Continuation...

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From April to June 2025, we continued to do what we like most, traveling on foot. To begin with, it was a year when we left everything to the last minute. We were unsure whether we would travel or not. If so, which route would we take? Anyway, we had many doubts, mainly about the high-ticket prices and some family instability. At the last minute, we summoned our courage and bought the tickets. We decided to follow one of the plans already mapped out, dismissing other ideas we also had. Besides the trip, we had another demand: a wedding in the countryside of England.

                 

First, we examine the route of Via Tolosana in the south of France. It would be 800 kilometers long to make it doable within up to 35 days. Then, we need to find a way to check a small suitcase from Lisbon to a small English town called Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds region, with suitable clothes for Olivia and Alex's wedding. Olivia is the daughter, and Alex is the future son-in-law of a couple of dear friends from Bowling Green, Frank and Lynn, who have already been mentioned here.  

                 

And so, we left on April 9th for Lisbon. Arriving the next morning, we went directly to the UPS Logistics Service in Prior Velho to check the suitcase that would be stored at the hotel where we would be staying in Chipping Campden for 40 days. At UPS, we were informed that our parcel would arrive at its destination 7 days later, i.e., on April 17th. We notified the hotel, and after resting for a day in Lisbon, we went very early to the airport to catch the plane to Lyon, France.

                 

The flight was 9:30 am, but intense fog delayed all flights by four hours. From Lyon, we would have to take a train to the Central Railway Station and then a train to Arles. As we have already done this route when we went for a walk in Le Puy, we were calm, knowing that everything would work out, even with all the delays. But it was not quite like that. The line to Lyon Central Station was undergoing maintenance. We had to get off at a certain place and take a bus, which we did. We arrived at the Railway Station at 6:30 pm. However, the last train to Arles had left at 6 p.m. The only alternative would be to wait until 8 pm and take the train to Marseille. Then, to return to Arles on another train, paying a ticket four times more expensive for that entire journey. We were advised to stay in Lyon and leave early the next day, but we had a booked stay in Arles and nowhere to stay in Lyon.

                 

The confusion did not stop there. The train to Marseille was delayed. Halfway through, it was delayed even more. There was an interruption in the line. And we would miss the last train to Arles, so we would have to buy another ticket and find a place to sleep in Marseille. There was despair. We were already exhausted at that point in the events. As if it were going to advance something, we stood straight ahead of the exit door of the train. Ask a lady, who was also in there, if she had any app that marked the platform of the other train, considering that the Marseille Station is big. Despite not knowing, he approached another boy who, fortunately, had the app. The young man said that the other train was 5 minutes late. And he passed the platform number. The information did not reassure us because our train was still 15 minutes late.            

                 

After all this affliction, we arrived in Marseille and practically jumped from one train to another without knowing if that was the train to Arles, since it was the only one at that time of night on the indicated platform. Anyway, we took the correct train and arrived in Arles at midnight. Tired, we had to walk to our accommodation. Our apprehension was gone when we realized that Arles was a lively city. Bars and restaurants were open. Soon, we had loved the city.

                 

Finally, we arrived at the correct address. We tried to open the door. Helinho went to another door, and while he was trying to open it, the resident arrived and found a stranger trying to enter his house. But the confusion was cleared up when the man realized that we were only two Brazilians who did not know that the old doorknobs in France had a "prank". You had to turn the handle up, turn the key, and turn the handle down for the door to open.

                 

We entered, and the apartment was just like the photo. It had two large sofa beds, but we couldn't open them. We gave up. Each of us slept the way we could. Only in the morning did we realize how easy it was to open the sofa and have a super comfortable bed. 

                 

And so was our arrival in France, several hitches, stress. The next day, we visit the city before leaving for our walk.

 

Getting on the path... 

 

           

Early in the morning, we look for our "credentials", which are those "passports" that give us the go-ahead for our accommodations. It was Palm Sunday. It was raining. We visited Le Cloître St. Trophine and Les Alyscamps, from where the hikers departed on their pilgrimages towards Santiago de Compostela. Still in the rain, we walked through the city, which left a good impression on us. The next day, we left for St. Gilles.

