Bond, Jaime Bond!

This fun (and very helpful) interaction with Hotel Sant Roc’s hospitality team began with what I think is my weirdest ever travel travail!

Happily headed up to my room to refresh after the trail and oops, my TSA lock didn’t respond to its code of many years. No evidence it’d been damaged really – but it did not work! I spent at least a half hour trying and became exasperated when I checked online and it reassured me there were only 1000 possibilities. Lord knows what happened, but I started by heading downstairs with a photo of the lock and a smiling “could you help me”. The reception team leapt into action and I brought the offending suitcase down. They tried online solutions, pulled an Allen wrench and awl out of their desk ……. And tried to no avail to reset or otherwise jimmy the lick. It was clear nothing short of a bolt cutter was going to work and as that wasn’t at hand I asked them to break the zipper! Surprisingly easy to break into a suitcase I must say. Just jam the awl, pen or pencil into any portion of the plastic zipper and you’re in! Which solves one problem and creates another – that suitcase wasn’t going anywhere with me! Really the only issue was that replacing it was going to steal time from our day of relaxation in Callela de Parafugell:(

Next day we took a taxi into Paraflugell (kinda the real city behind the tourist seafront), and ultimately found the best luggage shop in town! The kindest businessman showed me I think every suitcase in his store! Model and color, functions and interior design, wheel quality and all! He was careful about pricing, meticulously explaining in limited English with Beth listening for words she could pick up to help me understand. He set the new lock and off we went to celebrate in Plaza Nuovo with coffee drinks ☕️. Travel crisis averted!!!

Back to the hotel…….. I arrived triumphantly with my new suitcase. Showed it off for the hospitality folks. I asked the man who most stuck with the suitcase challenge his name, thinking to extend special appreciation. He told me he was “Jaime“ and thinking I would not recognize the name said “Bond, Jaime Bond” to lots of laughter! “Stirred, not shaken” etc. – we had a lot of fun. Enough we had a photo – meet Jaime!