Cruising

C

Check out these three guys we just passed on the highway to Manta. They were flying at 100 kilometers per hour, with not a care in the world. What these delivery men don’t know is that just two kilometers up the road they will be sharing the pavement with this loose herd of cattle we just had to avoid. As you look over the picture don’t miss that there is a yellow “curve ahead” warning sign!!!

I wish I could say that this scene is unique, just teen boys being dumb, but I see this type of “crew cab” every day. It’s no wonder that Ecuador is second in South America in road-related deaths. Keep that in mind if you plan to visit Ecuador and rent a car for a quiet, relaxing drive up the coastline. Trust me, the driver must be, at all times, on full alert, eyes fix and prepared for oncoming traffic, semi’s, taxies, small cars, loose horses, cows, the ever present donkey, half starved (actually, fully starved) dogs, slithery boas, green iguanas, pedestrians of all ages and worst of all, motorcycles that weave either side of you, (with helmet wearing father, bare headed, mother, daughter and baby all wedged on the seat in a tight row – I’m not exaggerating!). (And believe me, it’s no picnic for the passengers either.) It is friggen’ nuts. What’s scary is that it’s so crazy, however at the same time, so commonplace here, it now seems completely normal.

Our thanks to our fine and extremely safe driver, Jorge Perez, owner of Expat Compass, and is lovingly called by expats here as the “The Gringo Nanny”. Jan and I both highly recommend him. He speaks pretty good english – bonus!

P.S. The guy sitting at the top reminds me of Granny on the old TV series The Beverly Hillbillies