Danger

Every country has their share of crazy drivers. But here in Guayaquil, saying "just a few" is the understatement of the century. My ears eventually got used to the constant sound of beeping, and people shouting out their car windows, but that isn’t my main issue. Many of the street lights don’t work, and most the ones that do, don’t have a “walk/don’t walk” sign. When crossing the street, whether you believe it’s rightfully your turn to cross the street, you always have to be alert. Many cars don’t follow the rules, and keep driving even when it’s a red light for them. Sometimes, in the center of Guayaquil, there are more than 20 people crossing on both sides at one time, but that doesn’t seem to faze them. They simply keep driving, and people are forced to suddenly stop before them, or run across past them to not get hit. The people don’t have the right of way, and are not “royalty of the road”, as I was taught in Canada. Here in Guayaquil, the cars are in control. I almost get hit by cars on a daily basis (please mom, remain calm). Slowly but surely, I am getting used to running around, and I even wear my running shoes a lot more to help me do this comfortably.

As scary as crossing the street is, I feel more uncomfortable being in a vehicle. Rush hour in Guayaquil begins early in the morning and doesn’t stop until the sun goes down and people are home from work.

Guayaquil driving rules from what I understand based on my experiences and observations:

1. Pedestrians are like annoying pylons that move. When you encounter them, don’t bother slowing down - beep loud enough and the smart ones will move out of your way. If they don’t move, drive faster, they will get the message.

2. Stop signs and red lights are optional. The police won’t care, then you shouldn’t either.

3. Speed limits: If there is a car in front of you forcing you to limit your speed, do not stop beeping at them until you zoom around them and they eat your dust.

4. Zebra line crossings have many pedestrians that think they can cross and that you will stop for them. Beep at them and prove them wrong. If they get angry, shout insults out the window.

5. Lines on the road are there for show. Squeeze in where you fit in, beep at the cars in your way, and remember to shout out the window a few times, that will teach them a lesson for next time.

6. Driving a bus? None of these rules apply. For you my friend, it’s a free for all. Have fun. But remember, only stop when you feel like it, make your own routes and forget about the cars, you are the king.

Okay… so that was a bad joke, but it is all true my friends. Needless to say, accidents are not uncommon. I have never even seen a parking ticket since my arrival; those guys must be out of stock before the day even begins. Or just on a long vacation, I hear the Galapagos Islands are nice!

On a serious note, my partner Lindsay and I were in an accident yesterday.

Please don’t worry, we are both perfectly fine. However, it was a heart stopping and slightly traumatizing experience for me. We were both on our way back from work, and we hailed down, and boarded the 61 bus as usual. Our bus driver, like many I have had in the past, was a honking machine! I wasn’t sure if he got paid to drive, or to honk as much as he can. That being said, we were driving on a small side street when it happened. This street was a two way street with only one lane, and had cars parked on both sides of the road. After a beeping match with a small transport truck that didn’t let the bus go around him. When we hit a big intersection and were stopped at a red light, both of the angry drivers decided to have what felt like a drag race. They were looking at each other angrily and slammed on the gas as soon as the light turned green. With both of their eyes fixed on each other instead of the road, they didn’t even notice the small side street that they driving towards. When they finally noticed there wouldn’t be enough for them to fit, it was already too late. Both the truck and the bus scraped onto each other, and slammed on their breaks. Surprisingly enough, the worst part of this story had yet to arrive.

The angry truck driver hopped on our bus, and he was livid. He was waving a hand shovel around and shouting things like;”This was all your fault! You’re paying for this! I’m calling the police!” The bus driver didn’t even respond, he just closed the bus doors, with the angry man inside. The man continued to shout profanities I refuse to type, and then insisted that the driver open the door and let him off the bus. The driver refused to do so. And this made him even angrier (I didn’t think that was possible). Lindsay and I were sitting at the very front seat because, that’s the only seat I can fit my legs into, since there are no seats in front of it. This made us a mere 4 feet away from the crazy driver confrontation. The man kept shouting louder and louder :”LET ME GET OFF THE BUS, OPEN THE DOORS RIGHT NOW!” He was kicking things and slamming his hand on the window. Lindsay and I just stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do. The man began threatening our driver, and swinging his shovel around. Our driver finally got fed up, and reached for something on the side of his chair. At the time I thought he was finally opening the door. . . I was absolutely wrong. Instead, he pulled out a big machete and started swinging it around shouting threats back to the man. As soon as we saw the weapon, Lindsay and I immediately stood up and ran to the back of the bus.

I was petrified.

The whole situation seemed like an awful nightmare, and all we wanted to do was go home. Lindsay and I hoped and prayed that we would see no bloodshed today. We just wanted to get off the bus. There was an older woman sitting in the back beside Lindsay, and she kept saying. “I’m going to be late for work, this is idiotic.” She seemed unfazed by the commotion that was occurring, and this made me realized that it was the same for everyone else that was on the bus. As I looked around, people were more annoyed, and worried about getting to work, and home on time, than they were about their security.

Finally, after far too long, the bus doors were open and we were liberated. The driver even gave us our bus fair back, so that we could go on another bus. After telling a few of my Ecuadorian friends this story, their answers resembled “Aww how cute, your first bus accident.” And they found the story more funny than anything. I know they meant well, but it couldn’t help but bother me. I was told these things happen often, and that the people were used to it. They are desensitized from the violence, the swearing and the constant accidents. I’m not sure I will ever be on that level, but this was definitely an eye opening experience for both my work partner and I.