And The Long Trip Home
DISCLAIMER: This story gets intense at times. Nothing too crazy, but want to give you a heads up just in case.
It's another beautiful day in Quito
The sun is shining
The weather is warm
And Mount Pichincha watches over the city
She smiles today
I've been in Ecuador for almost a month now
And while I came para aprender Español (to learn Spanish)
My time here has brought me many places
From the peaks of mountains
To the depths of jungles
And all the rain forests in between
I've seen the beauty this country has to offer
Plus I've made some good friends along the way
Still though
There's one type of landscape I haven't yet experienced in Ecuador
The beach
And considering tomorrow will be my last full day here
Now's the time to go
So I call up my friend Connie
And see if she wants to take a trip
She's down
We head into town
And talk to some locals about what we're trying to do
'Queremos ir a la playa. ¿Dónde debemos ir?'
'Hay Playa Atacames. Es un viaje seis horas en autobús'
They tell us our best bet is a beach called Playa Atacames
6 hours away
By bus
Not ideal
But hey
With my time here quickly coming to an end
What better way to spend my last full day in Ecuador
Than relaxing on the beach
I'm in
I turn to Connie
She gives me the nod
She's in
With thoughts of adventure in our minds
We head to the bus station
The walk isn't far
But it is pleasant
Shops and parks line the way
And we let them guide us to our destination
When we arrive
We walk up to the ticket counter
And ask when the next bus leaves for Atacames
'Hola, vamos a Atacames. ¿Cuándo pasa el próximo autobús?'
'El siguiente sale a las ocho y el siguiente sale a la medianoche.'
We hear that the next bus leaves at 8pm
And the one after that leaves at midnight
So Connie and I talk it over
We decide to take the midnight bus
Figuring it will be cool to get there as the sun is rising
'¿Cuanto?'
'Trece'
We hand over 13 dollars and buy the tickets
'Gracias
Por favor lleguen aquí a las once y media
Con sus pasaportes
No una copia de ellos'
We're told to arrive back here by 11:30pm
With our passports
Not a copy of them
Connie and I give a thumbs up to the person behind the counter
We agree to meet back at the bus station by 11:30pm
And then go our separate ways to pack some stuff
I head home to where I'm staying
Along with a bathing suit and towel
I grab my passport
I grab some cash
And I grab my phone
For pictures
I wonder why I can't bring a copy of my passport
But if that's what the person at the bus station said
Then it must be true
Because who would be naive enough
To not trust a person
They met at a bus station...
I kill some time until 11pm rolls around
And then start my walk back to meet Connie
We both get there right around the same time
And secure our spots in line
20 minutes after arriving
We're seated on the bus
And 10 minutes after that
The bus leaves the station
Right on time
The ride is typical for Ecuador
Lots of twists
Lots of turns
And LOTS of bumps
I sleep for most of the 6 hour trip
Wanting to be rested for a long day at the beach
When I wake up
I check my phone
It says 5:30am
We're almost there
I nudge Connie to let her know
She starts getting her stuff in order
A few minutes before 6am
We pull into the Atacames bus station
::pshhhhh::
And the old bus breathes a sigh of relief
A handful of drowsy travelers gather their belongings
The doors open
And the bus empties
Connie and I walk outside
It's still dark
We walk into town
We see shops
Restaurants
Internet cafes
But none of them are open
The small beach town is still asleep
We walk to the beach
To watch the sunrise
Just like we had planned
We take off our shoes
Find a spot that's just right
And plop down in the sand
Our backs to the tired town
We sit
And we talk
We talk about our time in Ecuador
The things we saw
The things we learned
The friends we made
The sun starts to rise
And the warmth of the nostalgic conversation
Can be felt
Both inside and out
So calm
So peaceful
So relahhh
I feel something around my neck
I see an arm
It's not Connie's
I feel a sharp pain
I look down
The arm has a broken glass bottle to my neck
My Spanish leaves me
'STOP!!'
'No digas nada'
The arm tells me not to say anything
The bottle presses harder
I look over
Connie has a bottle to her neck too
We see the panic in each other's eyes
We feel the pressure of the broken glass against our necks
And we watch as hands go through our bags
The hands take what they came for
The arms loosen around our necks
And the people they're connected to run off
Still in shock
I get up
And run after them
'STOP!!
YOU CAN HAVE THE MONEY
LEAVE THE PASSPORT
PLEASE
PLEASE!!'
I sprint through the sand
Full speed
With tears starting to roll down my cheeks
They could have killed me
But they didn't
And I'll make sure they regret that
Wishful thinking though
Life isn't a Hollywood movie
And I'm not a comic book hero
No matter how fast I run
I'm not gaining on them quick enough
They enter a wooded area
And I decide to stop the pursuit
Because who would be naive enough
To follow Ecuadorian robbers
Into a wooded area...
