and the things in the trunk were in place.
At the McDonald’s Parking Lot?
We were really hungry, and the only food we had was pears and nut bars from Decathlon, but we wanted something more. The only option nearby was McDonald’s. No more than once a month, we allow ourselves this indulgence, and it had already been a month and a half since our last McDonald’s visit.
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We parked the car in the large parking lot around the burger place. It was already dark outside. A perfect place for thieves, right? The spot was somewhere off to the side in a dark corner. We left the car, performed the ritual with the doors, peeked through the windows – everything was clean, not a single thing. It was hard to believe that someone had driven this car. It looked like it had just come from the dealership.
I ordered 2 burgers via the electronic kiosk. I stood waiting. After me, they had already served 10 orders, but I was still waiting. Out of the corner of my eye, I kept an eye on the car. It was standing there, dimly lit by a dull yellow lamp.
Free Burgers – Is This a Clever Scam?
A McDonald’s employee runs up to me. She says something to me in Spanish, sounding scared. I didn’t understand anything. I looked at the car, and it seemed fine. Then another McDonald’s employee runs up and puts money in my hand!
I didn’t hesitate and quickly pocketed the money. I’d figure out what it was for later, especially since I hadn’t given them any money – I paid by card. They stood there smiling, with a sense of duty fulfilled. There was no one else in line. There were no burgers for my order, and I had money in my pocket while I was hungry.
“Will you give me the burgers?” I asked, no longer expecting to get them.
“For a 10-minute wait, we’re giving you 2 burgers for free!” the McDonald’s employees happily told me.
Met the Police
I met a police patrol on the street. I told them about the loss (they spoke a little English). The police officers invited me to come in at 12 o’clock the next day.
By the way, I withdrew money from an ATM without any problems and paid the locksmith.
Visit to the Police Station
As agreed, at 12 o’clock noon, we arrived at the Policia Local. It is located in Los Gigantes near the fire station. The station looks modest, but the walls are not peeling like those of our police stations.
An officer was sitting at a desk and talking on the phone. We waited until he finished. He got a bit scared when he learned that we don’t speak Spanish. He immediately gave me a phone with an interpreter.
They spoke English on the phone. How timely that I started improving my English before the trip, remember I told you? I described everything that happened, and the interpreter conveyed it to the officer.
Then I filled out a small questionnaire with my details and the camera’s serial numbers. Don’t forget to keep copies of not only your documents but also the serial numbers of your equipment on your phone!
Then the interpreter came. Also English. They recorded my testimony and said they would look for the camera.
Well, you’re a real loser!
That’s about how everyone reacted in the comments on Instagram and Facebook. They told you not to leave anything valuable in the car.
It’s unrealistic. If I take all valuables with me, I’ll look like a backpacker on a hike. All these years, the trunk has been a reliable enough storage space for things, I just got unlucky.
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Urgently Bought a Camera
Don’t worry, we’ve already bought a new camera. I need to continue working and writing reports for you.
Yesterday, we went to photo stores all day. On Tenerife, it turned out to be even a little cheaper than in Europe because of the reduced tax here, but more expensive than at home. I’ll be more careful from now on.
Write in the comments what you think? How to protect yourself from thieves without compromising your vacation? What incidents have happened to you?
UPD Anyway, it’s like a black streak or something. The new camera broke down the next day. Factory defect. We went and exchanged it for a new one without any problems.
