Windshield wipers! We don’t need no stinking wipers!

Yesterday I traveled with my Dona to Santiago. We were going to go to Santo Domingo Monday thru Thursday to visit her granddaughter. Monday morning about 10 am I packed my bag, called “Whereabouts” (if we leave our sites for the night, we have to call Peace Corps Whereabouts and tell them where and why), and then told my Dona I was going to go up to the school for a bit before we go. She said, oh, actually we’re not going to go. Instead my granddaughter is coming here. But you and me are going to go to Santiago on Wednesday but just for the day. SOOOO I unpacked my bag and called Whereabouts back and told them nevermind.

Anyway, Wednesday morning I got ready and planned to keep track of how long it took to get to Santiago and back, for future reference.
On the way down: We caught a bola in the truck of a friend of my Dona’s from Estero Hondo to La Isabela.
Total time: 30 minutes

At La Isabela we took a guagua to Santiago. The driver stopped in every town, it seemed like, so it probably took a little longer than normal.
Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes

On the way back: From Santiago to La Isabela we caught a bola who drove fast but smooth and hardly made any stops.
Total time: 1:15

Then we got off in the center of La Isabela to catch a guagua to Estero Hondo. There’s only three ways to get to Estero Hondo: bola it, take a motoconcho, or wait for the only guagua that goes to and from Estero Hondo. I don’t think my Dona likes the idea of “bolaing” with strangers and there’s no way she’s getting on a motorcycle so it was choice numero tres. Plus she knows the driver of the guagua! So we walked over to where he waits and he was actually there. He told us to wait next to a colmado while he went on some short errands and tried to get more people to go. So while we waited, it started to drizzle, got a little harder, and then the wind picked up and it was pouring. Then, of course, the guagua pulls up, and, also of course, doesn’t have any more passengers. So the helper of the driver, my Dona, and I run to the car and climb in. They told me to sit in the front passenger seat; which I still don’t know why, but I got in and we were on our way.
So the guagua… not so top notch…to say the least. The headlights didn’t work so he had the hazards on, no radio, he had the A/C on high but I could barely feel it, the windshield wipers didn’t work, and the driver’s side window was cracked open and he couldn’t roll it up because it was broken.
We got a little ways and then the rain started to go sideways. Right into the driver’s side window and it was getting all over the place. They told me to open my window so it would go straight out. Finally it got so bad that he pulled over so we could find shelter. But before I got out of the guagua, I was already soaked. We ran under a covered carport, thank God they left the gate open, we were all soaked now. Nobody was at the house, so we had to stay outside in the wind, but at least we were out of the rain. The rain kept getting harder and it starting hailing for a while. I wanted to take a picture of my first really bad rainstorm in the DR, so I got out my camera (which I actually had!!!) but then I realized I had taken the batteries out to use my flashlight. After a while, it lightened up a little and we ran back to the guagua. So we headed off again, after the driver pulled his window up as far as he could. Every time I shifted my weight to the left (which was often because now the driver was dodging potholes, huge water puddles, and tree branches) a squirt of muddy water would shoot up about a foot in the air from the right corner of my seat. It was so gross and so funny at the same time. Then a 4x4 truck with headlights and super fast windshield wipers zoomed past! But later we past two guys pushing their motorcycle down the street so I had to count my blessings. We finally got home safe and sound about 6:30.

Total time: 1:07 or N/A