We seriously considered not writing up this post, because it’s just too embarrassing.  After sleeping on it though and starting to work through alternatives we’ve talked each other down off the wall and are feeling less stressed.  This is all part of the journey too, a time we do but don’t want to forget; so we might as well take you along for the ride too.  Buckle up, because it’s pretty bumpy.

Yesterday

I lost my wallet.  Again.  Yes, I know there’s a lot to be said about the fact that I’ve lost my wallet three times in the last nine months, and that changes are required so that this doesn’t keep happening.  But that’s a story for a different day.  For now, what’s gone is gone and we’re dealing with the aftermath.

We left Casa Scesciola with full stomachs and a warm glow from the remarkable meal we’ve just experienced.  I went to the front bar to pay the bill, which I did with cash so I could easily leave a tip, thanked the staff, and as a last impulse picked up one of their business cards as a souvenir and put it in my wallet.  Then I stepped outside, met Rachael at the bikes, and we worked our way down to our B&B.  It’s actually quite an easy ride now that I know the way, but at the time it was quite confusing - the streets we were on at first weren’t even on our map, and neither the Garmin or phone managed navigation well.  There were several spots along the way where we stopped, pulled out the phone, and reassessed.  But we found the room eventually and got checked in.  We’re staying at B&B Pistacchio, an easy place to spot because of its color.  It’s a nice place, but we’re not really enthusiastic about our basement room which is chilly and rather dark.

After we’d settled in and been there a few hours, I remembered I needed to ask Rachael for some cash because after paying the bill I was down to €10.  She’s down to her last €100 herself, but she gave that to me to put in my wallet with the plan to hit up an ATM soon.  I scan the table and then every other surface in sight, but the wallet’s not here.  Again!!  It is so hard to believe, and there’s no need to rehash what this felt like, because it’s just like last time barely two weeks ago!) but even worse.  And mystifying, because the loss is so time boxed since I’m certain I had it when I paid the bill, and we’ve been nowhere but the mile ride down the hill to get here.  Our theory is that I had it in my shirt pocket with my phone and it slipped out when I pulled out the phone for navigation.  Whatever.

One other possibility though is that I left it on the counter at the restaurant, so I called up and with luck found someone still there.  There was confusion because of the language barrier, but he knew who we were, understood the problem, and said it hadn’t been found.

So I hopp on the bike and work my way back uphill to the restaurant, with the idea that I’d retrace my route - especially where we parked the bike and on the stairs and alleys getting away from the restaurant.  In the meantime Rachael keeps looking to see if it’s hiding here somewhere, and sends a message to our host asking her if she’ll call the police station and report the loss.  It’s twilight when I leave the apartment, and nearly dark when I return.  I have significant navigational issues in both directions.  I didn’t take a light with me because I was in too much of a hurry, so on the way back I’m feeling exposed as I keep one eye on the traffic and the other on the ground looking for the wallet.  I make it home safely, but without the wallet.

Beyond depressing.  We’re both feeling too beaten up to productively discuss what to do next, other than to experience the shock of looking at Rachael’s two Bank of America cards and realizing they have the same number and security code as mine - so if we report my cards as lost hers will be cancelled too and we’ll be left without a credit card for the final half of our tour.  For some reason we both thought they had different numbers and were independently cancellable, but that’s not the case.  Another situation for us to review and improve on in the future.

We at least still have Rachael’s debit cards to our two bank accounts, so one option is to finish the tour on a cash-only basis, refueling frequently at ATM’s along the way.  Another possibility is to just go home, but for now we’re going to sleep on it.  Fitfully.  In a chilly room, on a narrow bed with a thin mattress that sags in the middle so that I sleep with one leg hanging off the side so I won’t roll down into the middle.

Heart

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Keith AdamsIf only it really were that simple. Egad what a mess.
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11 months ago

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