We are at the marina in Valencia, Spain for a week or two, on the only pontoon with no security gate. A couple days ago a laptop, two cell phones, chargers, dictaphone, bottle of perfume, six pack of beer, cheese, can of nuts and the captain's swim trunks (??) were stolen from the British boat two boats over from us. It happened in daylight (late morning), we were on our boat, and they had to break the cheap hasp on the companionway.

We were consoling the British couple with dinner and drinks on our boat in the early evening when we noticed a man starting to get on their boat. There was a quick talk with the man who claimed "Russian tourist" and then left, but not before the couple on the Spanish boat in between had taken his picture with their cell phone.

A little later the Spanish couple were walking by the marina restaurant at the top of the dock and saw the same man looking for loose change in the cushions of the couches. They called security, who called the police, who took the suspect into custody, although the security guard had to talk to them for awhile to convince them of their duty.

The next day the national police came by to drive the British captain to the station, where they emptied the "Russian tourist's" backpack that had most of the stolen items in it, and allowed him to take them back with him. Later, two officers came by to take fingerprints off the broken companionway and a soda bottle that the thief had left behind. And still later, an officer came by to report that the suspect had had a knife on him and now was banging his head on the walls in the cell (perhaps asking himself "why did I go back?"), where he will remain until court in October.

And, not to forget the music teacher from Paris on the powerboat on the other side, fluent in Spanish and quite good in English who helped interpret for the Spanish police who spoke no English and the British and Americans who speak only a little Spanish.

Nice to see boaters helping each other.