The Case of the Missing Purse (and its contents)

Imagine - being in a foreign country and realizing as you reach down to get your passport that your purse is missing - that was me on Friday night! We arrived in Athens late Friday night and got the bus into the city from the airport. On the bus, I got a piece of gum - that was the last time I remember having my purse. The bus dropped us off at a square in the city where we got out and tried to get our bearings in order to find our hotel. A few men came over to help us figure out the map and where we were going - one was the taxi driver - we didn't know who the others were - and we hopped in a cab and headed for the hotel. I'm not blaming the other men....I didn't feel anyone cut if off my shoulder....I have been analyzing this since it happened and really cannot figure out how and when I lost it.

When we got to the hotel, I realized that it was gone about 2 minutes after getting out of the cab. Dylan ran outside, but the cab was gone. I could have left it on the bus, could have left it in the cab, I really have no idea.

After crying for awhile, Dylan gave me a pen and paper and instructed me to write down everything that was missing. He started calling credit card companies and I sat and cried. The worst part was not having a passport - I had no idea what we were going to have to do to get me out of the country in 4 days. I called the Canadian Embassy in Ottawa and the woman I spoke with was pretty much useless telling me that I should never keep my birth certificate with my passport - thanks for the advice and compassion but it's a little too late for that!

That night I slept a bit on and off, but dreamt about a knock on the door from someone who was returning my purse or our luggage because that was lost too....it never happened. The next morning I was still quite upset, but I got direction to "get over it" and make the best of the vacation. That is what I did! I tried to forget that I lost everything that was important to me - my passport (most important), my license, all IDs, camera, phone, MP3, sunglasses, etc.....

All weekend I kept reaching for it or looking for things that were in it. I had to buy sunglasses and lypsol right away and that was all I carried with me the whole trip! Dylan took the pictures and I supervised :)

On Saturday morning, we went to the Athens Police Station to file a report. It was like a prison there, dark and dirty. The detective who took my statement was sitting behind a desk smoking and barely spoke English. No one there was very helpful, but i got my report alright and I didn't' realize it then, but I needed the report to get a new passport reissued, so was lucky that I did.

We knew the Embassy in Athens was closed on Saturday and Sunday, but we walked there Sunday anyway to make sure we knew exactly where it was. We talked to a guard outside and he said to come back at 830 Monday morning. We were there early Monday to find out that it was closed for the Greek holiday "Monday Pure". It was so upsetting to find out that Monday it was closed and our flight left at 6pm on Tuesday, so I only had the day to get things straighted out. On Sunday, I bought a Greek good luck charm (a glass eye) that I wore around my neck for the rest of the trip, but felt that it didn't work too well since I was having terrible luck so far - my luck ended up changing for the better.

I called the Embassy in Ottawa to tell them that I needed to get things started in order to get my passport for Tuesday because we were told it takes a minimum of 24hrs. Thank goodness that Dylan told me to do this or I would still be in Greece right now! It was this phone call that sped up the application process so when the Embassy opened in Athens on Tuesday morning, they had all the information they needed to get me on my way!

We enjoyed our day - really, our whole trip - regardless of my huge loss.

On Tuesday morning, without any ID, it took a bit to get into the Canadian Embassy, but I got in there and started the paperwork! How do you get in somewhere where you need ID when I didn't have anything to prove who I was except my fingerprints? (btw, I've never been arrested and therefore, never fingerprinted except when i was about 10 years old when my Dad worked in Ident and my brother and I got gag mugshots taken).

Dylan took this shot of me while we were exploring while waiting for my passport. It was kind of a joke like the "where's waldo" of the Canadian Embassy. The flag is very small, but you can see it between the tree and to the left of my shoulder.

Originally, I was told that the only way to get replacement passport was if I was going back to Canada, they wouldn't issue one to someone who was continuing on in Europe, so I thought I was going to end up arriving in the snowy weather in capris and a tee shirt. Once I turned on the tears and explained that I needed to go back to Belgium for 3 weeks, they were very helpful - tears really do work, ladies!

I had to go get new passport photos done (with sun burnt face) and was told to come back at noon. We went out for a bit exploring and were back shortly after noon to find out that it was going to take longer. At about 1:30pm, I left with a temporary passport and a smile on my face! This is me finally smiling with my shiny new white passport, my worry beads and my Canadian tee (I thought the tee would help me at the Embassy)!

This was quite possibly the scariest experience of my life. Besides losing my passport, I am still a little upset over losing everything else that was important and private to me in my purse - I know all the ladies out there will understand - I have to start from scratch now and start getting things replaced. I owe a lot to Dylan because he was so calm and knew exactly what to do. I was lucky to have him there with me to keep me thinking clearly and to support me - Thanks!