WANTED ALIVE: A thief carrying an extremely valuable digital camera and laptop computer! REWARD OFFERED: Personalized copies of all of the pictures and stories on the camera and computer. Plus big hugs from the entire Odyssey team.

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NEWS FLASH!!!! After a hard day of traveling (talk about leg cramps!) from Popayan (in southern Colombia), Shawn, Kavitha and I arrived in Quito, Ecuador, minus our digital camera and computer. These things aren't easy to replace--we're talking at least $1500 worth of damage, not to mention the emotional trauma of it all (anybody know a good therapist?).

We arrived in Ipiales, the border town of Colombia, at about 6:30 pm. When I looked into the overhead compartment to unload my carry-on baggage, I realized that it was much lighter than it was earlier. Something was missing, and that something cost us a load of time and money.

I'm pretty furious about this. The only time that no one was on the bus was at a ten-minute pit-stop in Pasto, Colombia. We all left the bus to use the bathroom, including the bus driver. That would have been the only time the thief, who was probably riding the bus with us, could have had a chance to rob us. We stick out when we speak English. Probably this person noticed where we were sitting, then took a private moment to look around for whatever he or she could steal. It just so happened that there was a computer and a camera. The thing is, the lucky sucker probably doesn't even realize how well she or he made out!

So does anybody have $1500 bucks, or a digital camera and a computer to spare? I mean, I know SOMEBODY does, and I bet they're booking a flight to Tahiti right now, and getting ready to take digital pictures of the clouds from their airplane seat while they sip a martini! More likely the person really needed the money and just went about getting it the wrong way. Hey, the reward still stands for the one who catches the thief!

Monica