Tag: travelling in colombia

In this BLOG article I will be going over my experience with valuables on the road and how I lost some of my favorite things.  All of them were preventable and I hope you can learn from my mistakes so the same doesn’t happen to you!  In this article I will also be revealing one of my MESSAGES OF WISDOM I wrote exclusively for this BLOG.

#4) Sunglasses

• Item Description: Italia Independent iPlastik Sunglasses
• Store of purchase: Italia Independent Store
• Location of purchase: Wynwood, Miami Florida
• Retail Value: $197 USD

My favorite green and black Italia Independent polarized glasses are GONE!  Yes, the glasses that I wore in all of my photos, videos and travels in Colombia are GONE.  On my recent trip to Santa Marta I was on the beach relaxing enjoying a massage when some of my friends INSISTED that we go on a boat ride tour to a small island visible off the coast.  The idea seemed pretty fun although I did not know the exact details of the ride.  That was Mistake #1, not knowing exactly what I was getting into.  When embarking on tours or rides, try to get the details so you know to expect.

We all loaded onto this banana boat inflated vehicle and began departing out into the waters.  Since my friends were rushing me I didn’t realize that I had my sunglasses on.  Rule #2, use extra caution when travelling by boat or water with valuables.  Travelling on water increasing the RISK exponentially of damaging your items if not careful!  In fact, when I was canoeing in the Chassahowitzka River in 2014 our canoe tipped and all of my electronics including my cellphone and Bluetooth speaker were completely water damaged.  Below is the last picture I ever took with my Glasses: 

In this case, our banana boat was being dragged by a propeller engine boat with a rope.  Initially I thought we were going on a tour to the small island off the coast but in fact we were on some kind of bumpy thrill ride through the choppy waters.

Every so often the driver would purposely make a sharp turn to tip all of us off into the water.  Each time I tried to secure my glasses best as possible on my head to prevent them from falling in the water.  After 2 or 3 dumps, every thing was going fine, glasses still on my head.  We were heading back to the beach and getting closer.  When we neared, the driver revved his engine one last time and I could sense him making a final turn to dump us into the water.

This time when we hit the water I felt my glasses shift downwards onto my nose and before I knew it they slipped completely off.  I quickly put my hands in the location when they fell but no luck.  My heart sank and at that moment I knew that my favorite glasses I had travelled so much with and seen so many places with me were now GONE! Floating in the water on the coast of Santa Marta Colombia.  It took some time to get over this loss, but after some strong mental ACCEPTANCE, I was able to MOVE ON.

#3) Fanny Pack

• Item Description: Fanny Pack in Light Blue Denim
• Store of purchase: American Apparel
• Location of purchase: South Miami, Miami Florida
• Retail Value: $32 USD

After spending a week in Medellin I was off to Leticia.  From what I recall I had an early morning flight that had a connecting stop in Bogotá.  My final night in Medellin before departing I went out for some drinks with friends and ending up having a decent amount of “Aguardiente”; a very popular anise-flavored liquor of Colombia.  This resulted in me being extremely hung over for my early morning flight.  As I was going through airport security, (the part where you take off your shoes, jackets, hats, etc.) I was so hung over that I forgot to put my fanny pack back on.  It wasn’t until I was on the plane heading to Leticia that I remembered taking it off and never picking it up.  Rule #3 of my Loss Prevention Guide is to use caution when handling items being very drunk, hung over or sleep deprived.

These are pictures of me wearing my fanny pack in Wynwood Miami Art District.

#2) Green Earrings

• Item Description: Emerald Green Earrings
• Store of purchase: Piercing Pagoda
• Location of purchase: Southern Park Mall, Boardman Ohio
• Retail Value: $40 USD

These were my favorite pair of green earrings.  I liked them a lot.  I had them on when we embarked up the Amazon River to explore Leticia and Las Amazonas.  Our first stop was an indigenous house on the bank of the river.  As we entered, the indigenous brought out many types of wild animals for us to pet, hold and interact with.  I was holding some type of Amazonian Parrot on my shoulder and in the flash of a second he plucked his beak right at my ear.  I didn’t realize what he had done but he had pulled my earring clean out.  One of the Indigenous owners walked over to us and demanded for him to spit out the item he was chewing on.  When she pulled the object out of it’s mouth, I saw the twisted remains of my earring with the green stone missing.  Rule #4 is not to wear expensive jewelry when handling wild animals.

A picture of me holding a sloth the day my Green Earring was eaten by a Parrot:

#1) Green Trail Shoes

• Item Description: Merrell All Out Terra Trail Shoes
• Store of purchase: Amazon
• Location of purchase: Online
• Retail Value: $110 USD

While in Cabo De La Vela I decided to go for a swim in the calm waters of the desert beach.  I was some ways down the road from my hospedaje and not thinking too straight.  For some reason I decided to leave my favorite pair of green trail shoes on the beach while I went for a swim with some friends.  While I was swimming, someone snatched my shoes and I have never seen them again.  My theories are that either some kids picked them up, or somebody from the Wayúu took them.  I will never know.  Rule #5 is not to leave valuables and personal items unattended in unfamiliar areas.

Picture of my shoes at Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah:

So what are my Loss Prevention Rules to minimize risk while travelling with valuables? Let’s do a quick recap:

• Know what your getting into before you do it.
• Use extreme caution when travelling by boat or water with valuables.
• Stay alert when handling items drunk, hung over or sleep deprived.
• Don’t wear expensive jewelry while handling wild animals.
• Don’t leave valuables and personal items unattended in unfamiliar areas.

What is my Total Retail Loss Value?

This puts my Total Retail Loss Value at a whopping $379 USD!  That’s 1.120.000 in COP!  I could have eaten lunch at my favorite spot in Prados Norte, Cúcuta 185 times with that much!  In other words, that is lunch every day for 6 months!

What is the KEY to coping with losing your favorite items on the road? What is my MESSAGE OF WISDOM I wrote exclusively for this BLOG? Read the next paragraph to find out.

“At the end of the day we are all HUMAN and MISTAKES HAPPEN.  When you lose a valuable object in your life remember that ACCEPTANCE is the biggest factor of dealing with hurt.  The important thing to remember is that all of this is just a LESSON of LIFE.  These are just MATERIAL OBJECTS that in the grand scheme of LIFE don’t matter.  The bigger picture to remember is that we are ALIVE and WELL.  We are able to BREATH, to LAUGH, to LOVE and to THINK.  Always be GRATEFUL for what you have.  Yesterday is HISTORY, tomorrow is a MYSTERY, and the present is a GIFT.” – rJL

If you read the paragraph above, you have gained one of the WISDOMS I have acquired on my journey of LIFE.  I hope that you use this wisdom to better yourself and those around you.

Also, make sure to check out my first BLOG of 2017 highlighting my experience “Teaching English in Colombia” which you can see below:

For questions, feedback, comments or more info follow me on:

• IG: @rarecolombia
• Facebook.com/rarecolombia
• rarecolombia@gmail.com

Chao,

Ryan Lopez