Ecuadorian Drivers: Petty Annoyance or Death Wish?
My Mongolian “Powder Room”
I honestly seldom notice, much less wax amazed about the many differences of life in a developing nation. Living and traveling in remote foreign lands for more than 3 decades has surely taught me a thing or two about adaptability.
g-knows I’ve already been indoctrinated into the mysteries of squat toilets, and it honestly never occurs to me anymore that t.p. might be flushed rather than get tossed in the bin. And yes but of COURSE one carries one’s own personal stash of Kleenex at all times when traveling – I mean, hello!
I’ve also grown adept at tuning out decibels of noise (from 4 MILLION motorbikes in Saigon and/or yapping street dogs and/or 4 am calls-to-prayer) that would make a farmer in Kansas weep. I fail to bat-an-eye when folks cut in line ahead of me (as IF there was even the dream of a “line” to begin with). And furthermore, I long ago gave up any hope of “personal space” when I left my native land.
Pissing in the street? Yawn, what else is new? Shoot, I’ve learned to dance a jig in order to side-step sudden spits of crimson betel juice in both Indonesia and Myanmar.
Oh, and those electric on-demand “suicide” hot water showers? Please. They’re the norm throughout the developing world, and personally – I think a most brilliant, environmentally sound idea.
Ah, but…
There IS one annoyance that I’m finding most difficult to get used to whilst whizzing amid the hair-raising, serpentine roads here on the tippy-top of the Andes:
Ecuadorian drivers are C.R.A.Z.Y! Ain’t no two ways about it.
Mere inches from oblivion amid the Himalayas – like child’s play!
Seriously. I’ve ridden in some spectacularly rickety buses in my day. Around hair-pin turns in the Himalayas of Nepal, with barely INCHES between me and oblivion. But that was like hop-scotch in the park compared to the terrifying speed and wanton passing recklessness, gleefully embraced by Ecuadorian drivers sashaying among the vertical rock faces of these Andes mountains.
Than again… I guess it’s all relative. Much like the single-engine prop planes that I’ve teetered over all manner of jungles and mountains in (with my chin above the gas tank whilst my pilot directly to my left calmly sucks on a lit cigarette)…
On second thought – perhaps Ecuadorian drivers aren’t so very crazy after all. I guess I just have to remind myself (as we sway to ‘n fro above chasms of vertical certain-death drop-offs though the Andes)…
At least if I plunge to my death here amid the splendor of Ecuador – ’tis a smidge more classy than say… being smashed to smithereens by an 18-wheeler toting a truckload of Chinese Chia Pets that’s lost control on the icy I-5 freeway from Seattle to Portland, no?
What about you? How do you deal with harrowing, white-knuckled, gut-freezing risks when you travel?
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
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Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
Hi Dyanne,
I think the issue here with driving is the very one you identify–buses winding at insane speeds along the edges of Andean cliffs that drop off for seeming miles. It’s the bus-cliff-speed combination. Cause, I’m not sure you can top the crazy driving in Vietnam (and yes, Saigon is the worst) or India. Though Sara insists Sri Lanka is the worst on the planet.
Hugs,
Kathy
Yup Kathy, the ol’ “bus-cliff-speed” combo. ‘Tis the same amid the (even more narrow, boulder-strewn, crumbling) cliffs of the Himalayas. So the question is – do you want to drop to your destiny (see my reply to Malia below) in Nepal or Ecuador? 😉
And while I’ve never been to Sri Lanka – regarding Vietnam: Actually, as I said, the 4 million motorbikes that constantly ply the streets of Ho Chi Minh City – aren’t crazy drivers at all. You just have to learn to trust the “swarm of fish”. As long as you don’t make any abrupt moves, the sea of bikes will simply part and swarm around you.
A gringo friend of mine here is fond of reminding me of the number of fatalities in the most recent bus crash, which seems to be every other day. It won’t stop me from overland travel, although I do the same comparison in my head as you did of worse ways to go, in order to make myself feel better! 😉
Agreed Malia, it’s no doubt a self-delusion. But I must say, traveling off-the-grid as I have over so many years, has instilled in me the notion of “Destiny”. In short, I should have been axed a boatload of times, so at this point I figure I have little to nada control over how I’m going to go out of this world. 😉
That said, not wishing to tempt fate – I doubt that I’ll ever be nuts enough to take a night bus through the Andes!
My husband and I took a cab from Cuenca to Vilcabamba. The cab driver was of the kamikaze camp and at some point I had to just disconnect from the whole heart racing nascar venture and decide, that like a pilot, if he screws up, he goes with us too. Why this comforted me is unclear, but it did.
lol Mary! Now that’s what I call brave delusion (or nutso rationale, take your choice.) 😉
But seriously. I mean whatcha gonna do? You’re not about to get out and walk to Vilcabamba, right? And as I said, at least going out whilst whizzing through the beautiful Andes… sure beats that 18-wheeler with those silly Chia Pets, yes?