                 

Escaping the rule, we decided not to leave early because we had to go to the Post Office, which would open at 9:30 a.m. We didn't want to walk with an extra kilo of the Duffle Bag that we use to ship our backpacks. We arranged with our friend Gê and shipped him to Porto (Portugal). After that, we left, following the instructions of Madame Annie, the lady who gave us the credentials the day before. Between comings and goings, mistakes and successes, we find the way out. We walked sometimes under light rain, in cloudy and cold weather, along a very dull path. We arrived in St. Gilles a little tired. It was because it was the first day, from the comings and goings of the departure from Arles, a boring way.        

                 

St. Gilles is a pretty city. The Abbey is beautiful and the Crypt impressive. Françoise, responsible for the Gîte, was friendly and welcoming. 

                 

Here is a parenthesis to say that there are different types of accommodations. O "Gîte Comunal" has shared rooms, sometimes with one other hiker or with two, three, and so on. O "GÎte d'Etape" has, in addition to shared rooms, private rooms. And the "Chambre d'hôte" is what we know as Bed and Breakfast. Having made this explanation, our Gîte in St. Gilles was the Comunal one. We shared a room with Nicole, who is from Belgium, Martina, and her grandson (French), who impressed us by sleeping from 7 pm to 7 am. Anyway, it was a quiet and restorative stay.

                 

At eight in the morning, we set out again in the rain, wind, and cold weather. It remained so throughout the walk. The route was between plantations and an irrigation canal built in the 1950s until we reached Vauvert. We stayed in a Chambre d'hôte owned by a son of Portuguese parents, which was comforting after enduring so much cold. As always, we went out to explore the city, visit the historic center, and go shopping. We met with Martina and her grandson. After, we went back to rest for another day of walking to Villetelle.   

                 

This journey had many meetings. First, we met Martina and her grandson, then we met Claudine, a French woman who was camping. We went together to Codognan, where we stopped for coffee, and she continued on her own. We later met Nicole. 

                 

The arrival in Villetelle was very funny. While we were talking to Claudine, who had stopped at a "Pâtisserie," a man speaking Spanish approached us. We didn't understand when he almost pulled us by the hands to get us to go with him. We said we already had a place to stay. Only later did we realize that the place we had booked was his own house. Arriving there, we had everything we needed. A clean, warm, and super well-equipped kitchen, with plenty of space. Very good! The couple was formidable.

                 

Thus, we continue our walk until we reach Montpellier, considered the seventh-largest city in France, which attracts many students due to its numerous universities and higher education institutions. Therefore, we deserved an extra day to get to know it better. 

                 

Our accommodation was close to the busy Place de la Comédie. From there, we had easy access to interesting sites as St. Pierre Cathedral, the St. Roch church, Place Royale du Peyrou, and l'Écusson, the neighborhood in the heart of the city. We also visited Jardin des Plantes, which is said to be the oldest garden in France. Besides that, we strolled through the Antigone neighborhood and the Polygone Shopping Center. Montpellier is an interesting city, and despite its size, it’s easy to get around.      

                 

Although we enjoyed Montpellier very much, it was time to move on. The cold and rain had given a break in Montpellier and on the way to Montarnaud. In Montarnaud, we stayed in a tiny Airbnb. We knew Carine, a young psychoanalyst, mother of two kids. She was a helpful and interesting person. She warned that the weather would change the next day. And that's what happened. A storm fell, and the cold was our companion on this day. 

                 

We arrived in St. Guilhem-le-Désert, a medieval village with few inhabitants and many tourists, except on this day. It was raining a lot. So, it was quiet and deserted. On the one hand, it was good because we could get to know it better. The mood of the village was very enigmatic, which sharpened our imagination even more. This village was elected as one of the most beautiful in France, in a very typical Provençal setting. The Romanesque architecture and vegetation are fantastic.

                 

At night, a hailstorm scared us, and we wondered what the next day's hike would be like, since it was more than 24 km of a challenging trail to St. Jean La Blaquiere. 

