Back to Monday’s events…after getting our turn signal repaired and passing the mechanical inspection, we then went to the Transito office. This is a large compound of various offices, the majority of which are law enforcement offices. We discovered this is also the place where you have to come to pick up your driver’s license if ticketed. You pay 5 cord to enter the secured lot, find a place to park and begin whatever process for which you are there.
My intention at this point was to detail each step of the process but I realized I would be writing for days and all of us would be bored to tears before this was completed. So, instead, I’ve decided to give you a brief outline of each day…my goal being that you perhaps you have a better understanding of how time-consuming daily life can be here. I’ve often wondered how we could go through a whole day and not accomplished a whole lot…this will serve as a good reminder to myself exactly how that can be done!
So, that being said, here is how the rest of Monday went:
- Went to the Transito office, found out we needed more documents
- Stopped at a copier (a little business set right up on a corner…very busy)…got copies of all our original documents, from driver’s licenses to insurance policies to the sales contract for the car
- Went to the Sales Tax place…found out that the people we needed to talk to were out to lunch and then found out it would be easier and quicker to do all the necessary paperwork in Jinotepe, where all the offices for the Department of Carazo are located and where our car was originally titled
- Stopped and ate lunch
- Returned to the Transito…made additional copies, stood in line at the bank for about 30 minutes to pay transfer fees, took receipts to another office and had them validated, received more paperwork, headed over to another office where Roger needed to conduct some business of his own
- Dropped Roger off at the bus station so he could take a micro bus (a big minivan)back home to Jinotepe, we gassed up the car in preparation for the next day, aired up our constantly leaking front tire, went and picked Pixie up from Susanna’s where we left her for the day and then headed back home…a full day
- Went to the Transito office, found out we needed more documents
- Stopped at a copier (a little business set right up on a corner…very busy)…got copies of all our original documents, from driver’s licenses to insurance policies to the sales contract for the car
- Went to the Sales Tax place…found out that the people we needed to talk to were out to lunch and then found out it would be easier and quicker to do all the necessary paperwork in Jinotepe, where all the offices for the Department of Carazo are located and where our car was originally titled
- Stopped and ate lunch
- Returned to the Transito…made additional copies, stood in line at the bank for about 30 minutes to pay transfer fees, took receipts to another office and had them validated, received more paperwork, headed over to another office where Roger needed to conduct some business of his own
- Dropped Roger off at the bus station so he could take a micro bus (a big minivan)back home to Jinotepe, we gassed up the car in preparation for the next day, aired up our constantly leaking front tire, went and picked Pixie up from Susanna’s where we left her for the day and then headed back home…a full day
It was a tiring day and we knew we would have an early day on Tuesday as our plan was to meet Roger the following morning at the police station in Jinotepe to continue with the transfer process. He had stopped by the station in Jinotepe on the way home to find out just what we needed to do there and the advice he received was we were to be there by 7:30 a.m. Yuk. But okay. By the time we went to bed on Monday night, we still didn’t have water so we knew it was going to be an extra early morning for us on Tuesday.
We got up at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday to take showers and get ready to go. Jim was getting ready to take Pixie outside when he realized he couldn’t open up our front door…the deadbolt wouldn’t turn. Finally, because it’s a double door, he was able to get it pulled open enough that he could get the lock pushed in but it still wouldn’t work properly. He messed with it for some time and we decided that we just couldn’t leave the house with the lock not working on the front door. Although we have a barred, gated and padlocked front entry to the property and the barred doors on the front door are secured with a padlock, we just weren’t comfortable with the wooden door not locking. So, we waited until a more humane hour to call Roger and tell him what was happening. We rescheduled our appt. time for Wednesday morning, which we figured would work out best anyway as Roger could ride back with us to Managua and pick up his car from his
mechanic’s.
So, Tuesday, we spent the day getting a new lock for the front door and going ahead and buying a new one for the basement door, as well, seeing that the landlady still hasn’t had it repaired. Jim had to do some retrofitting to make the locks workable but he was successful in getting us a couple of secure doors...that we can lock AND unlock! This house is going to be in MUCH better condition by the time we leave than it was when we moved in! We also spent some time with Miguel…not in teaching but in counseling…that marriage continues to need your prayers, please.
Wednesday dawned, bright and early…okay, in truth, Wednesday dawned early. Nothing was bright yet at 5:00 a.m., including us. We left, stopped at the bakery for bagels – found out they only make bagels on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays so “settled” for other sweet, high-calorie, totally bad for you stuff and then headed to Susanna’s house to drop Pixie off. I wish you knew the logisitics of where everyone lives, it would be more understandable why that’s a factor. We head north and west to go to Susanna’s and after dropping Pixie off, have to turn around and come back the same way to go south to Jinotepe.
