You´ll never guess what I saw . . .
Many events are worth recording, but don’t necessarily deserve their own blog entry.
They’ll go here - the what and the where, updated as they occur:
La Paz, Bolivia - Half a dozen employees on the steps of the Ministry of Health, all smoking cigarettes.
Sorata, Bolivia - A large hog half-stepping forward then back, forward then back, as if dancing the tango.
Sorata, Bolivia - A small monkey playing with a baby cat.
Sorata, Bolivia - A public bathroom, two open doorways, one labeled Hombres and the other labeled Mujeres. A pack of dogs, maybe half a dozen or more, all went rushing into the Hombres side, except for the last dog who stopped short outside of the door, looked up as if reading the signs, and went into the Mujeres side:
Sorata, Bolivia - This sticker. Proud member of the Local 101 - will strike if provoked:
Uyuni, Bolivia - A bar called the Most Extreme Fun Pub advertising that it sells shots of llama sperm. Worst business decision since New Coke.
Salar de Uyuni Tour, Bolivia- We stopped our jeep in a small town somewhere between the geysers and the town of San Cristobal for lunch. I decided to wander around the small town and I saw this on the outskirts:
null
Don’t ask me how half a plane ended up in the middle of this sparsely populated town, hundreds of miles from the nearest airstrip. The few locals I found to ask about it either didn’t know or didn’t want to bother explaining it to me.
Sucre, Bolivia- A car is attempting to paralel park into a very tight space. At the last instant the back tire runs over a plastic soda bottle, crushing it and making a loud, sickening sound. The driver, thinking he just mauled the front of the car in back of him, puts the car in drive and takes off like a bat out of hell, abandoning the spot.
Quito, Ecuador- My first car accident in South America. I’m amazed that it was here in Quito, Ecuador of all places, where there are mechanisms of traffic control like officers directing flow and functioning traffic signals. By way of contrast in cities like Santa Cruz, Bolivia and Puria, Peru its the wild west of motoring. The quickest person to draw down on the accelerator and jump into the intersection has the right of way. Back to Quito - thankfully no one was hurt. The two cars were only going around 15 miles an hour or so when they collided obliquely. Still, the first car had its front fender ripped off while the other had the front passenger door scrapped and disfigured. The two drivers got out of their cars and started arguing while I helped retrieve the fender before it was run over by oncoming traffic. After a minute of finger pointing (finger gesturing to be more precise) the two drivers got back in their cars and simply drove away in opposite directions. No exchange of info, no insurance claim to be filed, no police involvement, no fault assessed. They both go home and pay out of pocket for the accident. Compare this to the inquisition that would have been launched in the US to determine insurance coverage. Decide for yourself which system is preferable.
on October 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Send that bar’s info to jackass. Steve O will probably take that shot. So gross