                 

Just outside St. Guilhem, following the stream, the high cliffs on the sides already indicated the difficulty that lay ahead, although it is a well-marked trail, winding through the rock walls. 

                 

Then our next destination would be Lodéve, all in a scenic location. In Lodève, we met Nicole, the Belgian we met on the first day of the hike. We were shocked because of an accident she had on the trail. Nicole fell on her face on a rock. She was rescued and cut her forehead, which needed stitches. His eye was very black, because of the blow, and he had difficulty walking with tendinitis in his foot, probably caused by the fall. Nicole was fine, but disappointed not knowing if she could continue her hike.

                 

Our next destination would be Lunas and then St. Gervais-sur-Mare. While we were booking the accommodation at our next destination, our bank app was blocked due to an error by the bank itself. We attempted to unlock it in several ways, but it wouldn't do it. It caused us great inconvenience throughout the trip, until we returned to Portugal. Saying that, we would just like to reinforce the idea that "those who have friends have everything".

 

Even if it is a new friend. Faced with this difficulty, our new friend Nicole offered to help us with a sum of money when she saw our trouble with the bank. Of course, we didn't accept it, because it wasn't necessary. We had alternatives to the problem. Nicole's attitude touched us. A person who barely knew us and didn't even know if he would meet us ahead, offering us money for our needs, made us very happy to know that there are still good people who want the well-being of others. In return, we offered our company for the next few days' hike, so that Nicole would feel safer when walking on the trail. However, she decided not to continue. She ended the dream of this hike and returned home.

                 

From St. Gervais-sur-Mer to Vèbre, the walk was long. It had a lot of climbing. On the other hand, it was an unforgettable walk. Magic! We crossed most of the way through a forest that seemed enchanted. The whole time, we had the feeling that we were being watched and accompanied. Then, unexpectedly, out of nowhere, two little goats appeared. One of them was white and the other was black. Both were the same size. They appeared and were gone in the middle of the forest very fast. It's not the first time we have this feeling that something is watching and accompanying us, but... Believe it or not... 

                 

Arriving in Vèbre, a misunderstanding led us to the wrong gîte. We are supposed to walk another 2 km. At that moment, we became desperate due to fatigue. The owner of this gîte, seeing the disappointment in our faces, decided to give us a ride to the correct gîte. Upon arriving, we were rewarded with a great bedroom, a warm reception, and the Roquefort cheese, produced right there. It was delicious!

                 

We continued our way under fog and rain, which did not stop until we arrived in Castres, a larger city with more infrastructure. As it was a Saturday, we decided to stay in the city on Sunday to rest, wait for the rain and cold to improve. At the end of Sunday afternoon, the sun came out, and the next day promised to be better.

                 

On Sunday night, we received an unusual e-mail, which left us worried. The owner of the farm in Dourgne, which was our next stop, said that we hadn't shown up there and that the next day, there would be no point in showing up because there would be no room for us. The email was so rude. We didn't understand. We checked our booking to see if we had made any date mistakes. Everything was fine. Our reservation was for Monday. The problem was that there were only two accommodation options in Dourgne, the farm or the monastery, which was full. We called, still not understanding, and the farm's owner was rude to us. After, she became convinced that it was not our mistake. The booking was correct. She had marked it on the calendar mistakenly. We were relieved, but we didn't like the direction it had taken. In addition, she asked us the time to arrive there. Otherwise, she wouldn't be there to receive us. We arrived a little earlier and found no one. We took a look at the facilities, and it was disappointing. After she arrived, embarrassed and barely apologized. We went to our "roulotte ", which is one of those old wagons that we see in American "bang-bang" movies. It would be an excellent experience if it weren't for the ants that slept with us, since the trailer had been closed for a long time.           

