Today I discovered that someone stole money from me. It wasn't much - just a few euros I intended as backup money - but the circumstances were disquieting: the money was stolen from my locked locker, in the locked dorm room, in a hostel with a constantly locked front gate. So it must have been one of the other guests... which feels somewhat worse than if the thief was a random guy on the street.
Anyway, the story had a good ending (at least for me): the hostel owner felt compelled to replace my loss with his own money because he said it was his responsibility. So now I have gained an experience, but lost nothing - except maybe some trust in people in general (which is a lot worse than the loss of money, don't you think?)
I'm also somewhat mystified as to what the best strategy is to avoid something like this in the future. Not leave the money belt lying around openly - not even in the locker - is one possibility. Somebody also suggested to hide stuff amid dirty clothing. Maybe this could be part of the solution: always place the money belt (or something else that screams "valuables inside") so that it isn't visible, no matter which container (locker, backpack,...) a thief opens. Or, in simpler terms, always make it as hard as possible for myself to access the money belt.
The day wasn't all bad, though (in fact, it was a really good day, all things considered). The oceanographic museum had a great display of all the stuff found at the beach - crazy how people seem to think of the sea as a huge trash can, isn't it?
We also visited the site of the first settlement in Patagonia. Welsh settlers arrived here in the 19th century and lived in wooden shacks built on top of these hollows in the rock:
Anyway, the story had a good ending (at least for me): the hostel owner felt compelled to replace my loss with his own money because he said it was his responsibility. So now I have gained an experience, but lost nothing - except maybe some trust in people in general (which is a lot worse than the loss of money, don't you think?)
I'm also somewhat mystified as to what the best strategy is to avoid something like this in the future. Not leave the money belt lying around openly - not even in the locker - is one possibility. Somebody also suggested to hide stuff amid dirty clothing. Maybe this could be part of the solution: always place the money belt (or something else that screams "valuables inside") so that it isn't visible, no matter which container (locker, backpack,...) a thief opens. Or, in simpler terms, always make it as hard as possible for myself to access the money belt.
The day wasn't all bad, though (in fact, it was a really good day, all things considered). The oceanographic museum had a great display of all the stuff found at the beach - crazy how people seem to think of the sea as a huge trash can, isn't it?
We also visited the site of the first settlement in Patagonia. Welsh settlers arrived here in the 19th century and lived in wooden shacks built on top of these hollows in the rock:
