Dangerous driving.....

I was driving to the swimming pool in San Antonio this morning when I came across a familiar site - a car turned upside down in a ditch. This was the second one I'd seen this week and is a regular occurence on the island. It prompted me to jot down this post, something I'd been meaning to do for a while now.

It's a bit dangerous driving over here and accidents are a common thing. I know two people who've been involved in very serious car accidents in the last 4 months. They were both lucky not to lose their lives and as I write, one is still unable to walk, the doctors don't know if he ever will but thankfullly he's been making good progress (and hopefully will prove the doctors wrong). The road to Cala Carbo is a particularly treacherous one, a mountain road with lots of sharp bends and turns and a dizzying drop on one side. As soon as it rains, it turns the road into a skating rink yet still people drive too fast and the accidents are numerous. I know of someone else who was a passenger in a car going along this road. A bend was misjudged and the car went down the banks - he's only just come out of a coma.

When I first arrived, I took to driving too fast, particularly along my favourite road that connects Santa Agnes to San Mateau. One night I was driving home and nearly went skidding going round a corner. I slowed down after that. But it's so easy to drive fast here. Often the roads are empty, there aren't any speed cameras and you end up going a lot faster than you suspected. Now I pootle along at a sensible pace, unperturbed by the line of traffic building up behind me.

Driving at night is also a tiring business. There aren't any street lamps so you're negotiating the sharp windy roads in pitch black. This darkness has its benefits - I love seeing the sky flooded with stars - but it makes driving more difficult. You have to keep an eye out for the pot holes that can be found in many country roads. And then there are all the beasts you have to try and avoid. In my time here, I've come across the following strolling along the road that I'm driving on - packs of dogs, cats, lots of sheep, bunny rabbits, hedgehogs, mice, rats and chickens. Actually very few beasts stroll along the roads, most hurtle or skittle around, panicking at the sound of a car. Plus there are inevitably lots of lost souls if you drive anywhere near a club in the early hours....

I think my most amusing driving encounter happened a few weeks ago when I was coming home from Space. It must have been around half three and I took the Es Cubells road back. This is a quiet road, not many people or cars pass it so when I saw a group of people frantically waving me down, I slowed down and stopped. I thought perhaps they'd had an accident and on that road, you're not likely to see any passing traffic so it was my duty as a good citizen to stop and help them out. They peered into the van, looked at me and said "are you the drug dealer?". To which I replied no. Apparently they'd just arrived on the island, were trying to sort out supplies but the dealer hadn't been able to find their villa so they'd all gone onto the road en-masse to flag him down. They were in good spirits though and got excited when they saw the glow-stick around my neck, glowing in the dark. I don't normally drive around with glow sticks but it had been a present from either Harry Sprout or Tayo and I'd put it around my neck and then forgotten about it. Which meant that I drove all the way home, with a faint pink light emanating from the van......