Whoa! We’ve been told so many times to watch out for pickpocketers, and we’ve been trying our best to protect ourselves. But within one busy night, my phone was halfway out of my pocket as I grabbed his hand!
So some basic warnings for traveling in Quito. When you ride busy bus, throw everything in your pockets into your backpack and turn your backpack to the front. Have your hands rested over your zippers for maximum protection. Our ministry friend got pick pocketed last year on the bus right out of his pocket! We’ve been extra vigilant in this matter to make sure we don’t lose our stuff on the bus, because they do get crowded and everyone bumps around you, so it’s ripe for the picking. But the way I got pick pocketed wasn’t on the bus!
We were walking down old Quito at night, a section of Quito that is lively and a tourist attraction where many foreigners go. This young kid and a teenager came up to me trying to sell me these posters. The young kid was on my left tapping my shoulders pretending to sell me his posters. He was distracting me and it totally worked. I kept on telling him no gracias, no gracias. Here is a little diagram I drew:
On the right of me was the teenager also selling me his big poster. But the way he was presenting it, he placed his poster right up against my waist and with his other hand under the poster, he reached for my phone. Thank God that I felt the phone move in my pocket. I reached for my phone and grabbed his hand, my phone was already midway out of my pocket! He ran away as soon as he knew!
So when you guys travel, be safe! Anytime someone is approaching your personal space or distracting you, be on your guard! They can be actively pickpocketing you. I can’t be any more thankful to God that my phone didn’t get stolen! It really could have gone the other way with these professionals!
