So, had a few simple plans for the day. Take the Cub Cadet
(one of our smaller vehicles here at the mission) to Port du Paix to buy it a
new battery, and then pick up some soap and other stuff for our depot. No big
deal, 3 hours, tops.
So, got all my morning stuff done, borrowed a battery to get
the Cub Cadet going. It was running pretty rough, and the brakes weren't working.
Not too uncommon for the CC, usually once it warms up it gets better. So I
headed to PdP, sloshing through the mud and puddles (did I mention that it
poured rain last night? First time in a couple weeks).
Unfortunately it really never started running better, and
still didn’t have brakes, but as I had already passed the halfway point, I figured
might as well go on. Now, I know what you’re thinking, running bad and no
brakes should be an indication to turn around and call the adventure off, but
in my defense, it was running rough enough that as soon as you let off the gas,
it pretty much stopped without brakes.
So, got to PdP, and as I pulled up to meet Nahum, my friend
from the mission who was going to help me find the stuff I needed (and not have
to pay the “Blan” price, which is usually a lot higher than the Haitian price),
a tire blew. So, went ahead and picked up a battery, then drove slowly down the
road a piece to get the tire fixed. Had to buy a new inner tube for the tire,
then back on the road.
Spent the next couple hours trying to find and buy the
supplies we both needed, me for our big campus depot, and Nahum for the Miriam
Center. Couldn’t find everything I wanted to, but did score a good
deal on some black beans (saved about $40 Haitian a bag), and even found some
Pineapple and Avocados for my friend Autmun.
So now fully loaded and about 4
hours into the adventure, I headed back to the mission. By this point, the
cadet was running really rough, moving slow on level ground, and struggling to
make it up slight inclines. On the few decent hills, I was getting passed by
people walking.
But, with no options (we don’t have tow-trucks in our neck
of the woods) I kept pushing on, determined to make it back to the mission.
Stopped to buy a gallon of gas, and continued on, slow but sure. Just passed LaPointe
(roughly halfway home), I started up a fairly long hill, and the Cadet choked and
died.
Now, for those of you following along at home; let me do the
math:
Hill + No brakes +no motor to keep the wheels turning = A
fun, barely controlled trip down the hill.
Backwards.
Luckily, there was no traffic, and other than a few people
walking up the hill who enjoyed the show, I coasted to the bottom of the hill
and came to a stop right in front of a group of guys working on a moto. As they
stared, I got out, walked around the Cadet to make sure I didn’t lose anything
off the back, made a little small talk with the guys, then jumped back in,
started it up, put it in low gear, and crawled back up the hill.
I finally made it back to the mission a little after 1 pm
unloaded our supplies and parked the Cadet. As I was walking back from the depot, I noticed a couple of our employees standing,
looking at the Cadet. I walked up, prepared to tell them about my adventure,
when they looked at me, shook their heads and one of them said:
“It’s dirty. You should clean it” and they walked away.
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