                 

Later, another guest arrived. Corine went to the dormitory. We decided to see the place where she would stay. The idea was to change places to sleep. Honestly, we didn't have the courage. The place was so bad. Corine said she woke up in the middle of the night, freezing and scared of having rats. Actually, we were better accommodated in the "roulotte" with the ants, which did not bother us. It was warmer. Then we, Corine and her German friend, laughed a lot about the situation. The German guy, luckily, had stayed in the monastery, which was spectacular. Just to end the saga, the dinner we paid for and thought would be good was horrible. It was nothing more than a ready-made dish, one of those bought at the supermarket. Lousy!

                 

We left very early for Ravel. We only found water to drink within 5 km of our destination. As it was a larger city, we stocked up on food, fruits, and water. On this day, we had dinner and slept well. Once again, we laughed a lot about the situation on the farm when we met Corine and her German friend.

                 

The next day, restored, we headed to Le Cassés, which is a small village with no infrastructure. This time, we were prepared. We had enough water and food. We walked most of the way next to the river, in a very beautiful and comfortable setting, if it weren't for the strong wind that started suddenly. The sky was blue, but the wind was very strong. The forecast for those days was for winds that would reach up to 85 km/hour. Anyway, we arrived in Le Cassés and were warmly welcomed by Isabelle, a friendly and helpful hostess. At dinner time, we joined her and two other French women, who were starting the journey that same day. It was a pleasant night.

                 

The next day was a much longer walk, but equally pleasant, despite the wind that matched the weather forecast and reached the expected 85 km/hour. When it was in our favor, it was good, but when it caught us from the side or the front, it was terrible. We decided to follow the path through the Canal du Midi, which was flatter and more comfortable. The only problem was that, being very wooded, there was a risk of falling trees, as happened. A stretch was closed, and we had to make a very long U-turn onto the road. It needed caution and attention throughout this journey

                 

This time, we remember our wanderings through Sicily. After completing a long journey, the cities and towns were always at the top. In Avignonette-Lauragais, our next destination was the same. To get to the gîte, the climb was exhausting, but it was rewarded by the welcome, the dinner, and the stories we heard from Daniella, our hostess. Once again, we found. Corine who was a little quieter. Perhaps it was due to the fatigue. She made a mistake on the way and had to walk more than she expected. The day after, we said goodbye, because we intended to stay two days in Toulouse, while she would go straight to Léguevin.

                 

Early in the morning, we headed towards Toulouse, which was once called "Tolosa", hence the name of the "Via Tolosana". The decision to stay there for two days was because Toulouse is a big city. We want to visit the most important points, which were not possible in one day.

                 

The capital of the Occitania region has earned the nickname "Pink City" due to its architecture, characterized by the prevalence of terracotta bricks. As a curiosity, the aerospace company Airbus is based in Toulouse, as are the Basilica of St. Sernin and the Canal du Midi, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Basilica of St. Sernin is the largest Romanesque building in Europe and an important pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Therefore, many people start their hikes to Santiago in Toulouse. In addition to these two points of interest, we visited the Capitol, the Convent des Jacobins, the Chapelle St. Joseph-la-Grave, the Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Dalbade, St. Cyprien, the Pont St. Pierre, the Pont Neuf, and walked along the Garonne River.

                 

We heard that a storm was coming the next day. The recommendation was to be very cautious and stay at home. Therefore, it was necessary an extra day in Toulouse. It would implicate our itinerary. So, we took a train to the next destination. We arrived in Auch within the allotted time, catching up on our estimated schedule.

                   

We were already just under 200 km from Somport in the Pyrenees. We found Auch to be an interesting city. We didn't have time to explore it because we arrived in the late afternoon. It was a little frustrating, but it was necessary to keep going. 

                 

We left without a hurry, passed the city hall to get the stamp on the credentials, and kept going along rural roads. At a certain point, we ventured deep into the forest, and from then on, it was just mud. We joked that the name Barran, the village that was our destination, was already a sign of what we would find along the way. But the village was very charming, very well-kept, and full of flowers.

