A First For Me

We got out of the cab in Guadalajara's Centro this morning and started walking up a street when a Mexican who spoke very good English approached us. He told us to hang onto my camera and Norma's purse good because someone was watching us. He called him "El Lobo" or, "The Wolf". I could not see who he was referring to but I had my Nikon over my shoulder with my right hand holding the strap near the camera.

About a block later I felt a violent tug and was pulled slightly to the side. A young man had hold of my camera with both hands and was trying desperately to yank it from my shoulder. I had at least a hundred pounds on him and as long as the strap did not break, the camera was going nowhere. I yelled "No!" and held the strap with my left hand and grabbed the camera between his hands with my right. After a very short tug of war the thief let go and ran, mixing with the crowd. A bystander took off after him but lost him at the corner.

I should have grabbed his wrist instead of the camera but you always think of these things too late. Anyway, this was the first incident in three years of traveling in Mexico and it will not change my feelings for the Mexican people or greatly change the way I act down here. It was a valuable experience and reinforced what I have always said. Be aware of your surroundings. I perhaps should have taken the warning of the stranger more seriously but as they say, "All's well that ends well".