investigating another round

Cigarette dangling from his lips, his hands pantomime to bridge our language barrier. The Policia Naccional Officer explains that all of the officers are out policing Fuengirola and cannot fill out my police report. Frustration turns to disappointment as I walk back towards my damaged rental car.

A bystander witnessed the accident and wrote down a license plate number, which is why I am trying to make a police report. The bystander left no contact information and the rental car has no insurance so this is my only lead.

The damage was limited to the driver's side rearview mirror but I worry that I'll be charged for parts, labor and downtime for the rental car. Disappointment turns to despair after I find out that the Chevrolet Spark is only sold in Europe and I can't find an online microfiche to find a part number for the mirror. Without that number the language barrier is too great of a hurdle to leap to order, receive and install the part before I have to return the car to Barcelona in a week.

Three calls were made to the Polica Naccional in Madrid but all three times I was told to visit the Polica Naccional in Fuengirola. I check out of my villa at 3AM only to find I've been charged for the calls to the police department. The villa manager says he'll waive the charges. I think it's a great advertising slogan; "Visit Club Caronte, where the villas have views of Africa and the calls to police are always free."

I drive back to the Polica Naccional Fuegirola on my way to Barcelona, some 1100 kilometers away. It's nearly 4AM when I reach the police station to find the only officer on duty. When I inquire about my report he puts down his cigarette, shakes his head and mimes being handcuffed. He speaks no English and doesn't understand or ignores my Spanish. Despair turns to indifference as I walk back to my rental car, passing a bar where the rest of the Fuengirola police department investigating another round of tapas and cervesas.

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