This past Monday I was driving out to Santa Lucía, Boaco with our new Ag Coordinator, Steve. About an hour into our trip out of Managua, at the turn at San Benito, there were some trucks and whatnot parked to the side, and some cones in the road. I instinctively went on the outside of the cones to stay clear of whatever was along the shoulder. Unfortunately, I came around the bend to find a policeman whistling me over to the side of the road. I had failed to travel on the inside of the cone, regardless of whatever might have been at the shoulder. "Let's see your documents," he said, and I reached for the registration and insurance.
"Your insurance expired three weeks ago," he said. This was obviously disappointing news, because the insurance salesman is usually punctual in coming to our office when its time for these to be renewed. I didn't feel like I had much of an argument there, though. Instead I explained how I interpreted the cones and why I went around the corner as I did. Eventually, he let that one slide, but not the failure to have our insurance up to date. As is the custom here, he kept my driver's license (from Virginia) and left me with a ticket and fine that would need to be paid before I could get my original license back in Managua
Later in the week I went to our bank to pay the C$1,500 fine (US $50). On my first attempt, I was told a photocopy of my passport wasn't enough. On my second attempt, I learned that the police officer had written out my name incorrectly, and it appeared that Harrisonburg was like a last name on the ticket. The teller said I might pay it, but the receipt wouldn't square up when I took it to Transit, and they might not accept it. Yolanda, back in the office, thought she could argue it in a different bank, but on her attempt, she was told the same thing.
So, Friday morning I dropped the kids off and started my way around Managua in the slow morning traffic along the Pista Suburbana. I had never been to the Central Transit office, and I do not travel on the south east side of the city often. I even passed the entrance to the major market, Huembes, and had to ask and be told to turn around and head back to it. When I did get back to the market, from the way I was travelling, I found the Transit office on the left side of the road, but there were cones in the middle of the road. I dared not try to enter that way, which meant going farther down and around until I eventually found a place to turn around and come back to enter the way the cones indicated.
I found my way to the office there for things related to fines/driver's licenses and I went to the window for "Other," hoping to argue for them to throw out the ticket. The official I spoke to wasn't ready to do that, but he rewrote my full name correctly, and sent me out to pay the fine at the nearest bank. I got back in the truck, and drove around, looking for the points of reference he mentioned. Again, they weren't obvious to me, and I asked for some help along the way until I found the bank. I paid the fine and got my receipt. Actually at this point, it was somewhat helpful that I had been forced to pass Transit earlier, because I had a sense for how I might loop around and return to Transit.
Back at Transit again, I now had a few familiar faces to talk to out in the parking lot and found my way back to the "Other" window. I gave the official my receipt, which he accepted. He leaned over, reached under the counter, and then straightened up again. He handed me my Virginia driver's license. I was so happy.
