Barcelona At a Glance

I arrived in Barcelona from Singapore this morning around 9:00 AM local time. The flight seemed quite long, my seat being in coach, but I was able to medicate myself to a light sleep for most of the flight. We stopped over in Milan for an hour and then finished the final hop into the far east of Spain. Tiffany had chosen a simple, elegant, and clean hotel right in the heart of Barcelona only a couple blocks off La Rambla. The hotel’s web page showed the hotel’s proximity to the subway so I thought I would give public transit a try.

Many times in my life I have heard that Barcelona’s pickpockets are as numerous and aggressive as anywhere in the world. Armed with this warning, I was expecting at least one encounter on this trip. But I did not expect it so soon! I hoped to get to my hotel first to harden myself against thieves by shifting credit cards, money, passports and the like to the right places. I did not complete the 30 minute transit to my hotel without being selected as a target.

The trap they set matched one that caught a friend of mine in San Francisco many years ago. A small team of thieves blocked the exit from the station and worked the mob as it attempted exit. In this case they disabled an escalator and crowded its entrance. I dutifully swung my backpack to my front and was carrying my suitcase in my left hand when I felt contact with my back right pocket. I sent my right hand back to clasp my wallet and caught a man’s hand. For a second I did not know what had happened so I kept climbing the unmoving escalator.

It took me about two seconds to realize what transpired. I turned around and saw a guy right behind me in his mid-20s with his head and eyes down on a large map sprawled out in front of him. The map was being used to conceal his right arm as it reached for my pocket.

I considered my options as I climbed the last few steps of the escalator and decided to turn around and confront the guy as he finished his ascent. I had visions of using my height advantage to kick him in the face. But in the five seconds that elapsed as I climbed the stairs he turned around on the escalator and walked down. I was a bit unnerved but still in possession of my wallet.

When I finally got to the hotel the manager apologized and told me dozens of stories of guests that had their wallets taken. Barcelona is known for this, unfortunately. The manager, Françesc, said that pickpockets always work in teams so it is dangerous to engage one guy over his crime. You will never know how many friends he has around to spring into action.

The day has since gone much better. I took a 7k run along the beach and then cleaned up to explore the town a little. I strolled La Rambla looking trinkets and enjoyed some ice cream after a big meal. In one tourist shop I saw a examining a replica WWI rifle in consideration of purchase. Exactly how is he planning to get that thing home?

It’s about 5:00 PM now and I am slightly jet-lagged. Going to hang out in my room for a couple hours the catch dinner and crash early. Tomorrow I have to pick up the car that Will, Tiffany and I will drive to Pamplona. They arrive before noon tomorrow so I hope to have the car by then so I can help them through their jetlag with some drinks, food, and relaxation. Sunday we leave for Basque country.