Wednesday 2 January 2008

Only in El Salvador...

1. Could a coconut fall on my car and cause a few hundred dollars worth of damage.

2. Could there be so many huge gaping holes in the road. Manhole covers are big business on the black market it seems...

3. Could I sprain my ankle because I hear my sister calling me...
Ok, I was up the side of a hill in the middle of nowhere, with my friend Jenny from Dimas buying organic vegetables. Polly at the bottom with 3 kids in the car... it's getting dark. She starts calling my name "Topsy", then it gets louder and turns almost into a panicky scream."TOPSY...TOPSY..." Jenny and I leg it down the mountain side. Our hearts in our mouths, our heads full of images of carjack, robbery, kidnap... everyday events in El Salvador.

My foot goes in a hole, ankle twists and crunches. I fall, cut my other leg and hand... Eventually when I get down everything is fine, just a truck needed to get by and Polly didn't have the keys to move the car.

The kids who were picking the veg stare at me and my (almost) broken ankle with their huge dark brown eyes . Their mum comes down the hill holding an amazing bunch of white calla lillies which she gives to me.

2 comments:

rebecca flynn said...

watch out for the coconuts. i love it! when r u back to work?

Topsy said...

back on Monday... aaarghhh the thought of 5am mornings again feels me with dread.... but do feel like I've had a good break.
How was Bolivia?