Recently I completed a series of posts detailing what an adventure it was to get our Ecuadorian driver’s license. Now that we have it, was it worth the trouble? That would be a resounding, unqualified, and definite YES! We now have an idea of what the mythical Icarus must have felt the first time he took flight. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but, having our license and a set of wheels has certainly given us a much greater level of freedom.
Having had to rely on buses while trying to maintain a set schedule of activity was problematic at best. Especially since our work often takes us to more distant, outlying areas. Factors such as road conditions and how much lead the driver has in his foot often result in buses showing up at times greatly at variance with the scheduled arrival time. I remember one occasion when Donna and I were just beginning an appointment with a gentleman who lives in an area about two hours distant from Riobamba. Suddenly he heard the bus coming . . . forty five minutes early! If we missed that one, we’d have had to wait another four and a half hours for the next! Fortunately, his son was able to run out and stop the bus while we hurriedly got all our stuff together. After dealing with that for several months, the convenience of having a personal vehicle is a relief. If you ever end up living here in Ecuador as we do, and you can afford it, obtaining your license and getting a car is definitely something to consider.
I mentioned Icarus earlier on and that was not without reason. For those familiar with the myth, you know that his first and only flight ended in disaster. If you are used to driving in places like the United States, not being familiar with driving habits here could result in a similar outcome.
A lot of people who visit Ecuador say that they’ve never seen such crazy driving in their life. If you approach driving here with that mindset you’re going to find it an irritating prospect at best, completely upsetting at worst. Am I defending driving habits here? Nope. In fact, the following examples are illegal in Ecuador. But it’s the way folks drive here. You can either swallow your pride and adapt to what the other driver expects you to do, or be miserable every time you get behind the wheel.
Let’s take passing a vehicle on a two lane road with oncoming traffic as an example. In the States the mindset (not to mention the law) dictates that one wait until there is sufficient traffic-free space in the opposite lane to pass without interfering with any oncoming vehicles. Not so here. I can’t count the times that I’ve been driving along and had someone from oncoming traffic pull into my lane, flash his lights and proceed to pass the vehicle he was behind. This used to irritate me to no end. Why should I have to get out of the way of someone who is breaking the law? Again, it’s a matter of adjusting to mindset. Most of the roads here have large enough shoulders to allow cars to pass three abreast in relative safety. From my experience, the mindset (in spite of what the law says) seems to be that, if there’s room for three cars then the car I’m passing and any car that happens to be in the oncoming lane should just move over and let me pass. Once I adapted to that way of thinking, driving here became much less stressful (I’m not saying that I do that, just that I’ve come to expect the other driver to do it and adjust accordingly. My personal opinion is that it’s still stinking dangerous.)
Another example: If you are coming up on a blind curve, be ready to move onto the shoulder because five times out of ten, once you round it there will be another vehicle in your lane passing someone. Again, illegal here (in fact, one of the most serious traffic offenses.) But almost everyone does it. So, you can be irritated, or adjust your driving. I tried going the irritated route. Then I realized that driving habits here are not going to change to suit my mindset. So I adjusted. Paint me a happy driver now . . .
Driving here in Ecuador is a unique experience. When you think about the beauty of the country, especially where we live, being able to pull over and soak in the scenery once in a while is something we’d be reluctant to give up.
It’s certainly made travel a lot more interesting. We live in an agricultural area. I don’t think I’ve driven through so much manure in my entire life. And I’m from Vermont!
Watch your head . . .
Since we travel a lot in the outlying areas we at times have to watch out for unusual road hazards like the one pictured. It’s a little harder for road crews to get to some of these less traveled areas.
Bottom line, driving here can be a real pleasure. All it takes is a willingness to swallow your pride and adjust your mindset to what’s expected of the other driver.
Until the next post,
Mike
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