Post
The yellow signs outside each post office best identify Correos, the national postal service of Spain. Yellow is also the colour of mail vans, delivery scooters and mailboxes. Normal mail to and from Europe is automatically sent airmail. Heavier packages can be sent by surface mail, which should take around four weeks. Delivery of mail in Spain is within three or four days from the UK. But it can be slow in large cities, rural communities and on urbanisations with only a twice-weekly service.
Try to avoid the inside of some Spanish post offices. They can be small and dark with long, slow-moving queues. Go to the Tabac for stamps. The cost of a stamp is the same for all EU countries, although the pricing structure for various envelope sizes seems unnecessarily complex. Spaniards still distrust what was once a diabolical service and send their mail by certified or registered post or seek a receipt for each item sent.
The post office offers a range of services. Registered or express mail, parcel post, redirection, private boxes and banking are all available. Letters are delivered to the door, or to a driveway box. On urbanisations all the post boxes are grouped together besides a focal point such as the swimming pool. It is necessary to go to the post office to collect parcels
or registered mail and personal identification may be required.
All is not well with the Spanish postal system. Delays and strikes are common. Mail Boxes Etc a USA company has a number of offices in Spain. Although still dependent on the services of Correos it operates independently for overnight international parcel delivery through companies such as UPS and FedEx. It also offers a mailbox service, shipping and packing, fax and photocopying. It sells office supplies and stamps. This enlightened company is refreshing to deal with but its activities are restricted by protectionism offered to the state postal system which is set to be denationalised in a few years.
Name And Address
Spanish names are important. A mother’s maiden name is added to the end of a full name; women do not change their name when they marry; the formal prefix of Don or Dona is introduced at the start of a name.
Senor Don John Frederick Smith King is simply Mr John Smith with a middle name Frederick and a mother’s maiden name King. He is married to Senora Dona Maria Dolores Sanchez Vicario. Got it? Who is Conchita Smith Sanchez? Yes, correct their daughter Conchita. Telephone books can be fun!
An accurate address is also important:
Sr Smith
Calle Madrid 27, 2
03189 Orihuela Costa
Alicante
Translated this means:
The zip code 03189 is made up of 03 as the province number and 189 the post office number.
Television
This medium is now dominated by digital TV. Most ex-pats want to tune into English language programmes. These can be found on Sky digital systems via a satellite dish. To enjoy the marvels of this technology a set top box is installed, together with an appropriate satellite receiving dish, to have access to hundreds of channels of television and radio. Television companies who supply the cards, such as Sky, cannot legally send cards direct to an address abroad since they have copyright only for a UK audience. However, there are numerous satellite dish installation companies in Spain who can supply cards.
Urbanisations may offer a better selection of English, French, German, Scandinavian and Spanish channels through an underground cable system.
There are several Spanish television stations, but Spanish television is dominated by pay-as-you-view programming of films and football, together with standard news, documentaries, music, soaps and old films.