Cobblestones and sand.
Perhaps a good recipe for building a garden wall. But a lousy foundation for cruising Mexican streets on crutches.
After I broke my ankle, several friends volunteered to to ensure my daily needs were met. Shopping. Commuting. Trips to Manzanillo.
But sometimes a guy has to do what a guy has to do. There is a certain joy in independence.
On the Saturday before I left Melaque, I ran out of onions and limes. Rather than bother my friends for such a trivial task, I decided to hobble to the local abarrotes.
An abarrotes embodies some of he best aspects of Mexico. Small grocery store. Conveniently located (in the case of Melaque, almost every other block). With limited (but practical) merchandise.
When I was growing up in northern Oregon, there was a similar store on my walk home from grade school. We would stop by every day to buy a licorice stick or two.
My local abarrotes -- La Nueva Vida -- is about a two block walk from my house. With two normal feet, a walk to and from the store would be five minutes.
The crutches added a bit of a handicap. Mexican sidewalks are not sidewalk-friendly. Cracks. Holes. Precipitous height changes.
The best course is to to resort to the street. And that is where I found the interesting combination of sand and cobblestones.
What should have been five minutes, turned out to be a tiring one hour trek.
These crutches are teaching me humility and patience. What I can do, takes more time. What I cannot do, I must rely on others to do.
Later today, I see my doctor. To see how long this humility and patience stuff is going to last.
