#but easy to pickpocket them like that and then you can just exit turn based mode and immediately leave the area

[silver-horse]

fun fact: you can pickpocket the boots from him lol that's what I did. and he won't stand there barefoot. (the game just ignores that he shouldn't have boots I guess)

and they have the appearance of drow boots when we equip them. (they don't look like that when he has them equipped. and they also don't look like here in the image.) they complete the drow set that is worn by Minthara. so yeah good idea to pickpocket them xD very good boots.

it's pretty much the only good loot he has. because the 'sword of screams' only does psychic damage, it doesn't offer anything special (also the sword can't be pickpocketed. only looted if he is knocked out or killed)

Nere's Boots

These are the boots you pull off of Nere if you are terrible enough to kill him (shame on you).

I have questions.

These were obviously made by Sharrans and found in the temple, as the description says.

Did our man pull these off a corpse? Did he say "oh those look neato" while exploring the temple, yank them off some skeleton's feet, take them back to his tent, and oil them himself? I suppose it is more likely he made one of the duergar do it, but still. I like the idea of him sitting there at night carefully restoring these smelly corpse boots.

[asgardwinter]

versatile | fictober 22

fictober day 06 | “Adaptable, I like that.”

summary | At first it was all abou weapon choosing, in the end it wasn’t so much about that.

fandom | Marvel

pairing | Loki x reader

warnings | slight sexual tension, use of weapons (knoves and guns), canon level of violence, Loki is a menace and I love it!

word count | 790

author’s note | I missed writing for Loki so much! Hope this is as good as you all deserve <3

🍂 Fictober 2022 🍂 Taglist 🍂 Loki Laufeyson Masterlist 🍂

It all went sideways in the very beginning.

What was supposed to be an easy mission turned to complete chaos and Loki was not helping with the atmosphere.

You see, there was this discussion about how he thought guns were so unfashionable, that knives were the peak of style and therefore, the best of weapons. Natasha laughed straight in his face, but instead of what most people would think she stood for her batons and how they were functional and easy to hide. And that’s when Clint entered the conversation talking about arrows and all their possibilities.

Soon the compound kitchen turned into a loud discussion place and it wasn’t even 9am.

���What about you, darling?” Loki turned to you. “I believe you can add quite an insight about the right type of weapon into this conversation.”

You laughed briefly and finished your coffee. “Call me ‘darling’ all you want, I’m not going to take your side because of it. I’m very efficient with a gun.” You winked at him just before exiting the kitchen.

If only you knew you’d be partnered up by that very same day mission, you’d pretend to agree with him just to avoid all the talking in the middle of the fight.

No matter how much experience you have, when someone keeps saying “look” or “see, that’s what I told you” in the same moment you’re trying to take down two well trained agents each it’s far from helpful and there’s a great chance you’d end up captured.

Just like you almost were.

You tried to shoot some more bullets at the agent that was still standing, but the gun’s empty clicks made you groan in frustration, knowing you didn’t have any back up clips.

It was time to improvise.

You threw the gun at the enemy’s face, getting her off guard and launched forward to slam her on the table from the office you were in. The weapons choice was the  one nearest you: a stapler. It did the job very well and soon you were looking at those green eyes you still hadn’t decided if you hated or lov—liked! 

Seeing that he was also breathless made you feel better about the whole situation.

“Adaptable, I like that.” Loki smirked as he saw you pick up a knife from the ground to face whatever was coming for the two of you in the corridor.

“I’m a very versatile person, your highness.” You snorted, carefully walking through the suspicious empty hallways of the enemy base. “You see, it’s not the weapon, it’s the fighter.” You teased.

“So I fear for the Captain if anyone takes away that shield of his.” Loki said dramatically, even if you knew he was just joking around.

“And I fear for you when you find a good pickpocket that will take away your fancy blades.”

Is the control room clear? Sam’s voice over the comms interrupted Loki’s retort, making him less amused at the mission.

“It’s clear.” You were quick to answer. “The hallway is also clear which is potentially problematic. It should be filled with guards and agents now, so I assume they’re going your way.”

We got them, Y/n. Just get to the quinjet, I still think you’ll have some company on the way.

“All right, meet you at the landing spot.” You said. “And please, just do your job and come back in one piece.”

You heard your best friend’s laughter fill your ears and you just shrugged.

“Can we go now?” Loki looked bothered, so you just nodded letting him take the lead.

“Next time I’ll include you in the gossip.”

“Please, don’t bother.” He flipped his fancy knives making you roll your eyes to ignore how hot that was.

“If I didn’t know you I’d say you were jealous.”

“Of you?” Loki looked back, raising his brow, but you gave no response. “Oh, do you want me to be jealous of you?”

You laughed a bit too loud for someone who was in an enemy base. “Do you want me to want you to be jealous of me?”

“Now you’re just trying to beat me with my own words.”

“You’re the one who started, Mischief.” You were hoping he was focused on the way and not looking at how you avoided any eye contact. “I bet we can discuss this when we’re out of here.”

“I’d rather not.” He decided as he turned around to face you and bend a little to peck your lips.

In the middle of the mission.

And since you had no self preservation sense you kissed him back, rooting for the empty corridor to stay empty for some minutes so you could continue to kiss the god of mischief.

[bluebellhairpin]

Fight or Flight, Rider [6]

Poe Dameron X Pilot!Reader

A/N: This took me too long to write, and it’s got the word count of Kylo Ren’s body count; so get ready for the long haul because I’ve got a bad feeling about this *evil laugh* - Nemo 

Summary: (y/n) doesn’t seem to like to make things easy for herself. Her mouth might give her about as much grief as if does blessings. 

Series Masterlist

Masterlist  

[Gif was sourced on Pinterest. Credit to thee maker!] 

“How does it feel?”

“The collar is too tight, and the fabric is itchy.”  Rey tugged on the hem of the jacket, trying to make it less itchy, stepping back to observe how you looked.  

“You’d ought to be thankful you’re not actually part of the First Order, and have to wear their uniform everyday.” she said, smiling at you as you moved over to the nearby mirror fragment. You mimicked her actions, tugging the jacket’s hem down, and then ran a finger around it’s collar.

“They’ll notice it’s not mine.” 

“No they won't.” She came up behind you, placing her hands on your shoulders, and looking at your reflection over your shoulder. “They’ll be too stunned at the pretty new Officer to notice your pant legs at a centimeter too short.” 

You looked at her, raising an eyebrow before shaking her off your shoulders. 

“If they manage to see me at all.” you added, bumping Z2 lightly with your foot, before continuing, “Let’s just get this over with, huh?”

“Couldn't agree more Rider.” 

__________

“- Any questions, Major?” Gareth said, stepping aside from the ship, after trying to explain whatever he thought was necessary to explain. 

“Um, yes? Where on earth did you get a First Order ship from?” You were stuck between feelings of awe and confusion at the ship in front of you. How you’d never noticed it before - considering it was sleek and black and First Order all over - was beyond your thinking right now, all you did know was that you were going to be lucky enough to fly it.

“Here or there. I can’t remember.” you looked over at Gareth, now uncertain. 

“You, one of the most informed people here, don’t know where this came from?”

“I said I didn’t remember. There’s a difference.” he shrugged. Running a hand along the ship’s hull, he looked over at you. “Excuse the pun, but a lot is riding on you now. Whether you’re ready for it or not, what you do in the next twelve hours will change how the war ends.” 

“If you’re trying to make me feel less nervous, it’s not really working Commander.” You flicked the collar of the uniform up, keeping it un-creased as you ducked around the ship to the door. “I appreciate the sentiment though.” you said, shooting him a wink and climbed into the cockpit. 

“Wait! Don’t go yet!” Poe yelled, practically sprinting out of the base and into the hanger, trying to make sure he caught you before you left. 

You’d already managed to say goodbye to the greater half of the base, including Rey, Finn, and Joon. Even BB, but no Poe until now. 

You had spoken to Poe again last night - after Rey rudely interrupted you - but it wasn’t for long, and it wasn’t about the almost-kiss. Honestly you couldn’t quite remember what it was about, Poe had fallen asleep not too long into the conversation, and you followed suit - leaving him in his dorm to retreat to your own. 

A single once-over of Poe told you he hadn’t bothered changing out of the clothes he fell asleep in. 

“Jeez, I’ve been trying to hunt you down all morning.” Poe said, climbing the side of the ship to bring his face level to yours. “You don’t like staying in one place long, huh sweetheart?” 

“You just woke up Poe.” you laughed, and your chest tightened. What if this was the last time you laughed with him? 

“You can’t prove that.” his said, words as soft as his smile.

Did he hear your unspoken question?

“Oh I can - whether anyone believes me or not, that’d be where the problem lies.” A beat passed before you spoke again. “What were you looking for me for?” 

“I felt I had a missed opportunity last night.” You quirked an eyebrow up at that. A smile tugging at your lips.

“Really?” 

“Yes. I need to clock-in that opportunity.” You learnt over to the ship’s control panel, flicking a switch and pressing a couple buttons to warm up the engine. 

“Sure you do Dameron.” 

“Does that mean I don’t get a kiss?” He said, his voice was joking, but one look and you could tell he was a little disappointed. He always spoke more with his eyes than his actual voice.

“Oh whatever.” you said, leaning over the space created by the ship to grab the back of his neck and pull his lips flush to yours. It was clumsy, and slightly rushed, but when you both pulled away your breath was taken away just the same. 

You both waited for a moment, your fingers toying with his curls ever-so-slightly, before you pulled away further.

“Thank you.” Poe said, smiling from ear to ear. You frowned, even though your smile mirrored his.

“What’re you thanking me for?”

“Well now I know what to look forward to more of once you get back.” 

____________

It wasn’t until about halfway through the hyperjump that your nerves settled in again. Z2 was no help. He kept beeping and buzzing as if he was nervous too, and that only unsettled you. You swore the day Z2 was open about his droid-feelings was the day you died.

In this situation it didn’t fill you with your much needed confidence. 

Back when you were on Nephimm you almost dared to dream you’d go up against the First Order one day. As a child your parents would occasionally tell you stories about the heroics of old, and that only spurred you on.

When you were a teenager and reached the age set by your planet’s authorities to move out of your parent’s home, they gave you a book to take with you. It was filled with stories and drawings of all those stories they’d told you. 

Space and the stars. 

Cities and the people in them.

Life and humanity.

Death and war. 

You ship jolted, and you prepared yourself to exit hyperspace. You shot a glance at Z2, looking into his camera where the Resistance was looking back. 

