We are keeping up with blogs of travelers in our planned destinations to stay abreast of the clothing needs, fall and spring are our travel preferences but the weather is more “exciting”. The crowds tend to be smaller and more mature as schools are mostly in session.
We have learned from our blog reading and communications from traveling friends, that pickpockets and even teams of pickpockets are more active than in our last travels. Violent crimes in Europe against tourist are not common, other than a terrorist attack every now and again, but pickpockets and flim-flam artist can be an issue. The difficult world-wide economy stresses may be causing more encounters of the later type. The point of this dialog isn’t meant to discourage traveling abroad but to encourage travelers to prepare for the chance encounter.
While traveling with Robert St.John last fall we were able to experience a “snatch and sprint” event first hand. We were having breakfast in a very nice hotel and preparing for a day of touring in the Spanish countryside, when an opportunity thief lifted Robert’s backpack from his extended rolling bag handle (with Robert right beside) and ran off. Gone, a well traveled backpack, various personal items and one laptop filled with schedules, tour admittances, personal bank account numbers and other information which could have a lasting negative impact in the wrong hands.
Disaster averted, Apple allows virtual hard disk wiping from your iPhone or iPad and, if information and data is stored on the web, it can all be easily recovered. Note filed in short term memory, long term no longer reliable, secure backpack on suitcase if you’re in a public transportation crowd or a nice hotel. Air Tags are in all of our suit cases, back packs and on our selves. An Air Tag left in our rental cars means we never forget where they are parked and hopefully assist the Polizia in locating one stolen. We also use S-Clips on backpack zippers to make it more difficult for a thief to unzip while on a crowded train or boarding landing. I’ve attached a couple of pics to illustrate. Stay tuned to learn how we pack for our extended trips and avoid the bag checking requirements on the small airlines we seem to find ourselves traveling. Jim
