The best ride of the trip spoiled by a lost bag

   Left Malaga at 9:48 and for a change, found my way out of Malaga without cycling around in circles.  Fifty kilometers of blissful riding along the beaches with no major roads to brave.  The wind was at my back and the hills were inconsequential.  I arrived in Nerja three later and located my hostel presto!  After a few texts and some down time before my shower, I shockingly discover that my truck bag mounted on top of the rear rack was missing,  I hadn’t stopped in the way so the bag hadn’t been stolen, it had fallen off.  Now what?!! I stripped the bike of its panniers and hit the road west, frantic to find the bag.  Five miles back in a small seaside city, I approached a local police officer and explained my dilemma. Neither of us having a good grasp of each other’s language, I managed to communicate the loss, what it looked like and gave my name and number. Not to shortly after, I turned around and headed back.  Knowing that the odds were stacked against me, I started determining what replacement gear I needed. An electronics store in town had my charging cords for my iPhone, bluetooth headset and new reserve battery pack.  I went to a bike store to find a new rear trunk bad but came up empty. Over a few glasses of vino tintos,  I gave Arkiel, the maker of the bag,  a friendly call.   Speaking with Kevin in customer service, I explained how all four Velcro straps had come loose, which he had never heard of happening before.  Calling from Spain and giving the details, he is sending me a free replacement bag to my shop.  Also we discussed a fail-safe attachment strap which would prevent this mishap from happening again.
     Moving right along, I replaced my food stores and lamented over the strap-on forehead light I had lost along with a novel, sunscreen, bug spray, etc.. . The story doesn’t end here. At 5:58am , the next morning, my phone rings, a Malaga phone number!  I waited for a message. The police said they had my bag.  Now up and running, I have decided to find someone who can speak fluent Spanish and English, given that the message was in broken English.  Now to figure out how far away the police station is.  Pray to god it is near by and not all the way back in Malaga.  Today could be interesting tale to tell.