Ok so my first few days in Spain (Málaga) I have found the Spainards to be very friendly and accommodating. One couple even invited me to join them at their table. However now I am in a small town up north for a week now and I have had a situation 3 times now where the locals in a grocery store were chatting in an isle, thus blocking it. Clearly they noticed I could not pass but they chose to ignore me and continue chatting. Once I even pardoned myself but they still did not move. All three times I ended up going in the opposite direction to get to where I wanted. My only other alternative was to physically move there carts.
So what am I missing? Secret password? Pretty please? Look I have been traveling the world for 40 plus years and know to expect and respect cultural differences and nuances but honestly thought that politeness was pretty universal. Even my fellow Americans, who can be among the rudest in the world, even know when they are blocking your way and will quickly make room for you.
Vincente