2 accidents in 2 days...

I wish I were making this up...but sadly it is true!

I have been eaten up and spit out by the roads and drivers of Guatemala! Not a very nice welcome! But I am hopefully that I got my fill and that all bad things are now behind me and I can move forward and focus once again on my fear of the pedestrians.

And before I go any further, I want you all to know that no one was hurt, well no people that is. So rest easy and please enjoy this story, at my expense!

Incident #1

Friday afternoon I was on my way to spanish class but had absolutely no cash to pay for the parking garage. (It's bit tricky here -- you can't just go to the bank or pull up to an ATM, way too dangerous.) So Craig, being the best husband ever, agreed to meet me outside of the Embassy, hand over some bills, and I could continue on my way. Well...I never made it to my class.

First mistake, pulling up to the area where the masses are waiting for visas. Words do not do the scene here, everyday, justice. It is hundreds upon hundreds of people corralled in a tight area, waiting all day, just to apply for a visa. It is total chaos, no real lines, people spilling out onto the streets, vendors hocking all types of food items and and trying to oversell passport photos, madness, pure madness...and this is where I needed to pull up to to meet Craig. (Also this is along one of the busiest streets in the city, cars jammed into 4 lanes, even though only 3 are clearly marked, buses stopping randomly and without notice and taxi upon taxi delivering people to and from the visa lines. Ahhhh!)

I somehow figure out how to pull into this madness, but as I was getting over my tire rubbed up against a taxi driver's car. No big deal because we have huge tires that stick out, no damage done, just a tight squeeze......well, so I think!

Apparently not so much -- the taxi driver decided to take this opportunity to score himself a new fender, yes an entire new front fender. And I was stupid enough when I saw him flagging his arms at me, to stop! (Mistake number 2!)

This lying through his teeth, wee little man -- I think he came up to maybe my chest, tried to tell me that I pulled off his front bumper, the same piece of tin that was caved in on both sides and totally smashed in on the front. And I was able to do all of this by driving along his left side and not getting a single dent, scratch, mark, or even dust streak on our car. Doesn't quite add up...I should have never stopped!

So out comes Craig, finally someone who can translate...then the Embassy police, then the real police, and then our insurance folks. Quite the scene and I would have been mortified if I actually did something, but thankfully it felt more like my back-up was arriving! And by far the best moment was the insurance agent who rode up on a motorcycle then shook out his long locks from underneath his helmet as if to say, I am here to save the day!

All parties took one look at our car, totally pristine, and one look at him, then rolled their eyes. And to top it off, there were HUNDREDS of people standing there and no one would vouch for his story! This man really stuck to his guns though and tried to stay strong, but was thankfully dismissed, and we were sent on our way. So that is it, end of story. In total this fiasco only took 45 minutes, but could not have been more annoying or traumatizing. It is amazing the lengths people will go to out here just because they are so incredibly poor.

Very important side note -- I know I already said this, but Craig is the best husband ever. He didn't even bat an eye, was totally calm, cool and collect even before he saw the car and thought perhaps I had smashed in the entire right side and drug a taxi driver and his car halfway down the highway! Craig, you are the best, thank you!

And I cannot believe I am writing this, but here it is....

Incident #2, the following day!

Location of the crime, my museum parking lot, with me in the car, and in front of two guards on duty, who also happen to be carrying machine guns.

I had just pulled into the lot and was gathering my stuff to go inside when this huge school bus, filled with children starts to back up into me. The guards see this, blow their whistles and crazily shake their arms to get the drivers attention...thank god he stopped just short of totally plowing into me. The guards explain he can't turn around here, he has to drive down to the end of lot at the marked turnaround, blah blah blah...the guards get out to the bus' way, and the bus driver dismissed everything they just said, continued to turn around, scraped off all the paint on my right front end, all while the guards are yelling, totally freaking out, I am watching from inside the car, honking, totally horrified, and the kids are hanging out the windows watching all of this unfold. I am totally speechless, cannot believe this just happened, and then the driver takes off, just guns it and in a cloud of dust, is gone. But not without a fight, the poor guards chased him all the way down the corridor, but unfortunately to no avail.

Completely unbelievable, right?!?!? But sadly a true story and here we are now, totally messed up right fender with school bus paint streaked across the front. I was however in this whole mess able to catch one thing -- the huge lettering across the side of the bus....St. Elizabeth's Hospital....so not only did the bus driver do this with kids in the bus, they were sick kids! I am beyond upset and totally pissed, and will definitely be writing a letter. Stay posted, will let you know how it turns out!

Needless to say not a good few days and I am more timid then ever on the road. I miss you D2 and redline metro! I had it so good.