So last week I went to Antigua after I was done at the Home at 5. I was with a Guatemalan friend. We passed a bus and a pick up that flashed me some hand signals. I have seen these signals and to be honest, I have no idea what they are trying to say. My friend said to me that they signaled to slow down farther down the hill. There was some sort of problem. She was very specific that is was not here, but farther down the hill. How she got all of that from a couple of hand signals, I have no idea! I was glad she was with me.
There is a stretch of road on the way down the hill that is just dirt on one side for about a km. The government quit paying the road crew sometime last year so the road was never finished. With the Tropical Storm and the heavy rains we have been having, the road is washing away. And not just the dirt, but it is eating away the foundation under the asphalt and that is crumbling away on the sides. It leaves for a pretty narrow lane. And where it is crumbling leads down the side of a steep hill. So there is no where to build that foundation back up again. It can make for a bit of a scary drive on a good day. Especially because nobody wants to drive on the rutted bad side so they drive the wrong way on the asphalt until another car appears. It is a windy road and the buses whip up and down it so this can happen without warning. I have seen and been involved in many close calls. And there is no shoulder to drive on (to avoid them) or cement barriers to prevent driving off the road and down the hill.
So back to last night. It was still light when I went down but I knew it would be getting dark when I came up. When we got to the bottom of the hill we saw the problem. There is another stretch of road 200 feet long that is often a river passing down when there is a lot of rain. Another night I came up in the dark and the water was a good 2 feet of rushing water that cars couldn't pass. Anyway, this time it was a semi-trailer stuck in the middle of the road. The main cab was backing up to try and hook up again to pull it out of the way. I drove around him and continued on my way. A few km's later I was in another town and all of a sudden traffic was being diverted and ambulances and fire trucks were driving by. It is hard to get out of the way of a two lane road that has no shoulder, just houses on the side of the road. I turned down a road and then my friend told me I would go way out of my way and I should go back and take a different road.
I dropped my friend off and did my banking and gorcery shopping and I really wanted to go to McDonalds but it was almost dark and I was worried about getting home. I still want McDonalds.
Anyway, I took a different way back. I wanted to avoid the accident so I took a different highway. But I forgot that there is a long stretch of really bad bumpy dirt road that I had to drive to get to the highway. But I was in luck! The ruts had been washed away from the rain and so many vehicles had driven over it that the ruts turned into a continuous road of deep water filled puddles. 15 feet long puddles that went from one side of the road to the other. You would pull up out of one and go right back down into another. It worried me that I couldn't see what was on the bottom (I have already had one flat tire from the bad roads) but I made it without incident. This stretch of road is also very remote so I wouldn't want to get stuck there by myself.
I made it back to the "river" stretch and it wasn't too bad. Just really muddy and I could feel my tires slipping (on a side note, the next day I asked my friend how to use the 4 wheel drive :) I have driven when the water was rushing by and about 2 feet deep.
So, I made it home okay and it was dark but that was okay. Then I was sorry I didn't get my McDonalds! :) Hindsight is always 20/20.
This post is not about complaining. I have become used to it and don't often get too nervous anymore. Although the other day I was in the Capital with a friend and I was doing an errand. I had to walk by myself for a bit and my friend later mentioned to me that it is nice to know we always have angels with us but sometimes she wishes for the angel Micheal! I feel the same way.
But as I was driving it I was thinking about how different my life really is now. I think about things that I didn't use to think about. I have to worry and watch myself and take precautions. I have to not get angry with terrible roads and unthinking people. But it is now normal. And I have good people around me. I know that I could call any number of people and they would help me in a heartbeat. Like my landlord.
Last night I had a large spider on my wall. It was too big to deal with on my own. So I went downstairs and told Axel that I needed help with a spider. I had no shame at this point. I showed him with my fingers how big her was (I included leg span in my estimation) and he was surprised. He said he had never seen one in town before. He asked if I had a broom to deal with it. When we got upstairs I think he had to bite his lip not to laugh. He thought I was talking about a tarantula! He took his shoe and just killed it. I tell you, it was big! He told me they were common and harmless. They are common??!!?? This is supposed to help me feel better??!! Later I thought about my can of Raid. I could have killed him with that and maintained my distance. But my grandpa gave me wise advice last time I complained about picking up dead bugs with toilet paper. I used a broom to sweep him up and I put him in the toilet. I wanted NO chance of reincarnation.
Alright, this is long. But I have a lot of time to make up for. I am still keeping up with the Home blog. http://www.newlifeandpeaceministries.blogspot.com/ So you can see pictures of me and my kiddos. Next time I write, I will write fun stories about them.
Bye!
P.S. These three guys were my dinner dates on Friday night. Jealous?
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