Foot - We walk. A lot.
Moto - This is a 3 wheel open door taxi. Perhaps more familiar to us as a tut-tut.
Microbus - This is basically a run-down 15 passenger van.
The Big Yellow Bus - Our rejected Yellow school buses from the states make great transportation for the multitudes.
Alternative Forms of Transportation:
Option #1- The Chicken Factory Bus
So there I was, out in Quebracho at dusk, needing to get back into Diriamba (approx. 6km). The big yellow school bus was scheduled to pass by. Any minute now... Any minute... The motos were few and far between... and all full. Not a microbus in sight. What's a chica to do? By this time it was getting dark when a nice white microbus pulled up right in front of the casa where I was waiting. One of my Children's Church boys, Enoc, who was sitting with me says... "This one will take you!"
I say... "no, this isn't a normal microbus that takes passengers.
He says... "sure, they're going to Diriamba. You can go with them!"
As I think about this skeptically, I notice that there are two other guys from the barrio waiting for the microbus to turn around. And, the driver seems to be waiting to see if I am going with them. So I think, maybe I just haven't seen this microbus before. As they make their turn around to head for Diriamba, I cross the street and ask if they are going to Diriamba.
"Sure, come on" they tell me. So, I get in the microbus, and away we go. As we are on the bus, I notice a foul smell, and they invite me to sit up closer because of the stench. The bus is pretty much empty, but on the way we stop to pick up more passengers. All men. All with their white plastic boots. Hmmm.
"So... you guys all work together then?"
"Si."
"Where do you work?"
"At the Tip Top chicken factory."
Aha... that explains the fowl smell. (I know. clever.)
So, there I was, the lone chica on this bus of hombres. But, gracias a Dios, I made it safe. And, they didn't even charge me!
Option #2 - The Flatbed Trailer Truck
So there I was in Quebracho again. This time Heather got to join me for the adventure. Heather is una amiga who spent the summer in Granada, Nicaragua, but came up to Diriamba once a week to spend time with me, and the kids in Quebracho. On this particular Wednesday, we were walking to a semi-nearby barrio (about a 3km walk) to have church at a new member's house. Carrying our chairs. About a km into our walk, a flatbed trailer stops and offers us a ride because he is amigos with one of the men from the church who we are walking with. So, up we go. It sounds easy when I say it like that. But I will say it was not quite so simple. Heather offered me her hands to lift me up, but that didn't quite go as planned either. Good thing the pastor of the church was there to literally drag me up onto the flatbed. Then, the kids, who were already up there, called me to go stand with them against the cab of the truck. Also not quite so simple since the whole bed had suprise holes that were thinly covered with plastic. But, again, gracias a Dios, we made it safe. And, we didn't have to walk 3km carrying our chairs!
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