The Portugal Papers

Receiving shipped packages in Portugal is…interesting. It’s less a straightforward process and more Where’s Waldo. Allow me explain.

Amazon and other companies outsource their deliveries to third-party shipping companies. Deliveries tend to show up, whenever, regardless of any delivery notices you may receive in email or text. Sometimes they come to the flat door, sometimes packages are left in your building entryway, and (my personal favorite), sometimes they deliver your items to a random shop, somewhere in town, and you get to go on a scavenger hunt!

By far, the best example we’ve seen is brown sugar. You see, I love to bake, so when we first moved here, I made a list of baking staples and went about procuring them. Most were easy to find in stores, once I learned their Portuguese names:

• flour = farinha
• baking soda = bicarbonato de sódio
• chocolate chips = gotas de chocolate

However – I COULD NOT FIND BROWN SUGAR. Açúcar Amarelo (yellow sugar) is what you find in most grocery stores. It is a dry, pale sugar unique to Portuguese baking, but isn’t moist like brown sugar in the US.  What I wanted was Açúcar Mascavado Escuro or Açúcar Moreno Intenso, (Intense Brown Sugar).

My search included trips to not one, but four different grocery store chains. No one had it, or even seemed to know what it was.

After the fourth, and creepiest attempt, I came home and ordered two bags from Amazon, paying a premium and understanding that it would take awhile, but it was fine. I thought we were done. We waited several weeks, and finally received notice that a delivery was attempted, and that my brown sugar could be found at a CTT store in Braga.

Lisa looked up the supposed address for me, and I headed to the store the next morning, with Google Maps as my guide. Once there, I was told Amazon had the wrong address and to try another store nearby. I went to the second store, same story. I walked around the block and tried two other stores, gave up and headed home. Then Lisa called.

While I was out, another order had been delivered, this one to our building’s entryway. In her haste to get downstairs and rescue the boxes, she grabbed her keys, but left the extra set hanging from the lock on the inside of our flat, effectively locking both of us out! I made it home to find my wife, shoeless and braless, sitting on the steps next to our door. After a good laugh, we ended up calling a very sweet, old locksmith, who came right over, and for 40 euros, used a piece of plastic to push out the keys and let us in. (Note: if you ever were unsure about the need for deadbolt, let this be your reason to buy one.)

Okay, so after several weeks, we still had no brown sugar, and it took a couple of angry phone calls by my wife to cancel the order. (In the meantime, I made zucchini bread with honey to scratch the baking itch.) After more research, a new online order was placed, and we held our breath, wondering where/when/if it would show up.

Dearest reader, on 21 July, the odyssey of the brown sugar finally concluded with a successful delivery!

I immediately made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate.

I hope you all are having a sweet week. 🍪