The Greek summer was meant to be memorable for Melburnians Roula Krikellis and George Fakos, travelling across 20 destinations in Greece, islands and the mainland. It was memorable but in the wrong way. Halfway through their six-week itinerary, they had their rental car broken into.
In minutes, their world spun from languidly exploring one of the ancient sites of the Peloponnese to becoming victims of a robbery. They were left with no money or passports and significant valuables missing.
“We were planning to go to Monemvasia, but that morning, my partner said, ‘Let’s go check out the ancient theatre of Sparta’. “We parked our hire car and left. We parked, but no other vehicles were in the car park; we said, ‘It’s a short walk, let’s do it,’ and left for the theatre.
“We walked about 15 minutes later, and as I approached the car, I noticed a window smashed, glass everywhere and yelled to George, ‘We’ve been robbed!’ He started running, but there was no one in sight.”
Shaken and worried, they went to the house across, and the good Samaritan called the police.While the ancient site was just over a kilometre from the city centre, it took the police half an hour to arrive, Ms Krikellis told Neos Kosmos.
They were then taken to the police station, where they filed a report. A CCT camera at the site recorded the incident. The footage shows a black vehicle pulling up in the car park just as the couple leave for the ancient theatre. A man exits and smashes the visitors’ hire car window. The thief completed his task and returned to the black vehicle. The footage also shows an accomplice in the driver’s seat. The thieves then sped off.
“Two minutes later, you see on the footage of George and myself arriving. We were told we were lucky if we had arrived earlier, it may have ended much worse,” Ms Krikellis said.
According to the police, it’s not uncommon in the area for gangs of thieves to sport tourists with car rentals and then follow them to their destination. Not all of the many ancient sites across the region are swarming with tourists, and their carpets are empty.
The victim said that the authorities told her thieves often carry guns or knives. The couple had valuables and personal items missing, including cash, jewellery presents for friends and family back home, their passports and needed medication.
They blocked their bank accounts and immediately booked an appointment at the Australian Embassy to re-issue travel documents.
“We were lucky; a couple of days later, the police called to tell us they had found our passports and my medicine scattered in a nearby field. Everything else was missing,” Ms Krikellis said
It is essential for tourists to report incidents like these to the police, Ms Krikellis said, and if the culprits to “press charges”, and “not just report for insurance”.
“Because if the same person is caught, there’s a chance authorities can do something about it,” she said.
They also got a police report copy for their travel insurance claim.
With their passports recovered, they avoided the inconvenience. Krikellis and Fakos continued their travels and found support and comfort in local hospitality.”
“The people of Sparta were really nice, and in Monemvasia, the apartment we rented was so accommodating; they made things easy for us after what we suffered. One of the restaurants even gave us a meal for free.”The incident has kept them from revisiting Greece and Sparta.”Greece is still beautiful. This could have happened anywhere. We would still go back to Sparta, but with extra precautions,” a thankful Ms Krikellis said.
The top lessons learned.
– Police advise never to approach or intervene in a theft as perpetrators could be carrying weapons
– Avoid isolated locations even for sightseeing.
– Never leave personal items or coins visible inside the car.
– Carry your phone with you.- Before you travel, photocopy your passport with you and give it to that family or friends back home, in case you lose them – Always take out travel insurance
– Keep a copy of the police report, if there is one, for insurance purposes.