You might’ve been going into this mission on your own, but you weren’t alone.

__________

Never in his life was Poe as anxious as he was now.

Finn had noticed by the time they saw you’d exited hyperspace, and had tried to treasure Poe by placing a hand on his shoulder. That only worked so much. 

Through Z2, they could see both inside your ship, and the scraps of the one being built before you. The thing was huge, even if it was still unfictional, and Poe saw you shiver. 

“Since this thing is theirs, how about we do a little recon first Zee?” your voice came through clipped and fuzzy, but at least they could still hear you. The droid beeped at you, and you pushed the ship forward into the construction. 

Poe could just make out the ship’s fame though the screen, and he wouldn’t be ashamed to admit that it was a bit foreboding. Even for him. 

After a lap of the ship, you pulled into a completed hanger, landing as if you’d done it a million times before, and stepped out. Poe squirmed where he stood. It was almost eerie watching you like this. 

Not because it was through a droid’s perspective, but because of how easily you seemed to fit in as a First Order Officer. 

Watching you go from a gittery, nervous wreck to emotionless and completely straight-faced sent a shiver through half the people that were watching. It was like you just slipped from one reality to another. Poe almost wondered if he'd been wrong to trust you, to get you into the inderworkings of the Resistance, but looking up at your friend - Joon - told him half of what he needed to know.

The real you was with the Resistance. This you that was on the projection, that was you back on Nephimm. 

Each step you took, timed and precise, only made Poe remember. It made him finally piece together what you’d spoken about that night on your X-Wing’s wing - and everything after that.

Children being taught how to fly like professionals. 

Teenagers being kicked out of their homes once they’d reached ‘the age’.

Being out of bed or your dorm past ‘bedtime’ wasn’t accepted. 

You never having a nickname before you got here. 

He concluded Nephimm wasn’t a nice place, as much as you gawked about the greenery and sunsets. It was beautiful, but only if you followed the rules. 

Much like the First Order. 

__________

Saying your heart was now sunken to the pits of your stomach was a slight exaggeration. It felt more like it was down in your womb with how heavy it was. You had a phrase, a mantra, running through the back of your mind.

‘Act like you belong, they won’t think any different.’

It was a new base. It had new crew and new faces. All you needed to do was find a master board, get the plans, get out and destroy the ship. It was simple. The two Star Destroyers outside would just have to wait until later. Mainly because they were much less simple.

Turning down another corridor, you were faced with a duo of Storm Trooper. You almost froze in your stride, but brushed passed them without so much as a glace. They didn’t pull you aside for it, so you figured you did something right. 

As you passed another doorway, you realized you had no way to get in anywhere if it was locked. But then again, you could always pickpocket. You’d slipped cards in and out of Joon’s pockets since you met him, how different could that be?

Ahead two Officials turned into the hallway, flanked by two more Troopers. You have to make this quick. So you kept it casual, paying as little attention to Z2 as you could, and brushed past the left Officer just enough to stumble both you and him.

But the Officer caught you instead of the other way around. He fired questions at you, and your resolve cracked. It was slight, only the hesitation of a moment, but he saw it. And just like that it shattered completely. 

You guessed nothing was ever really that easy.

___________

The Officers pulled you between them, and the only thing stopping you from completely lashing out at them was the bonds on your wrists and the two Troopers with their blasters behind you.

At least Z2 still wasn’t detected. He’d been behaving himself, unlike you. 

Despite the Troopers behind you, it didn’t stop you from sending your worst and most venomous glares to anyone that dared look your way. It also didn’t stop you from making yourself the most inconvenient prisoner they’d ever have. 

As if you’d just go with them without a fight. 

Apparently a lowly Rebel was too unimportant to have the five-star treatment, and yet He had come all the way from one of the Destroyers to see you. 

The Mr. Evil Overlord, and Supreme Leader of the First Order himself -

“- You. Kyline Raymond.” 

“Kylo Ren.” the Officer corrected, holding onto your arm even tighter. 

“Kylie Reed?”

“Kylo. Ren.” You almost considered ceasing the sass. But you would never fail Leia like that. 

“Kyle Rey?”

“This rebel is defective. I don’t think she can hear you sir.” the Officer hissed, joliting your arm harshly in his grip. The Sith tiled his helmet down at you. Only slightly. It was as if you weren’t even worth that.

“She’s not defective,” he said, “Just like the rest of those Rebels, she just needs to be broken.” 

The Officer looked from you back to Ren.

“Well what are you standing here for?” Ren growled. “Break her.”

__________

Series Taglist: @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​ @writefightandflightclub​ @robindoesntloveme​ @kiaralein​ @danicalifxrnia​ @americasass-romanoff​ @morgannope​ @smolpeachees @afootnoteinyourhappiness​ @lonelydarlings​ @rae-rae-patcha​ @oakleyves @grincheveryday​ @seninjakitey​ @fanfin-glutton​ 

Poe Dameron Taglist: @p3nny4urth0ught5​ @m1rkw00dpr1ncess​

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (4)

Ao3 | FF.net

Then it came time for patrol. And here, dear reader, is where it all goes wrong.

A fall evening, not long after sunset, cool winds, but not unpleasant. Ladybug and Chat Noir were doing their weekly rounds. Looking for any sign of Hawkmoth or an Akuma. But so far, nothing ‘super’ had been seen.

Ladybug arrived at the Eiffel Tower first, having left 15 minutes ahead of time out of restlessness.

Still, Chat was late, and she made sure to mention it as he landed next to her with a ‘thwump’.

“You’re late, Kitty.”

“My apologies, it’s so rude to keep a lady waiting.”

“You better have a good excuse.”

“But of course!” He smiled. “Caught a pickpocket on the way here. Walked him to the police station and had him turn over his wallets. They’re taking it from there.”

“Good Kitty!” She praised, scratching under his chin.

He relished in it. “What about you? You…you don’t look so hot. You feeling okay?”

She shook her head. “I feel fine Chat. Just…just a bad day. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Are you sure?”

She offered a smile. “Maybe after patrol, if I’m feeling like it.”

“Okay. You can talk to me about anything, My Lady. I don’t judge.”

“I know. It’s just…its fresh. And I don’t want to cry anymore.”

His ears flattened to his head. “Oh…”

She sighed, trying to breach a new topic. “ugh, I haven’t seen a thing. I haven’t even seen any angry couples fighting.”

“We could fight?” He offered.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Very funny.”

“I thought it was!”

“Give it up Chat, you’re going to win me the day pigs fly.”

“Be careful what you wish for. You never know, Hawkmoth might make a flying pig Akuma.”

She hummed. “You know, that wouldn’t be the weirdest Akuma he’s made.”

Chat laughed, “besides, there’s nothing wrong with being a little flirty, right?”

“As long as it’s not in the middle of a fight.” She reprimanded.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Of course, of course.”

She offered a smile. “Well, I’m going to check the docks first. Been catching a few drug deals happening down there.”

“Good idea. I’ll double back on Barbes Boulevard. Just to double check.”

“Call me if you need backup.”

“Likewise, Bug. Be safe.”

“You know I will.” She blew him a kiss and leapt away towards the Seine.

The docks were never really a civilian hotspot. People rarely even went there in the day, unless they worked there. So at night, it was safe to assume anyone there was up to no good.

So of course, when Ladybug saw headlights shining in an alleyway, she knew something was up. She crept over, and watched from the rooftop.

There were several men, most in expensive suits. One with a white suit that Marinette could already tell was so luxurious, her father couldn’t afford it with two years profits at the bakery.

The man himself was huge, reminding her of Kingpin from the Spider-Man comics Alya had in her bathroom. He stood in front of the head lights, his shadow cast against the ground and to the wall somehow bigger than his associates.  

About five men, including this rich one, were facing a young man, in a classic showdown.

The large man spoke, his voice ricocheting off the wall and settling in her stomach with nausea. “I gave you a month. That’s more time than I’ve ever given anyone before. I saw promise in you. I took you in.”

“Eddy, please—“ The younger man begged. Ladybug couldn’t see his face, but she could hear his panic.  

The man grunted.

“M-Mr. Savauge. You gotta understand! I was doing great! I made all of it back, with interest! But-but my buddy double crossed me! He took all of it. But I know where he’s going! If you give me just a little more time—“

Ladybug took out her compact and silently sent her coordinates to Chat.

“Charles...” the man, this Mr. Savauge drawled out. “This was your last chance. I warned you in the beginning. You’re just not made for dealing. Not dealing cards, not dealing drugs...but I will get my money from you. And I know...just what to do. Got plenty of rich old bitches looking for companions.”

“No...no please sir! I don’t want to do that! I got a girl! I can’t do that to her!”

“No girls huh? That’s fine, got lots of bull queers too. They’d love that cute little ass of yours.”

“No! No please!!”

Mr. Savauge laughed, a sick sound that made Ladybug curl her lips in disgust. “I’m just kidding, Charles. You’re too ugly to be a prostitute.”

The other men laughed.

Mr. Savauge held up a fist, silencing them. “You know Charles, it’s surprisingly easy to get information on people these days. Especially for someone like me. I know everything! I even know who Hawkmoth is!”

Ladybug gripped her yo-yo. She would be confronting this man, one way or another.

“So you know, trying to hide you and your wife’s life insurance policy from me? It ain’t gonna cut it.”

“No...please not my wife!”

“I’m not gonna touch your wife. That is, as long as she complies. You’re worth more dead than alive to me, Charles. And I much as I liked your spunk, I’m going to have to make a decision based on business.”

There was some clicking noises as the man’s goons withdrew guns.

“Nothing personal, kid.”

Ladybug leapt, her yo-yo spinning to create a shield, as she landed in between Charles and the fire.

“Hold it!” Mr. Savauge called out.

The gunfire ceased, and Ladybug stopped spinning her yo-yo. But she was still on defense, ready to start again at a moment’s notice.

From this perspective, the man was just a silhouette against the light. LED headlights, super bright, made her squint.

“Why, if it ain’t the cutesy little bug girl. What’re you doing here, kid? Don’t you got a moth to catch?”

She answered calmly, her voice a pitch deeper than usual. “I happened to be in the area. I overheard you mention you know who Hawkmoth is.”

He barked out a laugh. “It’s an expression! Come on, no one knows who that psychopath is.”

But Ladybug still didn’t budge. She fixed her glare on him.

“Oh, you really got that menacing look down! If you weren’t an actual child, I might be scared!” He chuckled. “But I’m being honest Ladybug. I don’t know who Mothman is. Don’t know, don’t care. Now move along, this doesn’t concern you.”

