Unpleasant Memory of Greece

My wife and I spent nearly two weeks on a guided tour in Greece, viewing some wondrous sites across this beautiful country.

Despite seeing impressive places such as the ancient Acropolis, the Oracle of Delphi,  the majestic Meteora monasteries, the ruins at the Temple of Zeus, the enchanting island of Corfu, and the picturesque seaside port of Nafplio, the experience was marred by a handful of lowlifes we encountered on the Metro in Athens.


Pickpockets.

We were assaulted twice by a group of losers. Fortunately, for us, they only managed to steal my old cellphone. But it could have been worse.

I managed to prevent one of the thieves from taking the wallet from my zippered front pocket. They did unzip my wife's handbag but only managed a passport holder (without my passport) that they tossed aside. 

My wife was physically assaulted when one of the thugs pressed his body against her, whom she promptly pushed him back. 

I didn't take their crap, shoving them off and giving them a tongue-lashing that could probably be heard throughout the car.  They ran off when the door opened. Yeah, they're cowards as well.

We did manage to find security and they were helpful in directing us to the stop where our hotel was located.

I'm writing this because I believe Athens needs to clean up its act or it'll start losing much-needed tourism dollars. I can tell you now that I'd never travel to Barcelona because of its pickpocket problem. 

I caution travelers to be on the lookout for pickpockets. They blend in. They're not always easy to spot except that they generally work in pairs or group, trying to distract you and then stealing your wallet, purse, passports, and other items. 

This was our fourth trip to Europe so we weren't naive about the possibility of it happening to us. I do believe we were spared a worse outcome because we had educated ourselves to be on the lookout for these subhumans.  

So beware of greasy hands in Greece. It's a shame that people can make the effort to travel across the world to this nation but leave with the memory of being attacked by common criminals. It can happen to you. 

Check this post from The Savvy Backpacker for tips to avoid pickpockets as well as European cities where pickpockets are a big problem. 

One more thing. We intend to return to Europe. We're not going to let the petty pickpockets win. I just hope that police crackdown even more on these creeps.

Until the next time . . .