One of the things I have learned during my stay in Portugal is that the relationship between paying for a service and actually receiving that service is considerably more philosophical than I had previously imagined. The telecommunications industry, it turns out, offers some particularly interesting examples. When we moved to Coimbra, I needed home internet and two mobile phone lines. I had been using a prepaid Vodafone SIM purchased at the airport, which worked perfectly well but was not an ideal long-term solution. DIGI, a relatively new telecommunications operator in Portugal, offered an attractive package with fiber internet and two mobile lines for substantially less than the established providers. As someone who appreciates a bargain, I decided to give them a try. One Saturday, I visited DIGI's physical store in Baixa, Coimbra. The employees were very pleasant and helpful. They checked my address, confirmed that fiber was available in my building, and signed me up for the ser...
On Sunday, October 18, I was returning to Coimbra from Galicia by train, boarding in Valença, just across the border from Spain. The journey is supposed to take roughly three and a half hours. I should mention that I am a big fan of trains because they offer considerably more freedom than traveling by car. You can read, watch a movie, sleep, or even get some work done. Indeed, I was planning to spend the journey working on my laptop. Since I am an hourly-paid contractor these days, this meant I could literally get paid while traveling. What could possibly go wrong? Ordinarily, the regional trains on this route provide the kind of accommodation one might reasonably expect for a journey of this length. Comfortable enough seats, electrical outlets, and some recognition of the fact that passengers may wish to spend several hours sitting down. There is also usually a nice folding table for your laptop. Unfortunately, this time the Portuguese railway operator, CP, had other plans. The t...