“I promised to protect Paris, and that’s what I’ll do.”

The man winced, “man, superhero types are just no joke. Fine, have it your way, Bug. Open fire.”

Ladybug spun her yo-yo frantically as a hail of bullets came raining down on her and Charles. She felt his hands on her back, and knew he was trying to hide behind her.

“Distract them for me, okay?” He said into her ear.

“Wait! Don’t!”

But it was too late. Charles tried to run. He only made it a single step out from her shield, before being shot several times in the chest. He didn’t even scream. Just stopped, collapsed onto his knees, and fell flat on the ground.

“No!” Her line fell slack for a moment and a bullet whizzed just passed her cheek, leaving a burning sensation just below the mask line and a ringing in her ears. She snapped back to attention quickly, and avoided any other nasty blows. The gunfire was suppressive and her arms were getting tired.

Her saving grace came from her partner arriving, coming up behind the goons and taking them out quickly, before they could turn to shoot.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t try.

Chat weaved in between them, not standing still and always staying close enough to be a risk of them shooting each other.

Ladybug took the opportunity to also take out a goon, who had been distracted. A clear shot with her yo-yo to the back of the head, and the gun fire ceased.

Mr. Savauge had wisely ducked down during the fight, and right as he returned to his feet, he found himself tied up in a yo-yo line.

“End of the road, scum.”

“Scum? Me? Do you even know who I am?” He laughed. “Who am I kidding, of course you don’t.”

Chat stood opposite Ladybug, effectively cutting off the exit should he try to escape. Not that he would be able to break his bonds though.

“I don’t care who you are. A young man is dead because of you. I will make sure you go to prison for your crimes.”

The man laughed. “That’s real cute bug. Real cute. But here’s the thing, I’m Edward Savauge. I can buy and sell you. I know every dirty secret of every cop and politician in Europe. You try to do anything to me, and I promise you’ll suffer instead.”

Her line grew tighter.

“I’ll give you to the count of three to let me go...1...”

“Don’t listen to him, my lady. He’s full of hot air.”

“2...”

Ladybug didn’t waver. She didn’t even consider it.

“...3...we’re enemies now, Ladybug. You’re going to regret that for the rest of your short life.”

“Get in line.”

Neither party said another word until the police arrived. Ladybug explained the situation, but there was little to explain, considering the guns and body on the ground.

Mr. Savauge was taken away without a word.

After all was done, now long after midnight, the heroes returned to the rooftops.

“My lady, you’re bleeding.”

“I know, I can feel it. Must have been a bullet.”

“Who was that guy?”

“Some gangster drug lord pimp. I don’t know. A bad dude.”

“Well, he’s going to prison.”

“...I hope.”

“You hope? There was a body on the ground with gunshot wounds, and a whole bunch of guns! There’s no way!”

“Something he said bothered me. About knowing everyone’s secrets. He even claimed to know Hawkmoth’s identity.”

“...you don’t think he knows ours?”

“I don’t know, Kitty. But I’d stay on your toes.”

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “You should go see Master Fu about that cut. Then maybe come up with an excuse when people ask what happened.”

“I’m really clumsy in my normal life, I’ll just say I tripped and hit a corner of my table.”

“Perfect! Next time I see you, I’ll be sure to give you a little kiss to make it better.”

“You’d infect it.”

“Rude.”

“Maybe some day, kitten.” She said, looking at the ground. The police cars were long gone, and the other car was powered off. In the dark of the night, the blood stain from the young man was impossible to see. Still, in her mind, she could see it. She could hear the sound of his breath coming up short, since it didn’t even get the chance to scream.

“My lady?”

“I saw a man die today. I could have saved him, but he darted out from behind me.”

“He would have died regardless,” Chat reminded her gently. “You did your best, and that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t respond, just kept looking to the ground.

“You wanna talk about what was bothering you earlier?”

She shook her head. “That seems so…so minor now. My crush found out I liked him, I mean, I told him, but I was forced into it. There was a bunch of other shitty things, too. But that’s the main thing.”

“I’m so sorry, Bug.”

“It’s…it’s not a big deal anymore. We talked, and we’re good. So I just…” Tears started rolling down her bloody cheeks. “I’m scared.”

His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. “It’s going to be okay, Bug.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Cat intuition.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Well, it is now.” He nuzzled his nose in her hair. “Look, the guy in the suit? He’s full of hot air. We’re both wearing masks, and no one knows who we are. People have been trying for years. He was just trying to psych you out.”

Ladybug swallowed thickly. “If that’s what you think…”

“I know so. You were right to be so diligent about our secret identities. This will blow over. Trust me.”

“I guess I have no choice.” She chuckled. “Now I got to go, my face hurts.”

He warmly brushed his hand over her arm. “I’ll catch you later Bug.”

—

Later that night, Marinette laid awake in bed. It was nearing 4 in the morning, and she just couldn’t sleep.

Who could, seeing what she had seen? Hearing what she heard?

The pain in her face was numbed by some ointment that Fu had applied, so that was one less thing to bother her.

She’d been in the superhero business a long time now. She’d seen plenty of awful things. Most of them were fixed with a ‘Miraculous Ladybug’.

But she couldn’t bring that young man back.

He didn’t deserve that. Even if he was a drug dealer, even if he was doing something he shouldn’t, he didn’t deserve that. And neither did his wife, who would probably have to give that life insurance money over for her own safety.

Life was so much easier when all she had to do worry about was her grades and her crush on Adrien. Even an akuma was nothing compared to hard crime.

Akumas could be fixed. Things could go back to normal. But this stuff was dirty and awful. She wondered if this is how it felt to be part of the police.

She wondered if Chat was wide awake too. Probably not, he hadn’t seen Charles get shot after all.

“Tikki,” Marinette spoke.

“Hmm?”

“What have other Ladybug’s done, in times like this…when they knew they could have saved someone, but didn’t?”

Tikki pondered the question. “Well, it was hard at first. But eventually, they just had to just used to it. Joan cried nights on end. Her time was the hardest I think.”

“I…I don’t want to ‘get used to it’.”

“You don’t have to be callus. Just…know that it’s something that comes with the job. Charles still would have died if you hadn’t intervened. But you tried, and that’s what matters, just like Chat said. You also got that man arrested, and justice will be served.”

“Hopefully.”

“Yes, hopefully.”

Silence reigned for a little longer. “Tikki, I’m scared.”

“Of Savauge?”

“Yeah…Paris is a big city with a lot of people and cameras…It would be pretty lucky if no one ever saw me.”

“Even if they did, it wouldn’t be likely that they’d identify you. I wouldn’t worry, Marinette.”

“…I can’t help it.”

Tikki floated down to lay against her skull and gently petted her hair. “I know. Humans are such anxious creatures.”

“I bet you’ve seen much worse in your life, huh?”

“I’ve seen horrible things. But what happened tonight was traumatic and I don’t expect you to just get over it. So I’ll be here to comfort you in the meantime.”

“Thanks Tikki.”

“Now try to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

Marinette sighed. “I have school in a few hours…maybe I can get a nap in.”

[kjs-s]

French leave

Pairing  Steve trevor x reader

Fandom Wonder Woman

Summary Steve’s mission goes wrong and he has to ask for help from a nearby traveling circus

Prompts Wheel of fortyne tarror card - Upright - good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point, Circus AU, “I'm pretty good at providing distractions.” 

Word Count: 3260

Warnings: None i can think of

A/N: This is my entry for @goingknowherewastaken and @jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets Divine me a masterpiece challenge. I chose the wheel of fortune and I used it upright.

Modern AU Diana is his boss and Etta is another spy in this one. The inspiration behind it was Madagascar 3 ans Macgyver.      

Steve had spent the last hour shopping for a suit in numerous shops around Paris. He had flown in town that same morning, landing at a private airport so that any French officials wouldn’t notice him entering the country. Being a pilot made his job as a spy easier since he could fly his own plane anywhere he needed to be. The mission Diana had sent him to was a very risky and dangerous one yet he was one of the most qualified people in the service.

 ‘’Thank you for being early Steve. We don’t have much time so I will need you to read the file when you go home tonight. You would be leaving tomorrow to get settle in.’’ Diana gave him the file and started a video from an armed robbery in Bern.

 ‘’I don’t understand D. Why am I looking into a robbery that already happened? I thought the agents that you sent to Switzerland told you the robbers escaped. Do you think I will find any information they missed?’’ He skimmed over the case file his coworkers have been working on.

 ‘’No, Charlie and Sameer did an exceptional job despite the lack of evidence. They managed to figure out where the thieves will strike next.’’ She switched the camera footage with three invitations. One to the gala at the Louvre to promote a new exhibition based on World War 2, one in Turkey for a jewelry exhibition and one of an international expo in Dubai.

 ‘’They are certain the next target is one of those events. They will take the ones in Asia and suggested that you are the best qualified for the Paris one. You know more about World War 2 than anyone else in the organization after all.’’

‘’So, my mission will be to do what, stake out the place to identify whether the thieves will be there or not? Disguised as a waiter I assume.’’ Steve despised intel gathering missions in which all he had to do was watch and guard a place. He always asked Diana for something more challenging.

‘’Nothing like that. You will go to the gala as a guest. We are always working on an ID to help you pass as a historian who specializes in World War 2. The museum has invited many historians to attend and I know it won’t be hard for you to fit in. The difficult part of your assignment is that we need you to steal the painting.’’

It took some time for Steve to process what Diana had just told him. Apparently, the mission was for him to steal the painting from the museum before the thieves show up and hide it inside the museum. Charlie and Sameer would be doing the exact same thing on their respective missions. After the authorities would be notified they would search everyone whoever looks suspicious, the spy there would put a tracker on them and apprehend them when they reach their hideout. As for the hidden items, Diana was in charge of calling an anonymous tip as to where their whereabouts are the next day.

 Steve was looking around trying to strike up a conversation with any of the other people at the gala. He has done many solo missions in the past nevertheless being there without Etta still felt a little strange. She is always a pleasure to have around and it looks less weird for a couple to sit around a talk. However, since she was working on a job in Monte Carlo Steve had to improvise. So far, he had talked about his fake job to a professor from Cambridge and listen to an author describe his latest book in much more details that he cared for.

