And then they jab this thing into your tire . . . .

This morning we were told we had a flat tire. Sure enough there was the Trooper, lopsided and droopy leaning towards the passenger side. We figured that it had a slow leak since we'd driven all weekend without a problem, but had had to fill it with air recently because it had looked low. Titus and I hopped into the car, after numerous poundings on the foot pump to air it back up, and set off to find a Tire Repair place. He'd noticed a sign in Matapalo for such a thing, and after turning down a dirt road and waving to several friendly locals we spotted a sign for Mini Mangos Llantas Reparacion.

Pulling in, the repair man himself directed us toward the parking spot and then we explained our problem. Actually Titus explained and I simply looked around. There was a whole farm in the back of the house/repair station with horses, cattle, chickens, geese. I was entertained the entire time. I even discovered two small parrots that were in a makeshift cage of fan covers and chicken wire.

I did take time to watch the repair process though, amid my farm awe marvelings and this is want I saw. A huge "spear" is jabbed into the tire, and then "plugged" with a cork substance. I thought for sure he was killing the tire, but he smiled and nodded so I assumed all was well. He found the leaks (yes there were two) by putting the tire in water and watching for bubbles. Once it was fixed and reattached to the Trooper, we left. Fully inflated, elated and I marvel yet again that every day here in Costa Rica is an adventure. . . .