We stayed in Jaen two nights, but we didn’t really see any of the city. Most of the layover day was devoted to following up on the lost pannier.  The plan was pretty simple - we’d drop down to the city and go to the civil guard station to see if it had been turned in, and then proceed based on the outcome.  Without a good map of the city and without a GPS though, it was no easy matter finding the station.  It’s a large city, the station was on a small street, and we gradually zeroed in on it by asking strangers for directions in our almost nonexistent Spanish.  It took a long time.

When we finally found it no one there spoke English, so it took a while to explain why we were there; and it took a while longer to understand that we’d been directed to the wrong station.  We received a different address and were sent off onto the hunt again.  As I remember it now, we took the better part of the morning just finding the damn place.

When we finally arrived at the correct station, no one there spoke English either.  (Actually, thinking back now, I’m pretty sure we took a hand-written note of explanation that someone at the parador helped us compose.  It’s a shame I didn’t keep it as a souvenir.)  Eventually they brought in an officer with minimal English skills, and we made slow progress.  No, nothing had been turned in.  We completed a report of the incident and were given a copy of it to take to the U.S. consulate as documentation when applying for a replacement.  

Oh.  And thinking back again now, we needed the documentation from the police so that we could show it at our hotels in place of our passport.  

So, that was it.  No passports, no hope of finding them, no more tour.  We’re going to Madrid.