bring me the pigeon

We expatriates often go on and on about the things we miss up north.  And, in my case, I often just assume that some services simply are not available in our little village.

Several months ago, someone asked me if the northern delivery services (FedEx, DHL) were available here.  She needed to get some tax documents delivered to her house in Barra de Navidad.

I had no idea.  It occurred to me that if someone had asked the same question of me in The States, I would have no answer.  In Salem, I used certified mail for documents like that -- and packages almost always arrived at my house from Amazon through the good services of the man who drove the UPS truck.

Well, I now know the answer.  Melaque is replete with choices.

When the FATCA regulations caused my Banamex USA account to go the way of the Rosenbergs, the certified check representing the balance in my account was delivered by DHL.  It was just a matter of days after the bank dropped it in Los Angeles that it showed up at my house here.

On Monday of this week, I ordered a BritRail pass.  When the sales clerk in Canada told me it would be shipped here within 3 to 5 business days, I chuckled.  Only out of ignorance.  I should have taken the DHL experience to heart.

The agency gave the package to FedEx on Tuesday, and it showed up in my hands just before noon yesterday.  I was quite impressed.  FedEx packages are delivered to an office in Manzanillo -- with deliveries to our area on Tuesdays and Fridays.

There is a point to this anecdotal rambling.  Each February, I fly north to Oregon to execute tax documents for a trust.  It gives me an opportunity to see family and friends.  But visiting Oregon in February is a bit like seeing your girlfriend without her makeup for the first time.  The state is not at its best in the winter.

If I can arrange receiving and returning the trust tax documents through DHL or FedEx, I can go north when the weather is better, and not in February.  I need to do a bit of investigating on where to drop off the package in Manzanillo for its return.  But I know the general area.

The Mexican postal service also offers a special delivery service called -- I believe -- MexPost.  That is another possibility.

I am looking at as many alternatives as possible this year.  Because, if every everything goes as planned, I may be on that long-touted road trip through Central America.  And options are going to be welcome.  I may even discover how those delivery services work in Nicaragua.

At least, I now know the answer to the question of how to use services I have never used in my life.

Who says that travel is not broadening?