July 1, 2001 Quito, Ecuador

From Alaska to Argentina on a Bicycle.
Stopped short just outside of Quito by a couple of Banditos! That’s the story of my new friend Toralf, from Berlin. (he has a website (www.toralfsreisen.de it is however, in German!)

The day we met he literally had but a nickel to his name. Earlier in the day he had been robbed of all of his belongings including his bike, camera and lenses, many rolls of film from his journey and his journal from the beginning of his trip.

Two days later we went to the Mercado de Los Ladrones, the robbers market, a surprisingly well-known place you can go to purchase ‘hot’ merchandise. Toralf printed flyer with a reward for his irreplaceable film and journal. By this time he had found out that his replacement traveler’s checks were on the way so he shopped for a new bike while he was there.

Fortunately I have been spared from any misfortunes lately, but two other friends have been victimized here in Quito, not far from my home away from home. My friend Max was stabbed very seriously in the arm in an altercation with drunken youths harassing his daughter after a soccer match. My recent co-pilot and videographer, Juan Carlos sustained a much less serious knife wound above his eye during an attempted robbery late at night outside of a discotheque.

If you happened to run into my mother, please keep these incidents to yourself. They have served to increase my awareness for my own safety and security. When it comes to Latin American capital cities, Quito is about as nice as they come. Still not safe at the wrong time in the wrong place.