Finally, after two hours he found an opportunity to head towards the back of the exhibition alone. He quickly made it to the control room and took out the guards there. Knocking them unconscious was easy for him and he noticed from the cameras that the corridor, which the painting was hanging on, was empty. Running towards it immediately was the first mistake he made on that mission. Not due to the guards woke up but because he didn’t do anything to not get caught on camera. If Etta were there, she would have made the cameras run on a loop for an hour to show the corridor empty still Steve didn’t think of that.

His second mistake was not double-checking what security measures the French had taken. Diana had informed him about the ones he would have to face getting to the painting. Yet nobody knew about the alarm the curator had put on the frame the day before. Therefore, when Steve took the painting off the wall it sounded and he found himself running towards the exit. He assumed someone must have seen him before since the guards were already chasing him minutes afterward.

He carefully left the painting in a closet, not the safest option and not the hiding place he was intent to use, and he went back to the gala. He removed his tie and put sunglasses on however that didn’t work. He started running once again outside the Louvre and entered the Jarvin gardens. He meant to visit them during his stay but he had not studied where he could go to hide from the guards.

Luckily, he saw a traveling circus and hoped he could lose them in the crowd. As he was running, he kept looking behind him to check if the security guards were still chasing after him. He had thrown his glasses away although that didn’t achieve the goal Steve wanted. He tried communicating with Diana who was looking out the museum from their headquarters. She advised Steve to lose the guards without being compromised and that was the right decision since the thieves didn’t end up attacking the Louvre. They were in the jewelry exhibition in Turkey and Charlie did a great job. Instead of just stealing the jewelry he replaced them with fake and made sure the alarm would sound off while they were reaching the case. He tackled them and pointed them out to the authorities who were able to pin the other robberies on them as well.

As for Steve while he was running, he was trying in the meanwhile to lose his tail and remove his suit jacket. As a result, he collided with you and tackled you to the ground interrupting a conversation you had with your fellow performers.

‘’I am terribly sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.’’ He helped you up and in the process tried to hide behind your friends. He didn’t even consider that you might not speak English and that he had to switch to French.

‘’You are not looking right now either. Is something wrong? Do you need help?’’ You looked towards the direction he came from and saw two men in suits looking around.

‘’Oh you are speaking English, and yes, do you see those two men over there with the black suits? They wrongly believe I stole something from them and I am hiding so they can lose me. Could it be possible to let me hide here with you?’’

‘’We are having a show in a while. However, before I start I can distract them and give you enough time to go to that trailer over there. The one with the gold star. It’s mine and you will be safe there. Don’t worry, I'm pretty good at providing distractions.’’

You hoped you weren’t committing a crime by harboring criminal but after years on the circus, you felt like you could read people easily. Steve seemed like a trustworthy person and he didn’t seem like he was carrying anything he had stolen. Besides, your trailer had nothing valuable and worth stealing in.

You turned to your friends and pointed towards the guards, telling them how they looked like as if they weren’t having fun. You tapped your best friend and fellow acrobat on the shoulder and asked her to join you. The two of you stood in front of the two men who had concealed their weapons upon entering the circus grounds.

You spoke to them hoping you weren’t doing anything stupid trusting the stranger so much.

‘’Gentlemen you seem like you haven’t planned to visit us tonight. We haven’t had anyone wearing a suit here since we started. Are you interested in our acrobat show that is about to start or are you here to look around and maybe play some games?’’ You smiled sweetly at them like a salesperson trying to promote the circus. You hated when the ringmaster wanted any of his employees to act that way but now it was necessary.

‘’Thanks for the information ladies. We will look around a bit and we will come to enjoy your show afterward.’’ The guards who spoke signaled the other to split up and they checked their pockets fearing you had pickpocketed them.

You noticed Steve giving you a thumbs up from inside the trailer and let the guards go saying you would have to warm up for the performance. Tonight you would be only on the trapeze because the show the previous night was tough on your arms and you needed to rest a little.

While you were taking a bow, you spotted Steve sneaking out. You grabbed a coat and boots and went after him.

‘’Hey you, wait up.’’ You noticed his surprise and how he made sure nobody else was around.

‘’Hi. I don’t remember your name right now still thank you so much for the assistance. I really appreciate it. I’m afraid I have to go now.’’

‘’First of all, we didn’t properly introduce ourselves. I’m (Y/N)…..

‘’Steve’’ He tried to shake your hand forgetting the urgency of the situation he was on.

‘’Nice to meet you. Would you mind telling me what that was all about? Those two were clearly security guards from the museum. You stole something from the Louvre didn’t you?’’ You were trying to figure out what was happening despite your earlier assumption that he must have done nothing wrong. You were drawn into his eyes and due to your gift of reading people, Steve seemed like a genuinely decent guy.

‘’I stole nothing. They only thought I did because I accidentally tripped and lifted myself dangerously close to touching a painting. You can search me if you don’t believe me. Where you do think I would have something I stole, in my pocket?’’ He emptied them showing you that he only had a phone on him that he had called Diana with earlier. She had told him about the thieves’ imprisonment and to lay low for an hour before flying back to London.

‘’You could have hidden it somewhere. In addition, why are you trying to leave without being seen by anyone, even the person who helped you earlier?’’

‘’I am only trying to go back home. I flew to Paris a few days ago with my own plane and my boss needs me back tomorrow.’’ He noticed you hesitation and explained that he is a pilot who is allowed to fly as a hobby from time to time. You continued being apprehensive so he suggested going with him to the private airport.

It was only a short walk nonetheless; as soon as you made it, there you encountered an unpleasant sight. Apparently, Steve had somehow been compromised because the plane he had used was now a pile of metal scraps.

‘’I can’t believe this.’’ He kicked one of the pieces of metal that from the look of it used to be part of the engine.

‘’I’m sorry about your plane Steve. I’m sure your boss will understand. Moreover, if there are no flights out to wherever you need to go, you can always catch the first one early in the morning. Also, if you don’t have any money for a hotel you are welcome to stay with us.’’

Steve was moved by your kindness. He noticed your uncertainty about him only an hour ago and the fact that you were nice enough to help him figure things out made him want to reveal everything to you. So, instead of lying about company policy providing him to fly on another company he told you about being a spy.

‘’So you hid the painting within the museum just in case some actual thieves want to steal it? That was a risky yet brilliant plan. Diana seems like an excellent boss.’’ You were impressed by their adventures and how he talked about her with adoration.

‘’She is, taught me most of the things I know apart from flying. (Y/N) did you mean it when you said I could stay on your trailer tonight? I don’t want to be a burden.’’

‘’You won’t be. Nevertheless, if someone asks, you just joined us and I’m training you as a new acrobat. From some of the story you narrated, I guess you can pull it off.’’

The crew of the circus welcomed Steve warmly the next day and informed him that they were about to leave Paris in three days. Steve couldn’t argue since he informed Diana about his problem and she had no other agent who could help him out. Even if it would take him a little more than a week to reach London.

The first day was uneventful with you giving Steve a tour of the circus during the day and had him observe your preparation for the show. Your arms were no longer in pain and you trained normally on every number you were good at. Steve was impressed by your flexibility and strength that he took a video of you to send to Diana. From the moment you came up with the story of him training to be an acrobat to join you, he thought you would make a great spy.

The only issue with your lie was that Steve couldn’t do acrobatics to save his life. Every time he tried during your stay in Paris, he ended up with bruises

‘’Don’t worry we are leaving tomorrow and I’m sure while we are on the road we can find another skill for you. The ringmaster wants to see if you can be in one of the shows in Rouen or Calais. Let’s see what we can come up with.’’ You reached to get a pen and paper to write down all the occupation he could do.

‘’I can do that.’’ You turned to see him staring at the knife throwers with a joyful expression. He was worried that if he didn’t find something he would be in trouble.

The rest of the days went by quickly with Steve being a part of the knife throwing team. He was excellent at it and he became friends with everyone on the crew. You were proud of him even though you knew it wouldn’t last. He loved his job as a spy and nothing could change that.

Steve hadn’t thought about what to say to everyone when they reached London. Etta called him when she returned from her mission to ask how he was and he revealed to her that the thought of not going back had crossed his mind. She was supportive of whatever he wanted to do. However, Diana was as impressed with you as he was and Etta had heard her saying how you would be a great asset in their team.

‘’We will be in London in a few hours. We will set at Bedford Park so you can arrange how you will go back to your headquarters or your home from there. We will stay for a week if you want to come and visit or watch a performance.’’ You knew this day would come and you didn’t want him to see how sad you were. You had grown fond of him within the short period of time you spent together and you wished you could at least be in touch.

‘’(Y/N) I need to tell you something.’’ He made sure nobody could hear you so that they won’t find out about him being a spy or that he was trying to take you away.

‘’From the first time I saw your skills, I was impressed by you. I took a video of your training and send it to my boss. I was hoping she would agree that you have what it takes to work for us. On top of that, I really like you. I would hate to stay here without you on my side. Please don’t say anything right now. I will give you my number and if you are interested, you can call me anytime you want. And before you argue with me I thought about staying here and join the circus with you but there are criminals I still need to catch.’’ He wrote down his number, gave you a hug and left to find the ringmaster so he would quit.

Two night afterward, you still hadn’t called so Steve was certain you wouldn’t. However, he still missed you and decided to watch you perform on the first show in London. Diana and Etta asked if they could come along. Steve didn’t notice the look the two women shared when they left to get ready for the circus.

None of them saw you around before the show to speak with you. That made sense when during the show you worked a lot more than any of your friends did.

‘’Thank you all for joining us tonight. We will be here for a long time. Having said that, this show tonight is special to us. One of our best acrobats who had been here with us for years just had her last show. (Y/N) please come here to take a bow for everyone.’’ You were so touched by the gesture. You had spent the day saying goodbye to your friends and promising to visit them, yet you had no idea they would give you flowers and praise you in front of everyone.

Steve was so stunned that Etta had to pinch him to react. When everyone else got up to leave, he ran over to you.

‘’Hey Steve what are you doing here? I thought our official meeting would be tomorrow. Right, Diana?’’

‘’Yes, nine in the morning. Don’t be late we need to appoint someone as your trainer before becoming a spy. Probably Etta will be right for the job.’’ She winked at you and left you to go back to Steve who was greeting the other performers. You asked him to come and find you when he was done so you can pack together.

‘’I had no idea you were about to come work for us. When did you decide that?’’

‘’A few hours after you left. I called you but Diana answered it and arranged for me to start work tomorrow. She said she would bring you up to speed. Guessing from your expression, she wanted to surprise you. So, surprise, we will be working together.’’