My phone
My wallet
My passport
All gone
I run back to Connie
'Are you okay?'
'Yes, I think so'
'We need to find police'
We scamper off of the beach
Shouting for help
There's a police truck nearby
We run to it in a frenzy
They see us
And ask what happened
'¿Que pasó?'
'Algunos ladrones se llevaron nuestras cosas ¡Necesitamos ayuda!'
We tell them that some thieves had taken our stuff
And that we need help
They look at us
Then at each other
Then back at us
'Vamos'
They tell us to get in the truck
It's like a convertible
Basically an Ecuadorian Jeep Wrangler
'¿Por dónde se fueron?'
They ask which way they went
And as soon as I point towards the wooded area
The driver stomps on the gas
The acceleration presses us into our seats
As the truck speeds through the beach town
The driver turns on the siren
It's loud
The passenger turns on Spanish music
It's louder
And all four us keep our eyes peeled for any sign of the thieves
In the distance
We see someone waving their arms above their head
Indicating that they may have a clue
The driver notices
He says something to his partner in the passenger's seat
And then zooms over to the good samaritan
As we get closer
We see that the good samaritan is standing on a dock
The driver pulls onto the dock
Stops the truck
And asks if the good samaritan has seen any thieves
'¿Has visto algunos ladrones?'
'Si si si. ¡Ellos fueron allá en el agua!'
The good samaritan points to a long inlet
And tells us that the thieves went into the water over there
The driver looks towards the inlet
Then out to the open ocean
There's a lone fishing boat about 500 feet from shore
He hops out of the truck
Waves his arms
And motions for the boat to come to the dock
Connie and I look at each other
This is getting wild
The fishing boat docks
And both police officers speak with the captain
Connie and I see the captain look at us
Pause
Then nod his head
The police officers turn back towards the truck
They point at the boat
'Vamos'
And tell us to get on board
Connie and I look at each other again
Are we really going to do this?
Yeah
We get out of the truck
Walk over to the boat
And climb aboard
The captain fires up the engine
And we pull away from the dock to start our search
We enter the inlet
Our eyes scanning for any leads
Any clues
Anything
¡Veo algo!
The captain shouts that he sees something
We look over the side of the boat
And we see something floating in the water
It looks like a passport!
The captain casts a net to grab the object
He pulls it out of the water
It is a passport!
Hope
A faint glimmer of hope
I can feel my spirits rise
The captain hands me the passport
It's from the United States!
I open it up...
'Andrew Riley'
Hope
Gone
I can feel my spirits sink
I look up at the captain and shake my head
He frowns but is nice enough to continue the search
We look for another 20 minutes
No luck
The captain brings the boat back to the dock
Connie
Both police officers
And I
Hop off
'Buena suerte'
The captain wishes us good luck and heads back to his fishing post
We wave and say thank you
The police officers turn to us with a disappointed look
'Lo siento chicos
Les daremos un informe policial
Pero no hay nada mas podemos hacer'
They tell us they're sorry
And that they will provide us with a police report
But that there is nothing else they can do
So we get the reports
And head into town
I have to call my mom
And tell her what happened
But honestly
I'd rather just get robbed again
We find a phone cafe
We explain what happened and why we don't have any money
And we ask if we can please make a couple of phone calls
The owner is generous enough to say yes
I call some friends in Quito
And ask if they can wire us some money to buy bus tickets back
Then I call my mom
'Hi mom
I'm okay
But kind of an emergency'
'What happened?
What's wrong?'
'I came to the beach with my friend
And
We got robbed'
'You got robbed??'
'Yeah'
'What did they take?'
'My phone
My wallet
And my passport'
'Your passport???'
'Yeah'
'WHY WOULD YOU BRING YOUR PASSPORT??'
'The person at the bus station said to'
'Oh my god
Okay
I need to speak with dad
And make some calls with him
What number can I call you back at with information?'
'One second
Disculpe. ¿Cuál es el número de este teléfono?
...
Mom?'
'Yeah'
'They said the telephone number is 593-98-92-72-700'
'Okay I'll call you back as soon as possible'
I hang up
Connie tells me our friend wired us some money
And that we have enough to buy bus tickets back to Quito
My flight home is tomorrow
But luckily for Connie
Hers is not
Plus
She has dual citizenship
Which means her passport issue is a bit different from mine
Twenty minutes later
The phone rings
The owner picks it up
And says it's for me
'Es para ti'
'Hello?
Hi mom
Yes
Mhm
Yeah
Okay
Sounds good
Thank you'
I hang up the phone
'What did she say?' Connie asks
'She told me she made some phone calls with my dad
They spoke with some people in the United States and a connection in Ecuador'
'What did they say?'