                 

We booked to stay in a communal gîte, which was the only place in the village besides a hotel outside the city that was very expensive. However, when we arrived at the gîte, the building was very run-down. Disappointed, we went to see the room where we would sleep. To our surprise, it was spacious, well-ventilated, clean, and had four beds. It wasn't that bad... We settled in there and went out to buy something to eat. On the way back, we met a French woman, with whom we spoke briefly. She mentioned she would stay somewhere—we didn't understand exactly where. We found that strange because there was no other place in the region but the communal gîte and the hotel. At the time we met her, she was holding her boots, wearing flip-flops, and her backpack was packed oddly. We still found it odd. She asked if there was a bed available where we were. We showed her the room, and she said she wanted to stay with us. Then he told us that he was in that expensive hotel but had left because he saw a huge dead rat under the bed. I think we would have done the same, too. 

                 

We knew that one more person would arrive to sleep in our gîte and that the other bed would be vacant. And that's what happened. So we didn't understand why she had information that all the beds were occupied. We wondered what she would have said or done at the hotel, resulting in this refusal of accommodation. After all, it was a village and everyone knew each other. We were worried about the Frenchwoman, but later we learned that she slept very well in a resident's house.

                 

We returned to our room, had dinner, and at 7 pm, the other guest arrived. At first, we found the man a little clumsy. After a lot of conversation, we saw that he was an interesting and fun person, with a huge, super heavy backpack full of food. Jean Claude is from Montpellier and was starting to walk that day. He was going to Barcelona to meet a friend. We had a great time with him that night, and on the other days we met him. To this day, we still exchange fun messages via WhatsApp. And so, the man who was a stranger became our friend, which is not very strange.

                 

At the exit of the gîte in Barran, a setback. As soon as we closed the door and left the keys in the mailbox, as agreed with the manager of the place, we saw that Helinho's sticks had been left in the room. It was necessary to call someone to open the door. 

                 

The way to Montesquieu was not long, so we were not worried about schedules. Even, many times when we arrive early at our destination, we are waiting for the accommodation to open.

                 

Going back in time, in Toulouse, we asked our hostess to make a reservation in Montesquieu, which also had few accommodation options. The contact was direct with the owner of the place. A real interrogation was carried out. She wanted to know how we got the phone number, what we answered that was on the Miam Miam Do Do, which is a French guide dedicated to those who walk. After all the questions were answered, our friend who owns the Toulouse accommodation still had to give the go-ahead about our suitability. He said that we were a very nice Brazilian couple with a hiking experience. Anyway, the reservation was made, and the agreement was to arrive in the small town, call someone, who omitted the name and the address of the house, and wait in front of the church.

                 

Halfway through, we met the French woman who ran away from the hotel mouse. We asked where she would be in Montesquieu, and we concluded that, according to the instructions received, we would stay in the same place. We agreed to meet each other in front of the church. We would make a single call. As we arrived earlier, we sat down to wait, and two women, Brigitte and Isabella, showed up. We told them that we were waiting for a hiker to make a phone call to the place where we would be staying. Isabella told us that if something went wrong, we would stay at her house. After that, he offered us a coffee. We were worried that the French hiker would arrive and not meet us. Therefore, at Isabella's insistence, we entered her house, but always keeping an eye on the church door. Her English-speaking husband chatted with us while Isabelle prepared a nice snack with strawberries, whipped cream, cheese, and coffee. We were very welcome and became grateful for it. Faced with our explanation, Isabella's husband had a call for the number we had. That's when we figured out that the accommodation was in front of their house. He was a close neighbor. Until now, we do not understand why the name and address of the gîte are omitted, since they are in a guidebook.            

                 

Everything settled, we entered our accommodation. The French hiker had been there for some time. We don't know for sure, but maybe she even arrived at the agreed place before us. We thought it was strange, but we let it go.  We went to visit the small village, which is super cool and also flowery. 

                 

That day, dinner was delicious. The couple of owners were fun. We also had wonderful wine and cheeses. The breakfast was no worse than the dinner. All of this did not have a stipulated price. We paid what we thought fair. We head towards Pau (the pronunciation is, more or less, "Pô").

                 

The next destination was Marciac, where we met four cousins. Every year, they walked together for a week. We stayed in a hostel, and the communal dinner was Tunisian style. For dessert, we had wonderful sweets and dried dates.

