What to do when you get robbed
Dad left Spain nearly two weeks ago, and for the most part, we had an awesome time. However, on day one, his bag (containing passport, phone, and credit card) was stolen! A man had grabbed the bag next to him and ran off with it up the winding cobblestone paths of Vélez.
We were successful in freezing the credit card, buying a new phone, and Dad even drove the 5hrs to the Embassy in Madrid to get an Emergency Passport. The Police were super helpful in taking the matter seriously, however, we were unable to identify the man from a series of mug shots of local offenders and therefore, weren't able to proceed with finding the culprit.
Since then, two other locals have turned up at my school demanding money as a reward! (So we know that Dad's things haven't left Vélez...) And now that he's back in Australia, he's been able to claim it all on insurance (only losing 120€ that was spent on the card (edit: Dad has now claimed it all back), as well as time in having to go to Madrid).
So a bit of a rocky start, but we still had his suitcase, the rental car, and the keys to my host family's farmhouse, where we were staying, thank goodness.
Lessons:
- get travel insurance!
- scan everything to share online (via Google Drive) with someone you trust
- bring passport-style photographs just in case you need to apply for a new ID
- set your recovery email to that of a relative/close friend or another one that you have access to, as Gmail is almost impossible to access on a new device when you don't have your device to verify that it's you
- be wary of extra costs you might require, including international calling credit
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