Pickpockets in the metro station

Today I had heart palpitations. I came close to being pickpocketed. I was walking through the underground passage to get to the platform to get the metro home – after school. Yes, I am back at school, as a student and not the teacher!! Today we really had a fun lesson. We had to work with food and produce menus and for a restaurant and then find out what each student had created. So after our fun Spanish lesson, I was on my way back home inside the metro station. Firstly, I ran into a Mexican girl I met at the International Expat Meetup event last night in the metro station too. Small world. In a big city like this I managed to run into someone I had only seen once before – the previous night!! So back to the heart palpitations! I felt something – hardly noticeable from behind me and turned around. Not even 10 centimetres behind me were three dark complexioned youngsters (definitely Gypsies youths). They stopped deadstill and had Barcelona city maps held up to their faces. I didn't know what was wrong but I had felt something pulling. I then took my backpack off my back to check if all was in tact and I noticed that the back part of my backpack had been unzipped. By now the gypsies had walked off in the other direction. I was in panic mode and could not even think straight. I felt around in the part of my daypack which was now unzipped and did not know where my wallet was. P A N I C. My first thought was what do I do if my bank card is stolen??? I chased after these thugs and found them rendezvousing with another 3 gypsy boys and walking down another passage - with city maps disguising their faces. A dead giveaway that they were up to no good. I was still digging in the other part of my backpack and could not feel my wallet amongst the collection of things in there – hat, bottle of water, keys, cell phone, sunblock, sunglasses, camera, loose coins and the whole kitchen sink!! Thoughts going through my mind were : Can they use the card to withdraw all the money like the criminals in Africa do? What do I do to cancel the card ? Problem Problem Problem. At last... my hands felt the leather wallet. Relief... So I walked back to the platform with the stress having subsided. As I waited on the platform I noticed 3 station guards on walkie talkies charging off in the direction from which I had just come. I thought perhaps those gypsy youths had just got away with someone's bag or purse. Thank goodness not mine today. A nasty wake up call though!!!

Metro station

Train arriving