The weather was beautiful Wednesday and as we headed through El Crucero, I once again marveled at what a remarkable place it is. The skies were relatively clear so I could see the Pacific Ocean off in the distance…I love this drive! As we entered the first of the three towns which run together (Diriamba, Delores and Jinotepe), Diriamba was hoppin’. The business owners were opening up their little shack-type stores, the street venders were already out and peddling their wares, the three-wheeled taxis (tuk-tuks) were jamming the streets in competition with the bicycle taxis and the regular car taxis, which were all being motivated to move only by the constant bus horns honking. This is a perilous little stretch to drive but it’s a great place to people watch! Another place I think I find much more interesting than Jim, who’s concentrating on just trying to safely wind his way through the constantly changing maze of motor vehicles.
We arrived in Jinotepe right on time and pulled up in front of the police station. Roger had told us there was a lot across the street from the station where they would do the next inspection and we could park there. Since nothing really looked open yet at that facility, we decided to wait for Roger to arrive. Thank goodness we did, because we went to the wrong police station! Roger drove by us on his way to the right place, saw us sitting there (our car is very distinct with funny looking humps on the hood – I’ve been told it’ a “sporty form replicating air spoilers”…whatever…they’re useless and block my view half the time…but they are helpful for identification). He turned around, told us we needed to follow him to the right place, so off we went…again in pursuit of paperwork!
Let’s begin our timeline for Wednesday here:
- Parked in the correct lot across the street from the correct police station
- Joined others waiting for the station to open…we were told to be there at 7:30…not sure why
- After waiting for the people in front of us to finish at the office we needed, Roger finally got in to talk to someone a little after 8:00 and found out we had to go to the bank to pay other fees (I don’t know for what…things were already way too confusing for me)
- Drove downtown to Jinotepe to go to the bank which is located on one corner of the to
wn square…we pulled up to see a long line waiting for the bank to open at 8:30 a.m.
- We got in line, Roger talked to some police waiting in line and they told him we could go across to the other side of the square to another bank which was already open and we could pay the fees there
- Went back to the car, drove over there so that we would be headed the right direction when we finished and could get back to the police station
- 2nd bank told us they couldn’t do that paperwork there and that we needed to return to the first bank…went back to where we were originally, only this time the line had lengthened somewhat
- When the bank opened, a man came out and directed different folks as to where they needed to go, I noticed some went down a little alleyway on the side of the bank and I was curious where they were going, but we were directed to follow the others and so, we went inside
- We got in line while Roger got the required form and filled it out for us…he is so amazing with us! Polite, patient and pleasant…never complaining once about all the work he’s putting in for us…I told him he was the poster child for the adage that “no good deed goes unpunished”!
- Roger checked with one of the bank personnel inside and he said we needed to go outside to the other entrance which leads to the back to pay the required fee…what??? Whatever.
- So, we went to the semi-alley way and got in line with all the other folks…this wait was 45 minutes before we stepped up to a little window at the rear of the bank (it was really kind of a weird situation when I think about it)...you are unable to see the window in this picture, it is clear at the back and to the left; Roger asked the lady if our form was correct, she changed a few things, charged us 75 cords for another stamped piece of paper and we were on our way back to the police station
- Once again, we had to wait a few minutes for the lady to be available and then, when Roger tried to present the papers, she told him we had to submit a letter along with the other documents requesting that we wanted a title transfer to the Dept. of Managua…at this point, I could see Roger tense up a little…each time we jumped through a hoop, there seemed to be another at the ready
- Next stop was Roger’s house…he wrote the letter for us (of course, it had to be in Spanish) with all the pertinent information
- We returned to the police station…walked down to a copy place, made the necessary copies and then back over to the station
- The lady we needed to talk with was on break…in full view of a waiting room full of people; after waiting for a good long while, Roger weaved around some benches and went back to the office where the lady was sitting…he talked with her for awhile and I saw her come out of her “break room”, call another officer over (I was only hoping and praying at that point that Roger hadn’t snapped and they were arresting him!) and then more discussion between the three; finally we found out he was one of the inspection officers and would verify our car numbers against our documents…we were told they only do that in the afternoon but the lady officer managed to talk hi in to helping us then…I think she just wanted to be rid of us
- We got the numbers all verified, took that paperwork back in to another lady and was told we would have to come back at the earliest, late that afternoon or most likely, the next morning to get it; Roger kept talking with her and finally convinced her to let him pick up the paperwork for us later that afternoon, explaining to her we lived in Managua
- We finally headed back to Managua to take Roger to get his newsletter copied and to pick up his car
- We dropped off the newsletter and then stopped to eat lunch at Dona Blanca’s…yum!
