When is it fitting to trust someone? 
Our experience seems to be that the older we get,
the less we trust people.
If a year ago you told me that we would buy an old truck in Central America, sight unseen, I would have laughed. I mean, how silly would that be?
Call us crazy because we did just that.
We have a friend on the island named Shorwen. On our first trip to Roatan, we rented an SUV from him and were on the receiving end of lots of friendly advice. We learned early that he is a wealth of island knowledge and that his suggestions were right on.
Our experience seems to be that the older we get,
the less we trust people.
If a year ago you told me that we would buy an old truck in Central America, sight unseen, I would have laughed. I mean, how silly would that be?
You may remember Shorwen from our January trip to Roatan when we suddenly found ourselves without a place to stay in an impending rainstorm.
When we were stranded, we discovered new meanings of the words isolated and vulnerable. As we struggled to figure out what to do, Shorwen was the only person we could think of to call.
Shorwen rescued us and immediately found us help. It continues to be reassuring when we are well-received by people he connects us with. His reputation is solid.
Now we'd like to think we have become special friends with Shorwen, but I'll bet this extraordinary gentleman treats everyone as kindly as he does us. He calls Mike 'sir' and me, "ma," and that warms my heart. Both are names of great respect. Any time we have questions about Roatan living, whether it be about property, local tradition, or even yes, a vehicle, Shorwen has been our go-to man.
While Shorwen's business is Anderson Car Wash and Car Rental, he is a jack of many trades like most of the islanders. We keep being amazed at his connections and ability to take something we consider a problem and render it solved.
So when we decided to buy a truck, who did we call?
There are lots of vehicles for rent on Roatan, but not many to buy. Purchasing a truck is best done in Honduras. Shorwen was making a trip to San Pedro Sula and agreed to keep an open eye for us. Thank goodness, because that is not a trip I would ever want to make.
Long story short, Shorwen purchased exactly what we had in mind. She's a 2011 F150 SuperCrew FX4 with - 4-Door, 5.5' bed
- 4-wheel drive
- 5.0L V8
- 6-speed automatic
- Shows 92,000 miles; however, the last known US title (Texas) shows 112,000 miles in 2017.
- She gets 19-21 mpg
- With a 36-gallon fuel tank, and the last known gas price of $4.50 per gallon = $162 to fill it or 3,910L.
She is completely bought and paid for, and we will meet her for the first time around 11:00 on the morning of April 14.
Thanks to Shorwen for helping us out once again and for teaching us some new lessons in trust.
