Nicaragua - Leon

After three nights at the hostel in Las Penitas, I headed the short 30kms or so to Leon where after an hour of riding in the midday heat looking for a place with parking, I chanced across a nice friendly and homely hostel with dorms for $5 a night. Only one other person was there and it was Koichi, the Japanese cyclist I had met in San Salvador where we were the only two sharing a dorm there too. It was funny he had arrived in Leon before me.

On my second afternoon at the hostel I went to my Pacsafe security safe that was cabled and locked to the underneath of my bed and out of sight. I discovered that there was a hole in the bag and when I opened it my waist pouch with all of my credit cards and cash was gone. I’ve been robbed!

What a horrible sinking feeling. I had just been to the bank yesterday to get out $6000 Córdoba (US$240) and had my stash of US$1 and $5 notes, another US$100 in twenties and tens and $75 worth of Honduran Lempiras I hadn’t yet changed.

I discovered it must have been 24 hours ago because my cards had been used and over $1600 spent up at a number of stores. Fortunately they were not interested in passports which were still there.

I advised the owners and the police were called and a report taken. Long story short, one of the cleaners had been suspected for some time of petty theft and we think she worked with accomplices, letting them in to take the things while everyone in the hostel was distracted. Koichi also had three credit cards taken. This started a process of whodunit, when and how. I was feeling quite gutted, picturing exactly what was where in the pouch but quickly came to terms with the fact it was gone and not coming back. I did the usual cancelling of cards and contacting insurance, a process that took that evening and half of the next day. Leon, Nicaragua had made its mark.

The owner of the hostel offered me free accommodation for the rest of the time I wanted to stay which was a very kind gesture. He sacked the cleaner, changed all the locks and really did all he could to respond to the situation. Getting cards sent to Central America was not going to be easy but the bank assured me it would take 10-14 working days.

I stayed for another four days, making sure I had ticked all the boxes I needed to do for replacement and insurance. I was trying to stay positive but there were moments where I felt a bit naked and violated and I guess I was at a low ebb after a few days. In the meantime there were festivals to watch and a city to explore.

I knew I had to move on and get my travelling vibe back. Fortunately I had some reserved stash of cash in other places so I wasn’t destitute but had to stretch it out for a few days. My friends I had met at the beach, Grant and Kimberley, came and stayed at the hostel and kindly used their PayPal account to help me access money which made me feel better, knowing I had enough cash to last for a couple of weeks.

Everything happens for a reason, right, so I guess I can be grateful that I didn’t lose my passport, or my bike, or get any injuries from something else. But that still didn’t stop me from going through some emotions, feeling angry, suspicious of people, protective of the rest of my gear and some low times. I allowed it to happen and gave myself permission to feel these feelings. Maybe it was a balance to the amazing high I’ve been on for the last month or more and of course I have seen generosity and assistance from people along the way. Lessons learned as well!