'They said I need to go to the United States Consulate in Quito
I can fill out forms for a replacement passport
Or they can give me paperwork regarding the situation
Either way
I need to get to the Consulate before 5pm'
Connie looks at her watch
'Well it's 9:45am right now
And the next bus leaves at 10
It's a 6 hour trip back home
So we need to leave now to have any chance of making it back in time!'
We get up
Thank the owner of the phone cafe
And start running to the bus station
When we arrive
There is already a long line forming in front of the bus
We go straight to the ticket window and ask for two tickets to Quito
'Dos para Quito, por favor'
'Qué suerte, estos son los dos únicos que quedan'
We're in luck
We got the last two tickets
With a sigh of relief
We walk over to the bus
Hop on
And wave goodbye to Atacames
In many ways
Our ride back is similar to our ride there
Lots of twists
Lots of turns
And LOTS of bumps
Only this time
We have thought of a robbery and assault weighing on our minds
The hours tick away
As the bus makes its way back to Quito
1 o'clock
2 o'clock
3 o'clock
I start to worry
It's 3:45
And we haven't even entered Quito
I start to think we won't make it to the Consulate by 5
It's 4pm
We're not in Quito
It's 4:15
We're not in Quito
It's 4:30
We're not in Quito
At 4:38
We finally arrive
It's a dark day in Quito
The sky is cloudy
The weather is harsh
And Mount Pichincha watches over the city
She frowns today
I run off the bus
And flag down the first taxi I see
'Hola
Vamos al Consulado de Estados Unidos
Necesitamos llegar antes de 5pm
Es una emergencia
No tengo dinero ahora
Pero te pagaré después'
I tell him we are going to the United States Consulate
And that we need to arrive by 5pm
I also tell him that it is an emergency
And I don't have cash on me
But I will pay him after
He agrees
I give him the address of the Consulate
Av. Avigiras, Av. Eloy Alfaro E12-170 y, Quito 170124, Ecuador
We take off
The driver cuts through traffic at an impressive pace
We're making good progress
4:52
We're getting close to the Consulate
4:53
I can see it!
4:54
We hit a red light
$!#@%
4:57
We pull into the parking lot at the Consulate
I hop out of the taxi
And sprint to the door
I frantically look around
Then make a dash towards the first person I see
Words come flying out
'MynameisHarryBrodskyIgotrobbedandamheretopickuppapers'
'Excuse me?'
'Sorry
My name is Harry Brodsky
I got robbed
And am here to pick up papers'
'Oh yes
I was told you would be coming
One second please'
The employee walks away and steps into a room nearby
I have a moment to catch my breath
And take in the scene
The building is quite nice
Very official
And covered in marble
Three minutes later
The employee exits the room with a distinguished looking diplomat
The diplomat is holding papers
And casually walks up to me
'Harry Brodsky?'
'Yes'
'Hello Mr. Brodsky
On behalf of the United States government
We are sorry to hear what happened to you
But we are here to help you through this process'
'Thank you'
'Moving forward
You have two options
First
You can submit for a replacement passport
This process will take between 10-14 days'
'My flight home is tomorrow though'
'Second
I can present you these papers I am holding
They explain the situation
And why you do not have a passport
They should be enough to get you out of Ecuador
But
It's at the discretion of any countries you pass through on your way back to the United States
As to whether or not
They will let you travel with this paperwork alone
Will you be passing through any countries on your trip back?'
'I have a layover in Panama'
'Then I wish you the best of luck in Panama'
The diplomat hands me the papers
'Thank you'
The diplomat nods and walks away
The employee leads me to the exit of the Consulate
I step outside
Walk back to the taxi
And get in
I give the driver the address of where I'm staying
He starts the car
I tell Connie what happened
As we pull out of the Consulate parking lot
The ride isn't long
Which is good
Because neither of us have much to say
We pull up to where I'm staying
And I get out of the Taxi
Connie gets out too
I run inside
Grab some cash
And thank the driver for all he did
'Buena suerte'
He wishes me good luck
And drives off
Connie and I stand silently
Dazed from the day we just went through
We look at each other
She breaks the silence
'I'm sorry this happened
I'm sorry your trip has to end this way'
'I'm sorry it happened too
But it's okay
It could have been worse
Much worse
I'm just glad we're both okay'
'Yeah
I hope you're able to get home with those papers'
'Me too'
'Well
Good luck
It was great getting to know you'
We hug
Connie turns
And walks away
I head back into where I'm staying
I spend the rest of the night stewing in anger
And sitting in sadness
The emotions are overwhelming
I lay in my bed
Eventually
I fall asleep
But I do not rest
I wake up the next morning
Gather my belongings
And grab a taxi to the airport
Making sure my paperwork is within sight at all times
I get to the airport
And head to security
I wait in line
Slowly getting closer to the agent checking passports
Finally
It's my turn
'Hola, passaporte por favor'
The agent asks me for my passport
'No tengo mi passaporte
Pero tengo estos documentos'
I tell the agent that I don't have my passport
But I have the paperwork instead
Puzzled
The agent looks down at the papers
Then looks up at me
Then calls over their supervisor
The agent explains the situation to their supervisor
And shows them the papers
Now the supervisor looks down at the papers
Then looks up at me
Then says something into the walkie talkie attached to their uniform
Then back down at the papers
'Esta bien'
The supervisor says I'm good to go
'Gracias!'