Working as a spy with Steve turned out exactly as you anticipated it. You loved being his friend and after two months of working together, you decided you could see yourself as a couple. Once again, Diana and Etta knew everything before the two of you but it was Etta who won the bet about who would confess their feelings first. It was you.

@writing-journeyx   @sprinkleofhappinessuniverse@ohyesmarvel@agentpeggicarter@buckyofthemyscira @romantichen @once-upon-an-imagine @locke-writes@lucetheding @marveliskindacool@captainrogerss   @jurassicbarnes@uncomfortable-writers@theassetseyeliner@sgtbxckybxrnes @thetherianthropydaily@dresupi@caplansteverogers @captainrogerss@dirajunara-archive@imamotherfuckingstar-lord @outside-the-government@thefanficfaerie@admiralamott@yallneedtrek@goingknowherewastaken @girl-next-door-writes @janeykath318@kaitymccoy123 @musikat18

[joshuamshea84]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/getting-stabbed-in-colombia/

[travelguy4444]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

source https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/getting-stabbed-in-colombia/

[tamboradventure]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[vidovicart]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

[melissagarcia8]

So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia

Posted: 4/2/2019 | April 2nd, 2019

Editor’s Note: I wavered on writing about this for a long time since I didn’t want to put people off on Colombia. As you can tell from my posts here, here, here, and here, I really love the country. I mean it’s awesome. (And there will be plenty more blog posts about how great it is.) I didn’t want to play into the negative image surrounding the country. But I blog about all my experiences – good or bad – and this story is a good lesson on travel safety, the importance of always following local advice, and what happens when you get complacent and stop doing so.

“Are you OK?”

“Here. Have a seat.”

“Do you need some water?”

A growing crowd had gathered around me, all offering help in one form or another.

“No, no, no, I think I’ll be OK,” I said waving them off. “I’m just a little stunned.”

My arm and back throbbed while I tried to regain my composure. “I’m going to be really sore in the morning,” I thought.

“Come, come, come. We insist,” said one girl. She led me back onto the sidewalk where a security guard gave me his chair. I sat down.

“What’s your name? Here’s some water. Is there anyone we can call?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine,” I kept replying.

My arm throbbed. “Getting punched sucks,” I said to myself.

Regaining my composure, I slowly took off the jacket I was wearing. I was too sore for any quick movements anyways. I needed to see how bad the bruises were.

As I did so, gasps arose from the crowd.

My left arm and shoulder were dripping with blood. My shirt was soaked through.

“Shit,” I said as I realized what had happened. “I think I just got stabbed.”

***

There’s a perception that Colombia is unsafe, that despite the heyday of the drug wars being over, danger lurks around most corners and you have to be really careful here.

It’s not a completely unwarranted perception. Petty crime is very common. The 52-year civil war killed 220,000 people — although thankfully this number has drastically dropped since the 2016 peace agreement.

While you are unlikely to be blown up, randomly shot, kidnapped, or ransomed by guerrillas, you are very likely to get pickpocketed or mugged. There were over 200,000 armed robberies in Colombia last year. While violent crimes have been on the decline, petty crime and robbery has been on the upswing.

Before I went to Colombia, I’d heard countless stories of petty theft. While there, I heard even more. A friend of mine had been robbed three times, the last time at gunpoint while on his way to meet me for dinner. Locals and expats alike told me the same thing: the rumors of petty theft are true, but if you keep your wits about you, follow the rules, and don’t flash your valuables, you’ll be OK.

There’s even a local expression about it: “No dar papaya” (Don’t give papaya). Essentially, it means that you shouldn’t have something “sweet” out in the open (a phone, computer, watch, etc.) that would make you a target. Keep your valuables hidden, don’t wander around places you shouldn’t at night, don’t flash money around, avoid coming out of nightlife spots alone at night, etc. Simply put: Don’t put yourself in a position where people can take advantage of you.

I heeded such advice. I didn’t wear headphones in public. I didn’t take my phone out unless I was in a group or a restaurant, or completely sure no one else was around. I took just enough money for the day with me when I left my hostel. I warned friends about wearing flashy jewelry or watches when they visited.

But, the longer you are somewhere, the more you get complacent.

When you see locals on their phones in crowded areas, tourists toting thousand-dollar cameras, and kids wearing Airpods and Apple Watches, you begin to think, “OK, during the day, it’s not so bad.”

The more nothing happens to you, the more indifferent you get.

Suddenly, you step out of a cafe with your phone out without even thinking about it.

In your hands is papaya.

And someone wants to take it.

***

It was near sunset. I was on a busy street in La Calendaria, the main tourist area of Bogotá. The cafe I had been at was closing, so it was time to find somewhere new. I decided to head to a hostel to finish some work and take advantage of happy hour.

I’d been in Bogotá for a few days now, enjoying a city most people write off. There was a charm to it. Even in the tourist hotspot of La Calendaria, it didn’t feel as gringofied as Medellín. It felt the most authentic of all the big Colombian cities I had visited. I was loving it.

I exited the cafe with my phone out, finishing a text message. It had slipped my mind to put it away. It was still light outside, there were crowds around, and lots of security. After nearly six weeks in Colombia, I had grown complacent in situations like this.

“What’s really going to happen? I’ll be fine.”

Three steps out of the door, I felt someone brush up against me. At first, I thought it was someone running past me until I quickly realized that a guy was trying to take my phone out of my hand.

Fight or flight set in — and I fought.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as I wrestled with him, keeping an iron grip on my phone. I tried pushing him away.

“Help, help, help!” I yelled into the air.

I remember distinctly the confused look on his face as if he had expected an easy mark. That the phone would slip out of my hand and he’d be gone before anyone could catch him.

Without a word, he started punching my left arm, and I continued to resist.

“Get off me! Help, help!”

We tussled in the street.

I kicked, I screamed, I blocked his punches.

The commotion caused people to run toward us.

Unable to dislodge the phone from my hand, the mugger turned and ran.

***

After people helped me sit down and the adrenaline wore off, I got lightheaded. My ears rang. I had trouble focusing for a few moments.

Blood was dripping through my soaked shirt.

“Fuck,” I said looking at my arm and shoulder.

I tried to compose myself.

Having grown up surrounded by doctors and nurses, I ran through a quick “how bad is this” checklist in my mind.

I made a fist. I could feel my fingers. I could move my arm. “OK, I probably don’t have nerve or muscle damage.”

I could breathe and was not coughing up blood. “Ok, I probably don’t have a punctured lung.”

I could still walk and feel my toes.

My light-headedness dissipated.

“OK, there’s probably not too much major damage,” I thought.

Words I didn’t understand were spoken in Spanish. A doctor arrived and helped clean and put pressure on my wounds. A young woman in the crowd who spoke English took my phone and voice-texted my only friend in Bogotá to let her know the situation.

As an ambulance would take too long, the police, who numbered about a dozen by now, loaded me onto the back of a truck and took me to a hospital, stopping traffic on the way like I was an honored dignitary.

Using Google Translate to communicate, the police checked me in at the hospital. They took down as much information as they could, showed me a picture of the attacker (yes, that’s him!), and called my friend to update her about where I was.

As I waited to be seen by the doctors, the owner of my hostel showed up. After having taken my address, the cops had phoned up the hostel to let them know what happened and she had rushed down.

The hospital staff saw me quickly. (I suspect being a stabbed gringo got me quicker attention.)

We went into one of the exam rooms. My shirt came off, they cleaned my arm and back, and assessed the damage.

I had five wounds: two on my left arm, two on my shoulder, and one on my back, small cuts that broke the skin, with two looking like they got into the muscle. If the knife had been longer, I would have been in serious trouble: one cut was right on my collar and another especially close to my spine.

When you think of the term “stabbing,” you think of a long blade, a single deep cut into the abdomen or back. You picture someone with a protruding knife being rolled into the hospital on a stretcher.

That was not the case for me. I had been, more colloquially correct, knifed.

Badly knifed.

But just knifed.

There was no blade protruding from my gut or back. There would be no surgery. No deep lacerations.

The wounds wouldn’t require any more than antibiotics, stitches, and time to heal. A lot of time. (How much time? This happened at the end of January and it took two months for the bruising to go down.)

I was stitched up, taken for an X-ray to make sure I didn’t have a punctured lung, and required to sit around for another six hours as they did a follow-up. My friend and hostel owner stayed a bit.

During that time, I booked a flight home. While my wounds weren’t severe and I could have stayed in Bogotá, I didn’t want to risk it. The hospital refused to give me antibiotics and, being a little suspicious of their stitching job, I wanted to get checked out back home while everything was still fresh. When I was leaving the hospital, I even had to ask them to cover my wounds. They were going to leave them exposed.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

***

Looking back, would I have done anything differently?

It’s easy to say, “Why didn’t you just give him your phone?”

But it’s not as if he led with a weapon. Had he done so, I obviously would have surrendered the phone. This kid (and it turned out he was just a kid of about 17) just tried to grab it from my hand, and anyone’s natural instinct would be to pull back.

If someone stole your purse, took your computer while you were using it, or tried to grab your watch, your initial, primal reaction wouldn’t be, “Oh well!” It would be, “Hey, give me back my stuff!”

And if that stuff were still attached to your hand, you’d pull back, yell for help, and hope the mugger would go away. Especially when it’s still daytime and there are crowds around. You can’t always assume a mugger has a weapon.

Based on the information I had at the time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Nature just set in.

Things could have been a lot worse: The knife could have been longer. He could have had a gun. I could have turned the wrong way, and that small blade could have hit a major artery or my neck. The knife was so small that I didn’t even feel it during the attack. A longer blade might have caused me to recoil more and drop my phone. I don’t know. If he had been a better mugger, he would have kept running forward and I wouldn’t have been able to catch up as the forward motion made the phone leave my hand.

The permutations are endless.

This was also just a matter of being unlucky. A wrong time and wrong place situation. This could have happened to me anywhere. You can be in the wrong place and the wrong time in a million places and in a million situations.

Life is risk. You’re not in control of what happens to you the second you walk out a door. You think you are. You think you have a handle on the situation — but then you walk out of a café and get knifed. You get in a car that crashes or a helicopter that goes down, eat food that hospitalizes you, or, despite your best health efforts, drop dead from a heart attack.

Anything can happen to you at any time.

We make plans as if we are in control.

But we’re not in control of anything.

All we can do is control our reaction and responses.

I really like Bogotá. I really like Colombia. The food was delicious and the scenery breathtaking. Throughout my visit there, people were inquisitive, friendly, and happy.

