Robbery on the Camino — Rising Son Travels

I woke up at 2:30 in the morning when the “Policia Civica” entered my room and turned on the lights. The albergue had been robbed and several people had wallets, passports, phones, and cash stolen. I jolted up and began groping the space around me where I had left various electronics charging. Nothing was missing. Two pilgrims in my room had some cash and their identification stolen. It was an extremely unsettling experience to think that a thief had been rummaging around my room looking for things to grab.

At this point in my Camino I was ready to let my guard down in terms of safety. I like to think I’m a good judge of character and could not conceive any of my fellow pilgrims stealing from me. In particular the albergue in Güemes had such utopian vibes that it was the last place I would expect something like this to happen. Unfortunately there are bad people out there more than willing to exploit that trusting mindset.

The rooms in Güemes fit around 11 people. There is a bathroom in each room and most importantly, each room has a door to the outside that does not lock. The thief came into the room and began grabbing whatever items he could see. Most brazenly, he climbed up the ladder and grabbed wallets out of people’s pockets. One particularly unlucky pilgrim was sleeping three beds high on a bunk bed and had his passport, wallet, and cell phone stolen. Some combination of dumb luck and the fact that I cradle my electronics like a newborn infant led to nothing of mine getting stolen. When some of the victims later found out what I was carrying compared to what they had stolen they lamented how stupid and unsuccessful the thief had been. Honestly, fair!

Seven pilgrims had been robbed. While the lucky unscathed pilgrims began their day the pilgrims who had been robbed were driven to the police station to file a report.

Theft is not uncommon on the Camino. In many ways pilgrims are ideal targets. They always are carrying cash, something nice to take photos, and sleep in places without lockers. The stories you hear usually involve thieves posing as pilgrims staying at albergues and waiting for people to sleep or leave their belongings out during a shower before making a run for it. One story I heard involved a pilgrim who went to sleep with his shoes on. People thought this behavior was strange until that man disappeared in the middle of the night with people’s belongings.

What makes this theft unique is that it appeared to have been committed by an outsider with intimate knowledge of the location. They likely cased the albergue and realized how defenseless the pilgrims are when they sleep there. This was the only albergue I’d been to where the pilgrims slept in rooms that had unlocked access from the outside. Generally they are in unlocked rooms in a larger building that is secured from the outside. That’s why the biggest danger is generally fellow pilgrims. I don’t understand why they can’t just put deadbolts on the rooms so at least no one can literally come in IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND STEAL FROM PEOPLE.

This goes way beyond the Camino. We all have to take certain precautions to minimize our risk but sometimes you just get unlucky.