I used to be naive and underprepared after I agreed to go backpacking round South America with my boyfriend
- Comply with the My bad trip collection
When I used to be 21, my older boyfriend advised it may be “cool” to backpack round South America. I naively jumped on the likelihood of a romantic journey. Getting kidnapped, robbed and dumped wasn’t precisely what I envisioned.
In my youthful vanity, I hadn’t finished a lot planning, nor discovered the language. I figured we’d simply work out the main points collectively as we went. Then he determined that, as the upper earner, he might afford an extended journey. He headed off and I used to be to observe, solo, a month later.
In Chile, the airport was chaotic. I recalled the one truth I’d gleaned from the guidebook I’d solely cracked open for the primary time on the flight – watch out for scammers at Santiago airport. As taxi drivers thronged round me, I used to be on excessive alert however embarassingly underprepared, stammering “No hablos español”. “No un poco?” (not even slightly?!) got here their derisive response.
To my aid, a pleasant, uniformed man appeared, flashing an official-looking ID and ushering me, in English, in direction of a taxi, aided by a person who appeared out of nowhere to assist with my baggage. It was solely as I jumped into the backseat that I realised one thing was up – each males hopped in too, flanking me, and the driving force took off quickly.
“What is going on?” I yelled, however the three males solely laughed and joked to one another in Spanish. Trapped, I sat frozen, fearing the worst. We ultimately pulled up at a fuel station ATM and I used to be instructed to empty my checking account if I needed to be returned safely to town. Having handed over the money, I used to be dropped, tearful, within the suburbs. On foot, it took me 5 hours to seek out my hostel, the place the kind-hearted employees helped me get cash transferred from dwelling.
The subsequent leg of my journey was Bolivia, the place I might reunite with my boyfriend.
Instantly after I landed in La Paz, my boyfriend semi-sheepishly introduced he’d met one other girl, making the 13-hour bus experience collectively to our subsequent vacation spot somewhat awkward. He flew off to rejoin her and I checked right into a hostel, crying each night time within the bathe.
I used to be drowning my sorrows with pisco sours in a bar one night, when an enthralling girl approached me. Quickly we had been spinning across the dancefloor. She leaned in and kissed me. For a second I hoped my heartache was over … however as shortly as she’d appeared, she melted away into the gang. It turned out she hadn’t come into my life to alleviate my troubles, however had the truth is relieved me of my pockets.
I’m undecided how I managed to make it bodily unscathed on to my homebound flight from Rio, however for sure, I returned dwelling to Australia slightly bit wiser and loads poorer.
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