Life in Culebrón

Internet shopping is great. I want a new book, Kindle. Fifty seconds later I can start reading. Present for someone in the UK? Piece of cake. The problem comes when I want something that exists, something that has form and bulk, for myself. Sometimes Amazon, or any of the other people I shop with, choose to send the thing to our PO box. Easier than easy. Often the Post Office even sends me a text message to say the package has arrived. Sometimes, too often, the Internet seller uses a carrier - DHL, MRW, FedEx, UPS, SEUR, Tourline Express or any number of firms which claim to be the modern embodiment ot Herodutus "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". They are all the same. Most of them can't find the house, I suspect that most of them don't even try. Sometimes the carrier can't find the village. They take it back to San Juan or Alicante or wherever they have thei...

I'd been surprised when the door of office number two had opened as I leaned on it. I half stumbled and half leapt into the room on the other side. Two women gawped at me. I gawped back. I stammered out a greeting.  "Hello, I want to send this to Qatar," I said, holding out a small padded envelope, weight about 20g and similar in size to an iPhone.  "Qatar in Cantabria?" she asked.  I pointed to the address printed on the envelope.  "No, Qatar the country in the Middle East - next door to Saudi Arabia." "Is that close to Lebanon?" "Closeish," I said.  "Is it part of Saudi Arabia?" she asked.  "No, it's a country." "Ah, I see; it's an island," she said, staring at the Google entry.  "More a peninsula," I countered She rang someone. "It'll be 97€," she said - "same as Lebanon." Back there again. I blanched but handed her my credit card...