For so many reasons.
For one, I might have the poor luck to end up driving on the same road as Abel, the guy here at the ranch, who is the one who drives us anywhere we may go. I was in the car with him for probably a total of 5 hours yesterday. And I'm alive. Which, frankly, is amazing. My arm is literally sore from clutching the side of the car in terror. To Abel, the lines on the road don't even rank as suggestions. They may as well be nothing more than banal decorations people fancied to pain on the road. I think he spent more time on the other side of the road than on our side. He was especially fond of the other side when we were going around tight blind corners. The fact that no one died as a result of this trip astounds me.
Excitingly, Abel is far from the only person in this country to drives this way. In fact, I think he is the norm, rather than the exception.
Add to the insanity of the drivers a total lack of street signs (and I do mean total. I have not seen a street sign in this country outside of San Jose)... and yeah. I'll stick to the buses, thank you! And I will pray fervently every time I get into the car with Abel....
I always thrill at the first couple of days driving in a new country. It is "fun?" to learn the rules on the fly. And it is amazing how those rules change, just by driving across an imaginary line on the map. The posted rules may stay the same, but the conventions change radically.
ReplyDeleteYou probably don't want to drive in Italy either. The biggest car has the right of way. The roads are so clogged that they are essentially one lane two way roads.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Happy Birthday lovely lady!