Thank goodness I can make my adjustments to living in Barcelona as a retired person as opposed to working full-time and juggling work, temporary lodging, buying a home and just learning how to navigate the myriad layers of living in another country. My project this week was finding the package that Chris sent me about three weeks previously.
It all started when I realized I couldn't fit everything in the two bags that I was taking with me (actually it would have fit, but it would have gone over the weight requirement) and I didn't want to spend an extra $200 for a third bag.
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| A package similar to the one I received |
So, I left some things with Chris and asked him to ship it to me later on. Chris did a great job in packing it up and shipping it. But it turned out to be a good size box - about 18"x18"x18". When it arrived in Spain, it got stopped by Customs in Madrid. Although it was clearly labeled as a box with personal effects, I had to declare what was inside and sign a document to that effect. Luckily all this could be done online. When I did that I saw a final web page that stated that I would hear something in 48 hours.
The week passed and after not hearing anything from the Spanish Post Office I went back online. I then noticed on the web page that I could put in my tracking number to see the status of my package. I did and was surprised to see that it said that it was delivered last week! So that's when I had to do my manual tracking of the package.
The next day I went to the post office closest to the home of my friends who allowed me to use their address
for packages and such. Without going into a lot of detail, I made multiple visits to the Post Office and received a call from a manager of the Postal delivery system. In essence they told me that because the package did not require a signature (something I will always remember to do in the future), there should have been a notice in the mailbox that the package was waiting to be picked up. They all seemed to be giving the same message that they didn't see much hope that I would find the package.
I finally was able to meet with the actual mailman who delivers mail to the building that the package was address to. After going through the details of the package size, that the address was correct, and other pertinent information, the mailman said he would check at the office for the package. At this point I had given up hope that it would be recovered. But that afternoon, I got a call from my friend that he had received the package! Yeah!! I picked it up the next day. Everything was intact and the few fragile items made it through without anything breaking.
This experience certainly stretched my Spanish and my knowledge of the metric system (18 inches equals 45 centimeters). I guess my persistence paid off and it felt good to have these things back with me, which also included objects on my meditation shrine.
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This was early in the hike - we were a little more wiped out
at the end (having taken this pic, I wasn't in it) |
My week ended up doing another hike with my gay hiking group. This time we went toward the Pyrenees and hiked 20 kilometers from a small pueblo called Savassona to a 10th Century monastery called Sant Peres de Casserres. We hiked by the River Ter and passed by the reservoir Panta de Sau. The sights were just gorgeous! And I got to make friends with some other men on the trip, speak lots of Spanish and also listen to some Catalán, which I will make an effort to learn after a bit.
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| Panta de Sau |