                 

On leaving the next day, we were approached by a gentleman who said that, to save more than 7 km, we should take another way. We were in doubt. The four cousins appeared, and we discussed which was the best way to go. In conclusion, the shortest route would be very boring, because it would pass through a highway. Thus, we keep on the original way, sometimes meeting and sometimes dispersing, until we reach Maubourget, a larger city.

                 

We stayed in a hostel with a German couple and their daughter, Brianna, and Denz, a super polite 7-year-old boy. And so we continued walking to Pau, from where we would deviate to Lourdes, one of the goals in the schedule of this walk.

                 

Up to this point in the brief report, we have omitted a very annoying question that, somehow, took our focus off the way. The suitcase that we shipped by UPS in Lisbon to the city of Chipping Campden (England), with formal clothes for the wedding of friends, which we mentioned at the beginning of this report, had not yet arrived at its destination after more than 30 days, when the forecast was 7 days.

                 

It all started when we received an email from UPS UK asking for some documentation, which had already been shipped along by UPS Portugal. When we asked for a copy of this document, UPS Portugal informed us that there was no copy. So, they have sent a blank form to fill out and send to UPS UK. From then on, it was chaos. There were many contradictions in the UPS information. Our friend Frank, the father of the bride, tried to help us by calling UPS UK. Gê, another friend in Portugal, went to UPS in Porto, trying to find out what was going on. All the information was incoherent. Even from the tracking log. A bill of 78 pounds (approximately 90 euros) arrived for payment. We paid to have the luggage delivered to the destination. In short, the luggage was not delivered, and we lost the wedding. But all the parcel saga we will tell after. There were many emotions.

                 

Throughout the walk, we tried not to let ourselves be overwhelmed by these problems. We knew our luggage "wasn't lost"; it just wasn't being delivered to the address. We knew it was stopped at the UPS hub near London. We had an AirTag inside the suitcase and saw that the luggage arrived there on April 16th. We followed the entire trajectory of this parcel. So, on May 11, we arrived in Lourdes under rainy weather. We were touched! It was a Sunday, Mother's Day in Brazil. The Basilica was crowded with faithful attending a mass, which was very beautiful. We visited the grotto of the apparition of Lourdes and walked through the city. The feeling of accomplishment accompanied us. We were a little more comforted.  

                 

We were already in the Pre-Pyrenees. In a few days, we would be crossing the Pyrenees through Somport, descending to Jaca, in Spain, where we would end this hike. It was in Oloron, in the hostel where we stayed, that we met Jean Claude again. We also met a truck driver and two friends who would follow a different path than ours. During this time, we heard that one of the sections we would pass on the way up to Somport was interdicted, because of the heavy rains at the end of 2024. It would be necessary to take a bus to cross that stretch.

                 

So, after passing Oloron-Saint-Marie, Sarrance, Bedous, Accous, Urdos, we finally crossed from France to Spain through the Col du Somport. The cold and fog were witnesses that we reached the top of the Pyrenees, where we planned to arrive. From there we descend to Candanchú and Canfranc-Estación. 

                 

As its name implies, Canfranc Station was a project connecting Spain to France, that is, from Jaca to Canfranc, by rail, and a tunnel that passes through Somport, completed in 1914. Today, the Station is a 5-star hotel, Royal Hideaway, which combines history, design, and gastronomy. The restaurant, with a Michelinstar, is in two restored wagons, which create the atmosphere of the place.   

                 

To finish this stage, we arrived at Jaca. Jaca is a super nice city. Like many of Spain's cities, the busiest time is after siesta, when people go to the streets, to the bars, and children play in the open air, resulting in an intense coming and going of people. In addition, it was a must to visit the grandiose Citadel. It is a pentagonal format, declared a Historic-Artistic Monument. Other interesting sights in the city are the Cathedral, the Benedictine Monastery, the Church of Santiago, the Chapel of Sarsa, the San Miguel Bridge, the Clock Tower, and the City Hall. After exploring the city in just one day, it was time to leave. Our next destinations would be Zaragoza and Santiago de Compostela, but not before saying goodbye to Jean Claude, who, luckily, we met at the Jaca Bus Station, at least to say an "au revoir", "adiós" or, who knows, "see you soon".

