I was towards the end of a nine-week trip, travelling solo around the world. After that long abroad, I was just exhausted. So when I went to the ATM to get money out, I made a critical mistake.
At home in Australia, we take the card out and then we get our cash. In Argentina, where I was, it’s the reverse – first your cash comes out, then your card. So I put my card in, got my money and just walked away, leaving my card behind.
I was already on the other side of the street when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and this hulking Dutch guy handed me my bank card, telling me I’d forgotten it. I immediately burst into tears, then thanked him profusely and tried to offer him a reward. He politely refused, and away he went.
I was in a town called El Calafate, and the next day I travelled to the Perito Moreno Glacier. There I saw him through the crowd – tall Dutchmen are easy to spot!
I ran after him to say: “Hey, you’re the guy who returned my bank card!” He didn’t really remember me, because I was nobody important in his life, but he was certainly important in mine. I said to him, ‘Look, I really want to give you something to say thanks – how about I shout you a beer?’
He was travelling with some friends, so the three of us perched in the little cafe and drank a beer. I was just so happy that I could thank this man – whose name, I learned, was Bart – and give him a little token of my appreciation.
Bart thought what he had done was no big deal, but to me it was. This was in 2009, a different time for technology. If he hadn’t returned my card, I would have been in a big mess. I only carried the one card, which in hindsight was a bit careless, but that’s what I had.
If you’re traveling with somebody else you can use their card for a while and reimburse them later; when you’re on your own, it’s a whole different situation. And every traveller knows that any problem on holiday feels magnified to the extreme!
All these years later, I have not forgotten Bart’s act of kindness. At the cafe, we took a photo together, which I’ve always kept.
What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
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