And when this happened, I marveled at all the people who helped me, who stayed with me until the police came, the many police officers who assisted me in numerous ways, the doctors who attended to me, the hostel owner who became my translator, and my friend who drove an hour to be with me.

Everyone apologized. Everyone knew this was what Colombia is known for. They wanted to let me know this was not Colombia. I think they felt worse about the attack than I did.

But this experience reminded me of why you can’t get complacent. I gave papaya. I shouldn’t have had my phone out. When I left the cafe, I should have put it away. It didn’t matter the time of day. That’s the rule in Colombia. Keep your valuables hidden. Especially in Bogota, which does have a higher rate of petty crime than elsewhere in the country. I didn’t follow the advice.

And I got unlucky because of it. I’d been having my phone out too often and, with each non-incident, I grew more and more relaxed. I kept dropping my guard down more.

What happened was unlucky but it didn’t need to happen if I had followed the rules.

This is why people always warned me to be careful.

Because you never know. You’re fine until you aren’t.

That said, you’re still unlikely to have a problem. All those incidences I talked about? All involved people breaking the ironclad “No Dar Papaya” rule and either having something valuable our or walking alone late at night in areas they shouldn’t have. Don’t break the rule! This could have happened to me anywhere in the world where I didn’t follow the safety rules you’re supposed to that help you minimize risk.

But, also know, if you do get into trouble, Colombians will help you out. From my hostel owner to the cops to the people who sat with me when it happened to the random guy in the hospital who gave me chocolate, it turns out, you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. They made a harrowing experience a lot easier to deal with.

I’m not going to let this freak incident change my view of such an amazing country. I’d go back to Colombia the same way I’d get in a car after a car accident. In fact, I was terribly upset to leave. I was having an amazing time. I still love Bogota. I still have plans to go back to Colombia. I have more positive things to write about this.

Learn from my mistake. Not only for when you visit Colombia but when you travel in general.

You can’t get complacent. You can’t stop following the rules.

And still go to Colombia!

I’ll see you there.

***

A couple of other points:

They did catch the kid who tried to mug me. There’s security everywhere in Bogotá. He made it one block before they caught him. My hostel owner tells me he is still in jail. He was only 17 too. I feel bad for him. There’s a lot of poverty in Bogotá. There’s a very stark income divide there. Assuming he’s not some middle-class punk, I can understand the conditions that led him to rob me. I hope his future gets brighter.

While the doctors were nice and the stitching turned out to be great, I wouldn’t go to a public hospital in Colombia again. That was not a fun experience. It wasn’t super clean, they had patients in the hallways, they didn’t give me antibiotics or pain medicine or cover my wounds, and they wanted to send me home without a shirt (thanks to my hostel owner for bringing me an extra!). There were just some basic things I was shocked they overlooked.

This is a strong case for travel insurance! I’ve always said travel insurance is for unknowns because the past is not prologue. In my twelve years of travel, I was never mugged — until I was. Then, needing medical care and a last-minute flight home, I was glad I had insurance. I needed it bad. It could have been a lot worse than a $70 hospital bill and a flight back home, too: if I had required surgery or had to be admitted to the hospital, that bill would have been a lot more. Don’t leave home without travel insurance. You never, ever know when you might need it, and you’ll be glad you had it!

Here are some articles on travel insurance:

Why You Should Get Travel Insurance When You Travel

How to Buy the Best Insurance in 2019

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

10 Common Travel Insurance Questions Answered

  Book Your Trip to Colombia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Looking for more information on visiting Colombia? Check out my in-depth destination guide to Colombia with more tips on what to see, do, costs, ways to save, and much, much more!

Photo credit: 1

The post So, I Got Stabbed in Colombia appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

from Traveling News https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/getting-stabbed-in-colombia/

[touristguidebuzz]

14 Apps to Calm Your Travel Mind

Some apps are tailor-made to ease concerns of travelers. The Google Translate app is pictured here. Skift

Skift Take: Permanxiety is now a sad fact of life. But you may be able to stress less if you lean on a handful of smartphone apps that can help you avoid health risks, security threats, and other potential travel snafus.

— Sean O'Neill

Skift launched the latest edition of our magazine, Travel in an Age of Permanxiety, at Skift Global Forum in New York City in September. This article is part of our look into the current state of the traveler mindset through the lens of the pervasive state of anxiety felt worldwide.

Download the full version of Skift’s Travel in an Age of Permanxiety magazine here.

Travel has always come with stress. But in recent years Permanxiety has layered on an extra helping of hassle. (Just feel that pang in your sternum after you have been pulled aside by an airport official for secondary screening or questioning.)

We can’t wish away hyper-nationalists or authoritarians — or all the drama those characters are inflicting on travelers and others. But we are happy to point you to a mix of mobile apps that can calm your nerves and help you cope with standard snafus.

We five-star these free and paid apps for Apple and Android devices because they will let you clear your mind. And having a clear head will make it easier for you to cope with the larger, unavoidable problems.

Companion: Ask a Guardian Angel to Watch Your Back

Travelers have always gotten the jitters when taking an unplanned walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood that may not be safe. One way to seek reassurance is to ask a friend or family member to keep you company — virtually. The Companion app enables this, letting a loved one track your journey home via GPS on an online map. The app pings out a few requests to various contacts to see who is available and willing to keep watch. Thankfully the person does not need to install the Companion app to participate; they instead receive a text message that links them to an interactive map showing the user’s location. In a worst-case scenario, the traveler can use the app to blare a terrifying sound to scare off the bad guys. Incidentally, this feature may become more common. In 2017, the Indian government declared that all mobile phones must have a built-in panic button to better protect solo women. iOS and Android, Companion

CDC TravWell: Stay Healthy

One year it’s SARS. The next, ebola. Then zika. The series of international health scares seem endless. But being informed about the latest risks for specific destinations can take the worry out of travel. The top U.S. health watchdog, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides advice to international travelers via its CDC TravWell app. Tell the app where you’re headed, and it will fetch destination-specific vaccine recommendations — plus a checklist of what you need to do to prepare for travel, such as which over-the-counter medicines to consider packing. This app lets you store travel documents, keep a record of your medications and immunizations, and find emergency services phone numbers for most major destinations. iOS and Android, CDC TravWell

1Password: Shield Your Passwords

No, a digital password manager is not a travel app, per se. But travelers will value how they can use it to access usernames and passwords for financial and other critical information while on the road. If a pickpocket snatches your phone, they won’t be able to crack the code and access your online accounts. A single password lets you keep in touch with all of your (and your family’s) internet accounts, loyalty and reward card numbers, plus copies of your family’s passport details. There are a few high-quality password management apps, such as Dashlane and LastPass. But the 1Password app wins points for its user-friendly interface, an easy system for handling the occasional two-step verification systems that sometimes crop up, and flexible data syncing choices. iOS and Android, from $3 a month, 1Password

PackPoint: Prep for Your Trip More Efficiently

The prosaic worry about whether you remembered to pack a toothbrush and the right chargers for your electronic devices was enough, frankly. But ever-changing security and airline restrictions have compounded packing angst. For relief, turn to a packing list app. There are many checklist apps, yet PackPoint stands out for having especially relevant suggestions. Type in your destination, planned activities, and length of stay and PackPoint will recommend items you may have forgotten, like an umbrella or gym clothes. Make a list once and then morph it into a few reusable lists for different types of trips, such as a business overnighter, a ski trip, and a beach getaway. The app also offers advice tailored to the latest weather forecasts, so you’ll be ready for that surprise heat wave. iOS and Android, $3, PackPoint

Grab: Avoid Getting ‘Hangry’ at the Airport

Once they make it through the airport security gauntlet, many travelers stay close to their gate, because of nervousness about missing a gate change or the flight. Grab is an app that enables a time-pressured traveler to order meals ahead at airport restaurants, so the traveler doesn’t have to venture far from the gate for long. Users skip the food court’s long lines by walking straight to the pick-up counters of restaurants when their food is ready. Grab’s services are available at 19 U.S. airports including Atlanta and Los Angeles, as of publication time. The app is slowly expanding overseas with an expected first stop at London’s Heathrow. iOS and Android, Grab

Weather Kitty/Weather Puppy: Hit the ‘Paws’ Button

A great way to calm down about traveling is to have an app that gives you the weather forecast illustrated with a cat that is happy, scared, wet, or otherwise adorable. Of course, there is a Weather Puppy app, too. Don’t mock it until you try it, even if you’re not a pet person. iOS and Android, Weather Kitty

Blur Photo Editor: Don’t Reveal Too Much Online

Social media seemed like a wonderful way to let friends and family members know about your trips. But then the bee in the honeypot appeared: You can’t ever be fully sure if strangers can see the photos you post. Sometimes you want to protect your privacy. A case in point: If you post a photo of your airplane tickets for an exotic trip, enterprising troublemakers might use the information on the ticket in ways you won’t like. This app, highly rated by users, lets you blur out sensitive details — or the faces of children who are minors — with just a finger swipe. iOS, Blur Photo Editor; no Android app but Android has similar apps like Touch Blur Photo

FlightAware: Become an Airport Ninja

On average, one out of five U.S. airline flights was canceled or delayed in the last year, based on data measured up to May 2017. Often the first passengers on a canceled flight to get in line or on the phone with an agent are among the first to successfully rebook on the next flight to a destination. Given that so many planes today fly nearly full, it’s urgent to be among the first to rebook. There are many fine flight alert apps, but FlightAware soars for its rare “meeting the flight” option, which ensures anyone who is meeting a plane can be alerted to any delay or cancellation. The app also helps with vetting upcoming departures, particularly on small airlines flying tiny routes. Knowing that the flight out of Corfu always leaves two hours late will help a traveler plan ahead. iOS and Android, FlightAware

Citymapper: Mind the Gaps in Google Maps

Feel better about how to get from point A to point B in an unfamiliar city with an app that can give you directions. It triumphs at sharing little tips on how to navigate major cities that it usually takes locals months to master, such as the optimal subway exit from which to leave and the current timetable for a local bus. Plus it has fun bonus tricks, like letting you click “rain” mode to get different point-to-point advice, minimizing the chance you’ll get wet. iOS and Android, Citymapper

Google Translate: Speak When You Don’t Know the Language

Not knowing the local language can strike fear in even the hardiest of travel hearts. You’ve already known one solution to this problem: Google lets you look up quick-and-dirty text translations. But you may not know that the search giant says its translation quality improved more in the year 2016 than in the previous ten years combined. You may also not know that you can translate text in images, such as a street sign or a menu, by pointing your smartphone camera at the words and using the Google Translate app to give you the meaning in about 30 languages. You can even use the app without an internet connection to translate among 52 languages. (Related: Google’s New Earbuds With Real-Time Translation Have Huge Implications for Travel) iOS and Android, Google Translate

