A perfect stranger

"Duerme, duerme!" Angel was insisting that I sleep. We had an hour left until we'd arrive in Las Penitas. We were zipping through the windy town roads of Nicaragua and it was about 10 at night. The logical part of my brain wanted to resist sleep.  "Don't fall asleep Shannon. You are in a car with a man you don't know, in a country you've never visited" I said to myself. And yet, Angel had the kind of energy you could trust. I knew that I could sleep and we'd safely make it to our destination. I closed my eyes.

It had only been about 90 minutes since I walked off the plane in Managua, Nicaragua.  I collected my bag and went through customs, making my way towards the exit. I didn't really know what I was looking for or where I was going. The communication had been minimal, I just knew I was meeting a driver with a sign that had my name on it. 

It was intimidating as I walked through the doors. A herd of men yelled out "taxi taxi." But my eyes quickly focused on the familiar letters of my name. I had found my guy. 

"Hola, me llamo Angel." He grabbed my bag and scurried back to the parking lot. 

This is how I ended up resting my eyes in the passenger seat of Angel's car. 

I spent the first hour acclimating to using my Spanish again. He was a patient teacher. The conversation was light and he was kind. He pointed things out to me on the road and told me about life in Nicaragua. The car ride became quiet and I was able to rest. And before I knew it, we were at the destination and we said goodbye. 

We meet again 

After 4 days in Las Penitas, I hired Angel to drive me to San Juan Del Sur. He came to get me in the morning. The first stop was in Managua to collect my friend. 

Angel pushed me to practice my Spanish and talk about my life. He asked me about my family and I told him about my Dad. Angel had never heard of a snowmobile. His Dad had just died too, but he was a very old man. 

Angel was a snacker. He stopped multiple times to get drinks and things to eat. He always gave money to the kids who were begging in the street. There was the boy that came up to the window to juggle, and then there were the kids who came up and washed the windshield. And then the kid who just ran up to the window after the windshield had been washed and decided to put his hand out too. They all got a few coins from Angel. 

Once Kelly got in the car, I was keeping him in the conversation by translating what Kelly was saying. She was filling me in on the details of her breakup. Angel reminded her that she was beautiful and her boyfriend would regret losing her. He also taught us the word for single- soltera! 

On that particular day I probably spent about 9 hours with Angel. We had talked about everything. His favorite things about Nicaragua are the volcanoes and the lakes. He spends every day driving tourists around the country. He used to have a wife, but now she lives in Costa Rica. 

As we pulled into San Juan Del Sur he told Kelly and I to be careful. The men in San Juan are aggressive and they drug your drinks. He told us to stick together and to never accept a drink from a stranger. He was like a Dad dropping his daughters off at the school dance. He wanted us to have fun, but he wanted us to be careful. 

And as I thought about the role he played in my trip, he had been looking out for me the whole time. In a country where I knew no one, he quickly became a constant and a comfort. Ensuring that I was safe throughout my journey. Teaching me, encouraging me and looking out for me. 

The sun was starting to set as we pulled up to our hotel. I hugged Angel goodbye. Maybe not fulling knowing at the time how special it was that I found him. My perfect stranger, Angel.

*Disclaimer- Angel is a preferred vendor of the hostel, Simple Beach lodge. He was a trusted source. He was not a randomly selected taxi driver.