An inquisitive old fart with a camera
A Christmas card received in the end of March. Typical of Correo Uruguayo was my first thought. I looked closer: mailed 20 December, arrived in Uruguay 28 January, and delivered 28 March. Two months in country before it got to our house.
Ridiculous? Look closer. “Caviahue” is the name of our house. There is no city, state, or postal code in the address.
Can you imagine the USPS delivering a letter to an address with no city, state, or ZIP code?
Ah yes, like the IRS notice giving me 60 days to respond to an earlier notice I never received, which arrived 105 days after being mailed.
Up through January 2007, when we left the US, going away for a few days would result in a bin like this awaiting our return.
Since then, I’m pretty sure ALL mail we’ve received since would not fill one of these.
Christmas card mailed from California 4 December 2020. Received in Uruguay 21 January 2021. Not bad.
—Several years ago, getting a quote on a large order, I complemented the local lighting store on their prices, which were much better than another place I’d just been. The kid behind the counter said, ”Sometimes they’re more expensive. Sometimes we’re more expensive. There’s no real competition here.”
He used the word competencia.
And today his statement was again proven true (with a twist, twice!) with a phone bill address and delivery.
Friends who left here several years ago still have a house. And mail. It’d not our job to pick it up, but we do from time to time.
I didn’t get the rest of the paper-envelope bills because they were infested with aunts. The plastic ones proved popular with other critters.
Can you spot what’s wrong in the following?
I need to get some documents to Mexico. Sent Priority, they can be there in two days for $54.38. Or by paying only 25% more for “Economy,” I can ensure they won’t be there for a full week.
Nothing unusual about a package with “Air Mail” in French and English. Unless it’s mailed by someone who lives in Germany ….
The electric bill arrived today, for the first time in a plastic envelope.
Granted, typical mailboxes here are anything but watertight, but does Uruguay really need a million or more extra bits of plastic going into landfills every month?
