Friday, September 24, 2010

Not A Good Idea

All the rage in Caracas.  I like this shot, it reminds me of someone sneaking a glance at something that they shouldn't.

Today I did something that I swore years ago that I would never do.  I took a moto-taxi through the streets of Caracas trying to beat the traffic in order to get someplace quickly and meet a deadline.  For those that are unfamiliar with this mode of travel; one sits on the back of a small motorcycle, sometimes even wearing a cheap helmet, and the driver weaves his way at breakneck speed between the slower cars and trucks.  If you think this sounds stupidly dangerous, you're getting the idea. 

The moto-taxi "lane splits", or in other words rides between the lanes in order to by-pass traffic.  For those that are familiar with Latin America you know that there really are no lanes per se. I sat on the back as the teenage driver decided to show me his latest Moto-GP skills, ripping past cars, diving in front of trucks, and running red lights.  (If my mother is reading this…. it was someone else, not me).  I came out of the adventure unscathed, but a bit disappointed that I would allow myself to take such stupid chances.  One of the people on the trip remarked that it was a lot of fun to ride like that.  I couldn't help but think of the crass joke that compares motorcycles to prostitutes; both fun to ride, but neither necessarily a good idea.

1 comment:

lorraine said...

The "auto-rickshaws" in India are rather similar. There is an old joke that can probably be applied to you moped driver. "A priest, a pastor and a Sikh taxi driver were seeking entry into heaven. St Peter held up the priest and the pastor and let the Sikh taxi driver in with out a question asked about what he had done for God. The priest and pastor questioned St Peter as to why the auto-rickshaw got such an easy pass into heaven. St. Peter replied that the Sikh driver had caused people to think and pray to God for their lives more than anything the priest or pastor had done. Question? Did you think of God while on the back of the moped of your mom? Either one count in my opinion.