Osvaldo and I were together all day. He was the taxi driver and guide recommended by Mercedes, my Spanish teacher.
His main reference is his honesty. An English woman who was his passenger shopped all day in Otavalo. She took advantage of the dirt cheap high quality stuff and filled Osvaldo's taxi with her booty.
He dropped her at her hotel then went home to his wife and two daughters. As a professional he later gassed and washed his car only to discover that his passenger left her purse. He immediately went to her hotel and returned it. Good enough reference for me.
I sat shotgun and we talked. He doesn't speak one word of English nor, I suspect, wants to. I speak a little Spanish.
Osvaldo's patience and knowledge of tourist's destinations took us to altitudes, museums, and sights that moved me, almost, to tears. We laughed, conveyed family information, and believe it nor not, discussed the nature of world politics.
At dinner Osvaldo told me WTF I was eating. He sang the wonders of Ecuador and we straddled the equator together.
He dropped me off at about 1600 and we agreed to meet again.
That evening Osvaldo decided to wash and gas his taxi. He took his wife and two daughters with him for the ride. A drunk driver t-boned his car.
Before your tears roll, Osvaldo and his family were not injured seriously. As they say down here, gracias a Dios. The other guy left the scene.
Here it Gets Complicated.
According to Mercedes, calling the police in these matters can be risky. Instead of no-fault there is “both fault” and, if the incident cannot be resolved immediately then both parties go to jail. Certainly not incentive to call the authorities.
But Osvaldo, as you might assume, thought this incident serious enough to beckon the troops. His car and livelihood and just been destroyed.
They found, corraled, and fetched the drunk's sorry ass back to the scene.
Because there was no injury or death the police officers did not arrest anyone. They simply allowed the two men to negotiate as custom required.
They talked for about a minute then shook hands and announced that a deal was struck. The two men told La Policia that $100 was the agreement. Satisfied, the two officers pocketed $5.00 apiece as is also customary then ambled away to continue their crime stopping mission.
Let the Real Bargaining Begin.
Osvaldo called his cousin to take him and his family home. His cousin, coincidentally, is a prominent criminal lawyer in Quito.
The other guy called his cousin who is an autobody man and a mechanic. He wanted to settle this issue quickly.
Well, as you might guess, this thing drew out for a good while as the other guy insisted that his cousin get the business of repairing Osvaldo's taxi. Osvaldo and his cousin took issue because they have another family member who has taken mechanical and cosmetic care of the vehicle for years. He's the only man Osvaldo trusts.
At the end his powerful attorney wore the other guy down they agreed that the perp would pay all costs for repair by Osvaldo's man. It was going to take about two weeks.
Unfortunately that is the amount of time that Osvaldo cannot be on the street making money to support his family. That;s a big deal when you're are living so thin. But Osvaldo, a man of faith, simply said
(in Spanish) thank God for the health of my family.
Disclaimer: Mercedes, who lives across the street from Osvaldo, told me this story in Spanish because, though she can, she won't ever speak English to me. Thus the finer details may have been blurred a bit.
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