Warning from Bolivia
Nov 10th, 2014, 01:35 PM
#1
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Warning from Bolivia
Well, our love affIr with Bolivia has been dampened. ...
Bus ride from Sucre to Potosi to avoid night bus to destination of Tupiza: No radio taxis at bus station so took one off street. A festival is going on and the city is packed. The driver picked up a young man a few blocks from the pick up. My antenna quivered. The young man immediately made a phone call. My antenna was really rocking now but the crowds and no visible taxis kept us in the cab despite our better judgement. Our hotel was a bit out of the main Plaza area. A few more blocks away, a man in a green uniform waved our taxi over. Oh oh. He portrayed himself as Migration Police with some kind of official looking badge and ordered us to present pur passports and luggage in order to look for drugs. The driver and rider encouraged us to cooperate. The "policeman" ordered us to take off our money belts to look for drugs. Luckily we were near our hotel and loudly demanded to be let out of the car. We were yelling at the "policeman" who was yelling back. The driver looked nervous and probably realized we would recognize his car. A man passed by and i
i rapped on the window asking for help. He looked confused but came over to the window which I think was the turning point. The driver got out of the car, let us out and took our bags out of the trunk. We walked away towards our hotel and the car sped away.
Our hotel was sympathatic but not able to do much. My feeling was this is not the first time they have heard this story. They did promise to call their driver for our trip to the bus station
In the morning.
Lessons Learned:
1. I had read about this "Tourist Police Scam" and did have an immediate bad feeling about the driver. Trust your 6th sense and don't be in a hurry.
2. Always ask for,the hotel to send a taxi to pick you up if any reservations about location.
3. Never allow the driver to pick up another passenger. Make that clear before getting into the cab.
4. If in this situation in daylight, yell, be aggressive. I am not sure if this would have been wise at night without street traffic.
5. I have to say that later today we walked in the neighborhood to a grocery and despite our adrenaline packed experience, we felt perfectly safe. However, I would not return to Potosi.
Bus ride from Sucre to Potosi to avoid night bus to destination of Tupiza: No radio taxis at bus station so took one off street. A festival is going on and the city is packed. The driver picked up a young man a few blocks from the pick up. My antenna quivered. The young man immediately made a phone call. My antenna was really rocking now but the crowds and no visible taxis kept us in the cab despite our better judgement. Our hotel was a bit out of the main Plaza area. A few more blocks away, a man in a green uniform waved our taxi over. Oh oh. He portrayed himself as Migration Police with some kind of official looking badge and ordered us to present pur passports and luggage in order to look for drugs. The driver and rider encouraged us to cooperate. The "policeman" ordered us to take off our money belts to look for drugs. Luckily we were near our hotel and loudly demanded to be let out of the car. We were yelling at the "policeman" who was yelling back. The driver looked nervous and probably realized we would recognize his car. A man passed by and i
i rapped on the window asking for help. He looked confused but came over to the window which I think was the turning point. The driver got out of the car, let us out and took our bags out of the trunk. We walked away towards our hotel and the car sped away.
Our hotel was sympathatic but not able to do much. My feeling was this is not the first time they have heard this story. They did promise to call their driver for our trip to the bus station
In the morning.
Lessons Learned:
1. I had read about this "Tourist Police Scam" and did have an immediate bad feeling about the driver. Trust your 6th sense and don't be in a hurry.
2. Always ask for,the hotel to send a taxi to pick you up if any reservations about location.
3. Never allow the driver to pick up another passenger. Make that clear before getting into the cab.
4. If in this situation in daylight, yell, be aggressive. I am not sure if this would have been wise at night without street traffic.
5. I have to say that later today we walked in the neighborhood to a grocery and despite our adrenaline packed experience, we felt perfectly safe. However, I would not return to Potosi.
Nov 10th, 2014, 03:42 PM
#3
Good that you were educated on this scam, cindyjo. Glad you are ok. The new terminal in Potosi being outside of town makes it difficult I think.
When we arrived in Potosi from Uyuni it was very late at night (see my bus ride from hell trip report) and we were three people. We didn't have any difficulties, fortunately. Perhaps because it was well into the wee morning hours the thieves were asleep.
I had just the one night in Potosi and enjoyed the old center of town, and the Moneda. I was warned not to stray too far out of the area around the Plaza.
When we arrived in Potosi from Uyuni it was very late at night (see my bus ride from hell trip report) and we were three people. We didn't have any difficulties, fortunately. Perhaps because it was well into the wee morning hours the thieves were asleep.
I had just the one night in Potosi and enjoyed the old center of town, and the Moneda. I was warned not to stray too far out of the area around the Plaza.
Nov 10th, 2014, 10:47 PM
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Must have been very scary. I had heard of this scam in LP but not anywhere else. At least Tupiza is small enough to walk from the bus station if you want to. It is a nice town.. If you have the time take one of the horse rides out into the desert. Beutiful scenery.
Nov 11th, 2014, 05:27 AM
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Taxis raise my blood pressure. A friend we know in Lima insisted on interviewing taxi drivers at a major shopping center before he let us get in the third one. And we still ended up jumping out of the cab when the driver couldn't find our hotel and was driving in circles (we paid).
Our friend (he lives in Lima) always either calls someone or pretends to call someone as soon as he gets in a cab and describes the car, making sure the driver knows he is doing it.
Our friend (he lives in Lima) always either calls someone or pretends to call someone as soon as he gets in a cab and describes the car, making sure the driver knows he is doing it.
Nov 11th, 2014, 08:39 AM
#8
I hope when you have time near good internet we hear about the good parts of your Bolivian experience, cindyjo. Especially since there are relatively few trip reports covering independent travel there..probably because it's hard to post from the road!
Have fun in the beautiful Salar/Laguna Colorada. Hope you have lots of flamingos!
Have fun in the beautiful Salar/Laguna Colorada. Hope you have lots of flamingos!
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