                 

The trip to Zaragoza was only 2 hours. Because Zaragoza is a huge city, we didn't know it as it deserved. The main precious jewels of the city are the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, which can be seen from far away, and the Cathedral of El Salvador, where there is the Aragonese Mudejar art. But it was time to leave, on a journey that would take at least 11 hours to Santiago de Compostela.

                 

The decision to go to Santiago de Compostela had two reasons. The first one, because we wanted to thank Santiago for the inspirational way to travel on foot, since it was there that this passion was awakened. Second, because we would take the flight to London to meet our friends at Olivia and Alex's wedding ceremony, which we will tell you about next.

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Another "round" to recover the baggage and the end of this saga ... 

 

                 

On the eve of boarding for London, in Santiago de Compostela, we already knew that it would be impossible to go to the wedding in Chipping Campden. Our luggage had not arrived at its destination. As "hope is the last thing that dies", we searched the internet to see if at Stansted Airport, where we would land, there was a UPS representative that we could talk to in person. The surprise was to read numerous complaints from the company. That's when we decided to make our complaint. Surprisingly, someone answered us via Messenger.

                 

Despite our hope, we embarked on May 20 for London, now with the certainty that it would not be possible to go to the wedding the next day. We were very disappointed, but we would have another battle ahead of us: recovering our luggage. There were dozens of messages exchanged via Messenger with the UPS London employee, but the situation only began to be resolved when we threatened to "judicialize" the problem. 

                 

We canceled the drop-off at Chipping Campden. We asked to collect the luggage at the hub near London, where the parcel had been stopped for almost 40 days. They said that it was just a storage room, but that we could retrieve the luggage in a city 200 km away, in Gloucester. We asked why UPS could deliver to Gloucester but not deliver to Chipping Campden. We have no answer...

                 

The emotions were running high. First, because we lost the marriage. Secondly, because we had to find a place to stay in London, the cost was accounted for in our account. After all, the trip to England had only one reason: the Olivia & Alex wedding. And lastly, because it seemed that UPS wanted to make fools of us. That was when we gave the last card of judicialization and a provisional address in London. Finally, they sent the suitcase to the Customer Center from UPS in London, where we collected our bag.                 Relieved, but still with a lump in our throats, because of all the confusion, we decided to enjoy the city. We revisited places, celebrated another Vera birthday, and then left for Portugal.

                 

We still had a few more days to enjoy. First, we went to Porto to meet our friend Gê, who helped us all the time on this trip. We had three pleasant days there. Then we left for Lisbon.

                 

Once there, we went to UPS to make a formal complaint. When we talk to the employee, we already realize that it would come to nothing... Then, we decided to leave this story behind and went to enjoy the best that Lisbon has to offer.

                 

Lisbon was a party. We took the traditional festivals of the week before the commemoration of the Popular Saints. We met our friends Rui, Marquinho and Gabriela, Adriana, Sofia and José. We wandered around the city, had fun, and returned home with the frustration of the suitcase, which was never delivered to the destination, but with backpacks full of cool stories to tell.

                 

Arriving home, we gathered all the documentation, made a dossier of the entire process of sending luggage from Lisbon to Chipping Campden, and sent it in an email to UPS UK, UPS Portugal, and UPS US, as it is the company's headquarters. We received a message that an investigation would be carried out. The result came a few days later. They apologized for the "inconvenience" caused by that. According to the company's terms, UPS is not liable for "lost profits and indirect or consequential damages" such as "purely economic losses, loss of business opportunities, loss of sales, or loss of profits or results." So, we ask ourselves, what company is this? We have to say, they made fools of us!

                 

Despite this answer to our questions, we decided to forget these problems and move on, planning new trips, new adventures, and new challenges, as long as they don't involve "suitcases".... We travel very well with only our backpacks