After John and I went tromping through the jungle in the rain last week in search of the waterfall (which we found but which didn’t have any water falling, except in the form of rain on our heads), I noticed that my only pair of walking shoes had come unglued.
Oh no, what to do?
It’s not like I can just hop in my car (which I don’t have) and run to an outdoor gear store (which doesn’t exist here) or order on Amazon (which doesn’t deliver here). This is the one downside of living in a non-consumer-oriented culture. The material goods which the United States are engulfed by, drowning in, and have at their 24-hour beck and call, are not handily available here.
But thank God, what IS here is Dr. Zapatos (at least that’s my name for the Ferro, the shoe repairman).
Ferro has been renting a spot along the street, a block north of the church and next to La Lancha Restaurant, for the past four years.
I took my shoes to him and he not only glued them back together but stitched them as well. Yes, they now look like Frankenstein but heck if they last forever, like John thinks they just might, they’ll be MY Frankensteins for a long, long time.
Cost of shoe repair: 100 cordobas ($3,13 Total for the pair and it took him an hour).
Our enjoyment living here: Sin Precio (Priceless)
P.S. He says he’s there (I was going to say “Open” but that doesn’t seem quite right since there isn’t a door) every day from maybe 8 am to 3 pm. But we went by on a Sunday and he wasn’t there so I’m guessing his “Everyday” means except for Sunday.
P.S.S. His buddy (sitting next to him in the photo) told me he’s like to do a fundraising drive for a shoe sewing machine for Fenro. I asked how much the machine costs and he didn’t know. Maybe $2000 Fenro guessed, but he added that he has to save the money first.