- When lunch was over, we went back, picked up the copies and then headed over to Roger’s mechanic…found out the car wasn’t ready and he would have to wait until Thursday to get it…it needed a new fuel pump and new fuel injectors…poor guy…he so willingly helps us and can’t get a break re: his car…I think I was more frustrated for him than he was for himself!
- Dropped Roger off at the bus stop to once again, take a micro bus home and made plans to meet again Thursday morning to continue the process
- Parked in the correct lot across the street from the correct police station
- Joined others waiting for the station to open…we were told to be there at 7:30…not sure why
- After waiting for the people in front of us to finish at the office we needed, Roger finally got in to talk to someone a little after 8:00 and found out we had to go to the bank to pay other fees (I don’t know for what…things were already way too confusing for me)
- Drove downtown to Jinotepe to go to the bank which is located on one corner of the to
wn square…we pulled up to see a long line waiting for the bank to open at 8:30 a.m.- We got in line, Roger talked to some police waiting in line and they told him we could go across to the other side of the square to another bank which was already open and we could pay the fees there
- Went back to the car, drove over there so that we would be headed the right direction when we finished and could get back to the police station
- 2nd bank told us they couldn’t do that paperwork there and that we needed to return to the first bank…went back to where we were originally, only this time the line had lengthened somewhat
- When the bank opened, a man came out and directed different folks as to where they needed to go, I noticed some went down a little alleyway on the side of the bank and I was curious where they were going, but we were directed to follow the others and so, we went inside
- We got in line while Roger got the required form and filled it out for us…he is so amazing with us! Polite, patient and pleasant…never complaining once about all the work he’s putting in for us…I told him he was the poster child for the adage that “no good deed goes unpunished”!
- Roger checked with one of the bank personnel inside and he said we needed to go outside to the other entrance which leads to the back to pay the required fee…what??? Whatever.
- So, we went to the semi-alley way and got in line with all the other folks…this wait was 45 minutes before we stepped up to a little window at the rear of the bank (it was really kind of a weird situation when I think about it)...you are unable to see the window in this picture, it is clear at the back and to the left; Roger asked the lady if our form was correct, she changed a few things, charged us 75 cords for another stamped piece of paper and we were on our way back to the police station- Once again, we had to wait a few minutes for the lady to be available and then, when Roger tried to present the papers, she told him we had to submit a letter along with the other documents requesting that we wanted a title transfer to the Dept. of Managua…at this point, I could see Roger tense up a little…each time we jumped through a hoop, there seemed to be another at the ready
- Next stop was Roger’s house…he wrote the letter for us (of course, it had to be in Spanish) with all the pertinent information
- We returned to the police station…walked down to a copy place, made the necessary copies and then back over to the station
- The lady we needed to talk with was on break…in full view of a waiting room full of people; after waiting for a good long while, Roger weaved around some benches and went back to the office where the lady was sitting…he talked with her for awhile and I saw her come out of her “break room”, call another officer over (I was only hoping and praying at that point that Roger hadn’t snapped and they were arresting him!) and then more discussion between the three; finally we found out he was one of the inspection officers and would verify our car numbers against our documents…we were told they only do that in the afternoon but the lady officer managed to talk hi in to helping us then…I think she just wanted to be rid of us
- We got the numbers all verified, took that paperwork back in to another lady and was told we would have to come back at the earliest, late that afternoon or most likely, the next morning to get it; Roger kept talking with her and finally convinced her to let him pick up the paperwork for us later that afternoon, explaining to her we lived in Managua
- We finally headed back to Managua to take Roger to get his newsletter copied and to pick up his car
- We dropped off the newsletter and then stopped to eat lunch at Dona Blanca’s…yum!
- When lunch was over, we went back, picked up the copies and then headed over to Roger’s mechanic…found out the car wasn’t ready and he would have to wait until Thursday to get it…it needed a new fuel pump and new fuel injectors…poor guy…he so willingly helps us and can’t get a break re: his car…I think I was more frustrated for him than he was for himself!
- Dropped Roger off at the bus stop to once again, take a micro bus home and made plans to meet again Thursday morning to continue the process
That’s enough for now…if your eyes aren’t glazed and your mind swirling trying to keep it all straight, I don’t know why not! Mine is! I will continue this later on…I wish I could tell you this process is completed, but it’s not! The pursuit continues…
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