Rome2rio: Go the Last Mile Smartly

Getting there is supposed to be half the fun, except when you’re not sure how to make it the proverbial “last mile” of your trip, such as from an airport to your vacation rental. Google Maps and its peers are sharp tools, but Rome2rio excels as a supplement by searching any city, town, landmark, attraction, or address across the globe with thousands of suggested routes to get you from point to point. The best part is that the app typically offers accurate price estimates for Uber, taxis, trains, ferries, and buses so that you can pick the fastest or cheapest way to your ultimate destination. iOS and Android, Rome2rio

Revolut: Get Travel Money More Flexibly

If you prefer to use a debit card or cash while traveling internationally, you’ve faced doubts about whether your bank card will be accepted at local stores or whether you’ll find a low-fee ATM. Now a few startups are attempting to offer a consistent way to move your money in and out of various currencies while traveling. The best-funded is Revolut, a UK-based startup that has received $88 million in investment. It lets you get, send, and exchange money in multiple currencies. The process is two-step: A traveler loads money onto a prepaid debit card, which he or she then manages via the app. Revolut says it offers a better deal than using bureaux de change and that it has served more than 700,000 users, a larger group than its UK-based rivals Monzo and WeSwap claim. The downside: You need a UK bank account to use it, as of publication time, though that was expected to, um, change. iOS and Android, Revolut

Beditations: Defragment Your Brain

If you’re having a difficult time sleeping, Beditations, delivered by the app of the same name, are meditations designed to guide you into quality sleep. Just choose an evening Beditation to ease you into sleep, and a morning Beditation to gently wake you up at your desired time. Why, you ask, should you use an app instead of say a meditation from memory or a book? Because the app comes with ambient rain noise that plays after your bedtime meditation, so you won’t be distracted by external noise at the hotel and lose your Zen. Many Beditations are free, or you can also unlock them all for $5. iOS and Android, Beditations

SAS Survival Guide: Channel Your Inner MacGyver

For 20 years, the SAS Survival Guide has been the much-discussed handbook for surviving any situation, in any place and any climate. Written by a former Special Air Service (SAS) instructor in the British Army, John “Lofty” Wiseman, this app will help you fend off a bear attack or avoid getting stuck in quicksand. But it’s best to read it before you get into those fixes. iOS and Android, SAS Survival Guide

Download Travel in an Age of Permanxiety magazine here

[rollinbrigittenv8]

14 Apps to Calm Your Travel Mind

Some apps are tailor-made to ease concerns of travelers. The Google Translate app is pictured here. Skift

Skift Take: Permanxiety is now a sad fact of life. But you may be able to stress less if you lean on a handful of smartphone apps that can help you avoid health risks, security threats, and other potential travel snafus.

— Sean O'Neill

Skift launched the latest edition of our magazine, Travel in an Age of Permanxiety, at Skift Global Forum in New York City in September. This article is part of our look into the current state of the traveler mindset through the lens of the pervasive state of anxiety felt worldwide.

Download the full version of Skift’s Travel in an Age of Permanxiety magazine here.

Travel has always come with stress. But in recent years Permanxiety has layered on an extra helping of hassle. (Just feel that pang in your sternum after you have been pulled aside by an airport official for secondary screening or questioning.)

We can’t wish away hyper-nationalists or authoritarians — or all the drama those characters are inflicting on travelers and others. But we are happy to point you to a mix of mobile apps that can calm your nerves and help you cope with standard snafus.

We five-star these free and paid apps for Apple and Android devices because they will let you clear your mind. And having a clear head will make it easier for you to cope with the larger, unavoidable problems.

Companion: Ask a Guardian Angel to Watch Your Back

Travelers have always gotten the jitters when taking an unplanned walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood that may not be safe. One way to seek reassurance is to ask a friend or family member to keep you company — virtually. The Companion app enables this, letting a loved one track your journey home via GPS on an online map. The app pings out a few requests to various contacts to see who is available and willing to keep watch. Thankfully the person does not need to install the Companion app to participate; they instead receive a text message that links them to an interactive map showing the user’s location. In a worst-case scenario, the traveler can use the app to blare a terrifying sound to scare off the bad guys. Incidentally, this feature may become more common. In 2017, the Indian government declared that all mobile phones must have a built-in panic button to better protect solo women. iOS and Android, Companion

CDC TravWell: Stay Healthy

One year it’s SARS. The next, ebola. Then zika. The series of international health scares seem endless. But being informed about the latest risks for specific destinations can take the worry out of travel. The top U.S. health watchdog, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides advice to international travelers via its CDC TravWell app. Tell the app where you’re headed, and it will fetch destination-specific vaccine recommendations — plus a checklist of what you need to do to prepare for travel, such as which over-the-counter medicines to consider packing. This app lets you store travel documents, keep a record of your medications and immunizations, and find emergency services phone numbers for most major destinations. iOS and Android, CDC TravWell

1Password: Shield Your Passwords

No, a digital password manager is not a travel app, per se. But travelers will value how they can use it to access usernames and passwords for financial and other critical information while on the road. If a pickpocket snatches your phone, they won’t be able to crack the code and access your online accounts. A single password lets you keep in touch with all of your (and your family’s) internet accounts, loyalty and reward card numbers, plus copies of your family’s passport details. There are a few high-quality password management apps, such as Dashlane and LastPass. But the 1Password app wins points for its user-friendly interface, an easy system for handling the occasional two-step verification systems that sometimes crop up, and flexible data syncing choices. iOS and Android, from $3 a month, 1Password

PackPoint: Prep for Your Trip More Efficiently

The prosaic worry about whether you remembered to pack a toothbrush and the right chargers for your electronic devices was enough, frankly. But ever-changing security and airline restrictions have compounded packing angst. For relief, turn to a packing list app. There are many checklist apps, yet PackPoint stands out for having especially relevant suggestions. Type in your destination, planned activities, and length of stay and PackPoint will recommend items you may have forgotten, like an umbrella or gym clothes. Make a list once and then morph it into a few reusable lists for different types of trips, such as a business overnighter, a ski trip, and a beach getaway. The app also offers advice tailored to the latest weather forecasts, so you’ll be ready for that surprise heat wave. iOS and Android, $3, PackPoint

Grab: Avoid Getting ‘Hangry’ at the Airport

Once they make it through the airport security gauntlet, many travelers stay close to their gate, because of nervousness about missing a gate change or the flight. Grab is an app that enables a time-pressured traveler to order meals ahead at airport restaurants, so the traveler doesn’t have to venture far from the gate for long. Users skip the food court’s long lines by walking straight to the pick-up counters of restaurants when their food is ready. Grab’s services are available at 19 U.S. airports including Atlanta and Los Angeles, as of publication time. The app is slowly expanding overseas with an expected first stop at London’s Heathrow. iOS and Android, Grab

Weather Kitty/Weather Puppy: Hit the ‘Paws’ Button

A great way to calm down about traveling is to have an app that gives you the weather forecast illustrated with a cat that is happy, scared, wet, or otherwise adorable. Of course, there is a Weather Puppy app, too. Don’t mock it until you try it, even if you’re not a pet person. iOS and Android, Weather Kitty

Blur Photo Editor: Don’t Reveal Too Much Online

Social media seemed like a wonderful way to let friends and family members know about your trips. But then the bee in the honeypot appeared: You can’t ever be fully sure if strangers can see the photos you post. Sometimes you want to protect your privacy. A case in point: If you post a photo of your airplane tickets for an exotic trip, enterprising troublemakers might use the information on the ticket in ways you won’t like. This app, highly rated by users, lets you blur out sensitive details — or the faces of children who are minors — with just a finger swipe. iOS, Blur Photo Editor; no Android app but Android has similar apps like Touch Blur Photo

FlightAware: Become an Airport Ninja

On average, one out of five U.S. airline flights was canceled or delayed in the last year, based on data measured up to May 2017. Often the first passengers on a canceled flight to get in line or on the phone with an agent are among the first to successfully rebook on the next flight to a destination. Given that so many planes today fly nearly full, it’s urgent to be among the first to rebook. There are many fine flight alert apps, but FlightAware soars for its rare “meeting the flight” option, which ensures anyone who is meeting a plane can be alerted to any delay or cancellation. The app also helps with vetting upcoming departures, particularly on small airlines flying tiny routes. Knowing that the flight out of Corfu always leaves two hours late will help a traveler plan ahead. iOS and Android, FlightAware

Citymapper: Mind the Gaps in Google Maps

Feel better about how to get from point A to point B in an unfamiliar city with an app that can give you directions. It triumphs at sharing little tips on how to navigate major cities that it usually takes locals months to master, such as the optimal subway exit from which to leave and the current timetable for a local bus. Plus it has fun bonus tricks, like letting you click “rain” mode to get different point-to-point advice, minimizing the chance you’ll get wet. iOS and Android, Citymapper

Google Translate: Speak When You Don’t Know the Language

Not knowing the local language can strike fear in even the hardiest of travel hearts. You’ve already known one solution to this problem: Google lets you look up quick-and-dirty text translations. But you may not know that the search giant says its translation quality improved more in the year 2016 than in the previous ten years combined. You may also not know that you can translate text in images, such as a street sign or a menu, by pointing your smartphone camera at the words and using the Google Translate app to give you the meaning in about 30 languages. You can even use the app without an internet connection to translate among 52 languages. (Related: Google’s New Earbuds With Real-Time Translation Have Huge Implications for Travel) iOS and Android, Google Translate

Rome2rio: Go the Last Mile Smartly

Getting there is supposed to be half the fun, except when you’re not sure how to make it the proverbial “last mile” of your trip, such as from an airport to your vacation rental. Google Maps and its peers are sharp tools, but Rome2rio excels as a supplement by searching any city, town, landmark, attraction, or address across the globe with thousands of suggested routes to get you from point to point. The best part is that the app typically offers accurate price estimates for Uber, taxis, trains, ferries, and buses so that you can pick the fastest or cheapest way to your ultimate destination. iOS and Android, Rome2rio

