Robbed in Valparaiso – How to stay safe and what to do if robbed

Valparaiso graffiti, one of the last pictures I took before I was robbed

It was about 12:30pm on April 25th, the day I arrived in Valparaiso via bus from Mendoza. I was walking around the beautifully colored houses sitting on Cerro Carcel (Carcel Hill) on a beautiful, blue sky day.

I was elated from my Adventures across Argentina and happy to be walking around alone to soak in the sights. Not many people were around. Though I was in a touristic area, it was low season and there were also student protests down in the heart of the city.

I walked down a hill and the back up in search of the Plazuella San Luis. The hill I walked up didn´t look very touristy, but I saw a nice church peaking up above some houses a couple streets over. I thought it might be the plaza, so I started walking over.

A few locals were working outside on a car when one guy with a rain jacket and shorts walked up to me and said:

“It´s not safe here. No es seguro.”

“No?” I asked with an instant bolt of thoughts stirring in my mind about how to get out and somewhere safe.

“No, it´s not safe here, baja,” he said gesturing me to go down the hill towards the city.

I looked down and started walking, my senses now heightened.

After about 30 seconds, the street merged onto another. I looked up and saw the same man walking down towards me. Maybe I was going the wrong way? Maybe he was coming this way too?

He got to me pretty quickly, pulled out a stick and commanded, “saca la mochila!”

I looked back at him, puzzled, not immediately understanding what was going on.

“Saca la mochila!” He now used his hands to physically remove my day pack from my back, which contained my laptop, fleece, and Patagonia rain shell.

Next, he uttered some things I didn´t understand. I put my hands up in a passive manner. I could have fought back, but my first instinct was survival. I was in a different country in a strange neighborhood alone and was not about to jeopardize my life over “things” that are totally replaceable.

The guy rifled through my pockets, pulling out my iPhone 4, wallet, and passport. He handed my passport back to me (luckily for me) and said “leave now”, pointing up the hill back to where I came from.

I started running, looked back, and saw the guy running in the opposite direction with all my stuff. As I ran, I felt something he missed, my camera. I probably would have been a good idea to take it out and snap a photo of him at that point, but it was the last thing on my mind.

I thought to myself, “shit, I was just robbed”.

That turned into “I´m glad I wasn´t hurt” and “I need to get off of this hill.”

I ran down the hill toward the city of Valparaiso

I ran back down from where I came and continued down the hill for about 10 minutes. I arrived in Plazuella San Luis. It was nice, clean, and with lots of people.

“Ok, now I´m safe,” I thought to myself, “now where´s the police station. I need to report this for insurance.”

I walked up to a hotel door man and asked, “donde esta la policia?”

I followed his directions to La Policia de Investigaciones (PDI). After about an hour and a half, including a transfer to another station, they told me to go to the Carabineros about 8 blocks away.

After about another hour, I finally sat down and filed the report, recalling the incident and what was stolen.

I walked out of the station with only keys, a camera, and 900 Chilean Pesos (about $1.85) in coins. I didn´t know where I was in the city, but I knew I needed to save the coins for something important.

I spotted the big congress building near the place I was staying and started walking toward it. I stopped first at an internet café (I guess they are useful – I denounce them in this article about technology while traveling) and paid 200 pesos for 30 minutes.

I alerted Nestor, the guy I was staying with in Valparaiso, and my family of the robbery and began looking into filing an insurance claim.

After, I  continued walking, finding the important reason for saving my money, churros! Two with dulce de leche for 500 pesos and honey roasted nuts for 200 pesos. Yum… they warmed my soul.

I made it back to the apartment and started the process of canceling my credit cards and filing an insurance claim.

Determined not to have this make me down, Nestor and I went out that Wednesday night until 4am and had a great time in Viña del Mar.

What I learned

• Don´t be alone on the street in a foreign city, especially if you don´t know it´s safe.
• Don´t play with your life, it´s not worth it. Give the robber what he wants and head to safety.
• Know where you are going. Carry a map and know where not to go.
• Prior to your travels, document what you are taking along with original receipts for insurance.
• It´s not the end of the world, life goes on.

The next day, I was off to La Serena to see stars from one of the clearest skies in the world.

P.S. After mailing in the police report, photo evidence of ownership, and original receipts, my WorldNomads travelers insurance paid out for everything that I had a receipt (didn´t have one for my day pack or ear buds).

Have you ever been robbed while traveling? Do you have any additional advice? Leave a comment here.

Tagged as: Chile, South America, Tips