I say thank you and pass through security
I walk to the departures screen
And look for my flight to Panama City
Gate: C26
Status: On Time
Perfect
I make my way to the gate
Passing by hundreds of other travelers
And as I approach C26
I see two Ecuadorian soldiers point at me
I freeze
The two soldiers walk up
'Ven con nosotros'
And tell me to come with them
They lead me into a security room
Take my bags
And open them
They start to search everything
I stand and wait
I can hear a woman crying somewhere else in the room
'I swear
I swear I didn't know that stuff was in there!
My husband gave me the bag and said not to open it
That stuff isn't mine
I swear!'
The soldiers continue their search
I continue my wait
The woman continues her cry
'Please
Please believe me!
I promise it isn't mine
Please'
The soldiers finish their inspection
They zip my bags up
And then indicate for me to follow them
They bring me over to the woman
She's a middle aged lady
She has an American passport
And she is visibly in distress
'¿Qué esta diciendo ella?'
The soldiers ask me what the woman is saying
I speak with her
'They are asking me what you are saying
What do you want me to tell them?'
'Tell them that it's not mine!'
I tell the soldiers
'Dice que no es de ella'
'Encontramos drogas en su maleta'
'They said they found drugs in your bag'
'No! No!
Tell them it's not mine
I swear!'
I tell the soldiers
'Las drogas no son de ella
Ella promete'
The soldiers are not convinced
But there's nothing else for me to do
I'm led to the door
And told I'm free to go
I continue my walk to C26
Thinking about that woman
And wondering what her fate will be
Who knows
I get to the gate
And within an hour
I board the plane
The papers have gotten me out of Ecuador
Just like the diplomat had said
My flight to Panama City is scheduled to land at 6:50pm
And my connecting flight to New York takes off at 7:30pm
Giving me 40 minutes of layover time
I hope that will be enough
The 3 hour flight from Quito to Panama goes smoothly
We land right on time
I get off the plane
And look at the departures screen for the gate of my connecting flight
Gate: D8
Status: On Time
I start walking
I look out the windows of the airport
Panama seems nice
Within a few minutes
I get to D8
It's 7pm
Boarding is about to start
I walk up to the employee behind the counter at the gate
'¿Puedo ayudarle?'
They ask if they can help
'Si
No tengo mi passaporte
Solamente estos documentos'
I tell them I don't have my passport
Only the paperwork
I hand them the papers
They read through them
'Mr. Brodsky'
'Yes'
'You speak english?'
'Yes'
'I will have to contact a special Panama customs agent to take a look at these
It's up to their discretion to let you fly or not'
The employee picks up the phone on the counter and makes a call
Then hands me back the papers
'You'll have to wait for the agent to arrive
Excuse me
I need to start the boarding process'
I find a seat
I hear the employee's voice over the intercom
'Good evening passengers
We are now ready to begin the boarding process for flight 2189
With non-stop service to New York's JFK Airport
Passengers in group A are now welcome to board'
It's 7:10pm
'Passengers in group B are now welcome to board'
It's 7:15pm
'Passengers in group C are now welcome to board'
It's 7:20pm
At 7:25 I look over at the employee
They look back with disappointment
I hear their voice over the intercom
'This is the final boarding call for flight 2189
With non-stop service to New York's JFK Airport'
I'm not going to make it
I came this far
For nothing
I put my head down
7:26
7:27
I have to call my mom and tell her the bad news
7:28
'Mr. Brodsky?'
I look up
It's the agent!
'Yes?'
'I was told you have papers explaining why you don't have your passport'
'Yes I do'
'May I see them?'
I hand the papers over to the agent
And then I wait
The agent reads the papers
For what feels like an eternity
7:29
'Mr. Brodsky'
'Yes?'
The agents looks down at the papers again
Then looks up at me
And hands them back
'You're free to pass through Panama'
'Are you serious?'
'Yes'
'Thank you!
Really, thank you so much!'
'Have a safe flight Mr. Brodsky'
I run to the gate
Scan my boarding pass
Walk down the tunnel
And hear the door close behind me
7:30
It's time to go home
- Harry W. Brodsky
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