Revolut: Get Travel Money More Flexibly

If you prefer to use a debit card or cash while traveling internationally, you’ve faced doubts about whether your bank card will be accepted at local stores or whether you’ll find a low-fee ATM. Now a few startups are attempting to offer a consistent way to move your money in and out of various currencies while traveling. The best-funded is Revolut, a UK-based startup that has received $88 million in investment. It lets you get, send, and exchange money in multiple currencies. The process is two-step: A traveler loads money onto a prepaid debit card, which he or she then manages via the app. Revolut says it offers a better deal than using bureaux de change and that it has served more than 700,000 users, a larger group than its UK-based rivals Monzo and WeSwap claim. The downside: You need a UK bank account to use it, as of publication time, though that was expected to, um, change. iOS and Android, Revolut

Beditations: Defragment Your Brain

If you’re having a difficult time sleeping, Beditations, delivered by the app of the same name, are meditations designed to guide you into quality sleep. Just choose an evening Beditation to ease you into sleep, and a morning Beditation to gently wake you up at your desired time. Why, you ask, should you use an app instead of say a meditation from memory or a book? Because the app comes with ambient rain noise that plays after your bedtime meditation, so you won’t be distracted by external noise at the hotel and lose your Zen. Many Beditations are free, or you can also unlock them all for $5. iOS and Android, Beditations

SAS Survival Guide: Channel Your Inner MacGyver

For 20 years, the SAS Survival Guide has been the much-discussed handbook for surviving any situation, in any place and any climate. Written by a former Special Air Service (SAS) instructor in the British Army, John “Lofty” Wiseman, this app will help you fend off a bear attack or avoid getting stuck in quicksand. But it’s best to read it before you get into those fixes. iOS and Android, SAS Survival Guide

Download Travel in an Age of Permanxiety magazine here

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - Misunderstandings part 2

Misunderstandings Part II

Caitlyn: I arrived at the end of the chute. In the big cavern there was one tunnel leading away and one Anzu stood there. The tunnel seemed long so I went over to the Anzu. It was unlocked, and in the cockpit was a flimsy. "If you are here, organic fertilizer has probably been introduced to the rotary air distributor. The tunnel leads to an underwater exit five miles away from here. Code word for opening it "Caitlyn got our back". This Anzu should be waterproof to 80 meters, and the lake is 40-60 meters deep until you get to the beach on the other side. There is a small stash of valuables under the seat, you will need it if Starleague is to be rebuilt"

The old geezer had everything covered, I wondered if even Tony was aware of this. I got out and three hours later I returned to the Compound, Registered Mutant was under guard and Sten was in the hospital for leg replacement. I decided to wait some, and get some second opinions. I sent a message and sat back to wait, Lee would be out of the regentank in three days.

Cora: Tears of frustration and anger made the words of the message ineligible. No matter, they had burned themselves into my heart. Throwing the message into the fire I rose. I wanted to scream and rant, but then the girls would want to know what was going on, and I wanted to shield them from this. Travel time from here to the Starleague compound would be about three days. And I would get there to exact my revenge.

Lee: The lid popped and I looked out. Caitlyn was there, holding out a robe to me. I swallowed to hold back tears, she is so kind and gentle. After changing into uniform she asked me to come with her to the office, there was someone there I had to meet. I didn’t feel like meeting anyone, but for Caitlyn I would do.. anything! I got the shock of my day when I saw who was in the office, but Caitlyn sat me down and asked me to retell the story she had gotten already. It was painful, but.. for Caitlyn.

Paulzilla: Sometimes miracles happen, sometimes your deity makes an personal appearance. True, those occasions are far between, but what had happened here was unheard of. Sten had sent over all the paperwork I had given him over the last decades, and it was perfectly done as well. Getting on the horn to Tony to get an explanation I was told that Sten had gotten himself a new  Company clerk, Brian Franks. Looking through the folder I studied his resume, yes, highly qualified, but he had a black mark bigger than the base. Besides, I prefer it when my officers do their jobs, not shuffling it off to underlings. And anyway, Franks was underutilized in his current position, he clearly belonged in my staff. I started to walk over to Bugler Company for a little personnel reallocation. Passing by Caitlyn`s office I heard some loud voices. She then used the intercom and I heard her order her secretary to get out and lock the door. As the secretary got out I signaled for silence and got in before the door was locked. Sometimes a Commander has to know what goes on whiteout knowing what goes on officially. Caitlyns voice was easy to identify, the cold menace from Sten`s vife made her voice almost unrecognizable, but the broken sobbing story coming from Lee held my attention. Activating the recorder I sat back to listen.

Lee`s Story: " ..and my father was very angry. Good girls shouldn’t go to places like that and do such things. I was a shame to my ancestors, and should stay in my room. But Fluffles, my pet bunny, was missing so I got my coverall and started searching the house. Some hours later, after finding her in the lower basement I went back up, but the house was dark. Hearing noise from the outside, I drew aside the curtains. There was Mechs outside, and one of them turned in my direction. The pilot jumped out and charged into the house. My standard wasn’t so good then, but I got the gist of it. The Prince of Iron was about to hit the town and our neighborhood would be the main battleground. Everyone else had been evacuated, but he would get me to the spaceport. Once there he got me into an freighter. The freighter launched and we had a miserable time. There wasn’t any food, and my bunny was killed to get some food for the smallest children. Sometime later, perhaps a week or so, the ship landed and we passengers were chased out. It was a strange planet, and I didn’t really know any of the other refugees. I lived on the streets, disguising myself as a boy, but charity and work for someone my size and poor understanding was severely limited. I don’t know how long I was there. Half a year, a year? The street kids were my only.. friends aren’t the right word.. fellow sufferer’s maybe? We were terrified of being caught by the police. Labor camps were the official name, but none had returned from them. I had lost so much weight I was almost able to hide in the shade of a lamppost when one day the pilot who had taken me from my house walked past with some others in the same uniform. Getting up I tried to intercept him and ask to be sent home, but I stumbled, and my hand hit his back pocket as I tried to catch myself. One of the others catched me, and said "Another pickpocketing street kid, I will call the police Sten" Terrified I whispered "please... don’t, give me a job... I will do anything..." Sten looked at me "Job, do anything, hmmm, come along"

In the compound he took me to his room and indicated the bed. I sat there gingerly , but fatigue soon had me lying down. He came over and extending a hand he touched.. my places of shame.. His expression changed to anticipation and he said "well, what a surprise, I might have a job for you, the oldest in the world. He left, but was soon back. I stared at the thing in his hand, I knew what it was, and my father’s words of what could happen to bad girls echoed in my mind. He rubbed it with some lubrication and came nearer. Thinking of what the police would do if I denied him I just stared at the... thing. Soon it was out of my sight, and I could feel it entering me. It was my first time, and.. it was so big and violent. Maybe he noticed my expression of fear, for he withdrew and looked at me again. Then he went out again, but only for a minute. This time it felt different, smaller and gentler. I started to enjoy it, and from his smile he was pleased. When it was over and he withdrew I was panting and sweating. Suddenly his face went rigid and he got out a com. I don’t know what language he spoke, but a couple minutes later a monster came in. An exchange in the strange language later the monster came over and carried me out. After I had been washed and had gotten some food I discovered perhaps it wasn’t a monster. Conversation was difficult as both had a rudimentary grasp of standard, but that was our only common language. The pilot, Sten, was a Company Commander in Star League, and I was his latest find. As he was married, mentioning being alone with him was not done. Over the coming weeks I was given manuals of everything needed to become a mechpilot. I often cried myself to sleep, especially after Sten had made me ...perform.. with a steadily new line of .. others. One day he took me to the side "Your studies are suffering, and you don’t perform as well as I had hoped. But I have news for you. Tony managed to find your family, and they are in the dependent village now. Hostages are a terrible thing aren’t they. Now I expect you to get focused, there are some new ones waiting for you" My family here!! I couldn’t talk with them, I was ruined in the eyes of my family and my ancestors. but I had duty to them. I would do all that was asked, no matter if some of the ones I had to perform with was personally distasteful. Doing my assignments brought in money. Sometimes Sten would take me along, and at my request it would be like the first night, second time. I loved it even if I knew it was not proper. Focusing on my studies gave results, I was promoted, and after a while I was promoted again and was second in command. Sten was away a lot of the time, and as my free time expanded I started doing ...things he wanted. We had to keep it a secret from the rest, but I didn’t mind. And then.... He went out alone and got shot to pieces. I didn’t know what to do, but I did the same and.... It didn’t end well. I was in the regentank and he came in and said.... said... he.. said.. "

Paulzilla: The voice disappeared and only heartbreaking sobs came now. Caitlyn`s vicious voice came back "I am gonna blow him apart" Cora`s "No, I will take him home and get him quartered, that is torn apart between four horses" And Lee`s "I don’t want any of you to kill him. I want.. I want..." I had heard too much. Ripping the wall to shreds I strode into the room, eyes burning red-hot. "Sit tight the three of you."  Walking around, my tail smashed every piece of furniture to splinters. "I would love to rip him apart myself, but we will get a firing squad, you can apply to be in it." Getting my com out I punched a combo "Eric, get to Caitlyns office on the triple, and wear the black hat"

Eric: Black hat? That was my Regulations and Discipline hat. I got it three years ago and hadn’t used it yet. Why would I need it? Caitlyns office seemed to be under total renovation, or needing it. Taking in the four gathered there I asked "Ok, what is going on here? Someone destroyed the office and need a night in the cooler?" Paulzilla`s tail ripped through the outer wall. "Arrest Sten. Maximum Security. No visits, No comms, No suicide possibilities" I didn’t understand what was going on, but my orders were clear. How to implement them on the other hand...

Sten: I was in my office, luxuriating in the feeling that no paperwork was pending, and my clerk would get it all done as soon as it arrived. A call from Bruno broke my good mood. Boris and Keikko were not in the hangar. What could have made them leave when the orders not to do so were clear? A movement in the security monitor caught my eye. Eric, but Black Hat? This was serious, what could they have gotten themselves into this time? As he entered I asked "Eric, what have they done this time?" Touching his hat he said "I need you to come to the prison with me" Prison? What had they done this time? But Eric was in official mode, no answers so I had to follow him to find out. My dread increased as he opened the door to the security wing, as far as I knew we had newer used it before. Then he asked me to leave behind everything that could be used as a weapon or a tool. Knowing the two of them I just left everything and changed into a paper coverall. Strangely enough the cell seemed empty. I ran in, hiding on top of everything else, they were going to be sorry. But there was nowhere to hide in there. Turning toward Eric, to find out if this was the wrong cell I saw him lock the door and activate the subsonics. What???? No way to communicate through that.