The Fable of Mabel

This is the story of Mabel Claire, our microbus. Although she is only two years old, her life, like most in Nicaragua, has been difficult. Try as we might (yes "we"-- my friends, I am now driving a stick-shift, much to Daddy D's dismay), Mabel's bald tires can, in the words of a Nica friend, "get stuck in nothing." Here's a short list:

-- AT THE BEACH-- this is where we met the prophetic friend in the previous comment. He came out with his two grandsons in their tighty whities which said "amiguito" (little friend). We gave them cookies as thanks.

-- IN A DRY RIVER BED-- which also doubles as the entrance to the community. I was on the "push team" for this one, along with four teenage girls and an old man with a shovel.

-- AT A HOUSE-- ok, so this one is legendary. We tried to turn in a space that was as wide as Mabel is long... no go. This HUGE dude named "Grande" (not kidding) comes out of his house and breaks bricks with a metal rod to put under the spinning wheels. We thanked him by buying some juice at his venta. It was super sugary, but that's another story.

-- ON A HILL-- not understanding the power of rain in this country, we trapped ourselves in a water run-off early into the trip. Three of our English students helped us, along with a guy in a pick-up. He had on a Vandy "Five-for-Five" tshirt so Dane, Matt and I figured it must be fate.

Yes, Mabel's adventures may not be enviable, but they take place all over Nicaragua and inevitably make friends along the way. The old man at the beach lets us park in front of his house now (it's gravel and saves him the work of getting us out), the girls in the riverbed have told me they're interested in our exercise classes, and knowing Grande has given us some substantial street cred....

I keep thinking that this reads like a Dr. Seuss story, I just don't have the energy to make it rhyme. Oh the places you'll go...

Blessings,