The Case of the Missing Case

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Trevor and I both had a great sleep until 8 am when Celina got us up for a lovely full course Italian breakfast she had prepared for us, even though I had told her the night before a slice of toast would be perfect. She then drove us to the Metro where we headed back to the main train station in Rome to catch the train to Naples. It was very busy there but we got our tickets and caught the 10:49 am train where we shared our seats with 2 young men from Bangladesh. Munna and Mission. They were so nice and so interesting and we had great conversations with them as they spoke English very well. They are trying to find work so they can send money home to their families. We exchanged contact info so we will keep in touch and of course we invited them to come visit us in Canada and we hope someday they will! When we got to Naples we were shocked to find the train to Vico Equense, where we were to meet Tracy and family, was “broken”. The train agent there spoke little English so we had trouble getting specifics as to when it would run again, but we met 2 young women from the States who were in the same predicament, so we made a plan to catch a taxi and share the cost. Another couple from the States joined us, so the 6 of us caught a ride with a taxi driver whose ethics were somewhat questionable, although this did not become apparent until we were all in the car zooming along at great speed and  him driving like a lunatic. His quoted price went up as we were driving and then suddenly he pulled over and told the 2 girls they were to get into his “friend’s” taxi , who would take them to their destination which was a bit further than the remaining 4 of us. We all felt something was ‘fishy’ but they did what he said and we continued on to Vico Equense. When we got there and went to get our suitcases out of the back of his taxi, Trevor’s was not there! He also said I had not paid him, which I had. It became quite an episode and I stood firm and told him he was responsible for the lost suitcase, which he denied. I took photos of his car and the information on the door etc and he became quite agitated as to why I was doing this and people were all staring at the commotion but when I mentioned the police and he saw I was not letting up, he got hold of the other taxi driver and made arrangements for us to meet him and retrieve the suitcase which somehow was in his taxi! You are warned over and over that Naples is not safe due to thievery and we wonder if this whole taxi exchange was a plot. We don’t know but we are so glad we got Trevor’s bag as everything he brought was in it! Tracy and Steph and Sean showed up and we headed off to the beautiful villa they have rented for the week. Sean showed us around and we relaxed and enjoyed a nice supper. Sean and Trevor played some soccer, we played some Old Maid and headed off to bed! Vico Equense, in the  south of Italy, overlooking the sea, looks spectacular!