Thursday, January 7, 2010

Welcome to the CRAZY TRAIN!.......

Not to scare my aunt Dolores or my parents, but whew! what an experience!!!! We went to Guayaquil yesterday to pick up "the cousins" as we refer to them here! haha Anyway, I thought that I had warned them about the bus ride back here to Cuenca, and they were ready, so were we...or so we all thought!!!

I jokingly referred to the bus as the "crazy train" before the trip started...well, little did we know! We have had some crazy bus rides here in Ecuador, but this one took the cake! The first hour wasn't that bad because it is mostly flat and straight, driving to get to the mountains. Most of us were even able to get some sleep! And then.....

Once you start heading up the mountains, the road immediately becomes curves, curves, curves, bumps, bumps, bumps. But, as any GOOD driver could attest to, it is all in how you drive! Can you say "rally sport"? The driver was literally hugging each curve on the inside, regardless of whether there was traffic coming or not, and then he was accelerating at the same time! It was hilarious! About a few minutes into the mountains, I looked back at "the cousins", who had previously been tired and sleepy, and they were all WIDE awake...all I saw were 8 HUGE eyeballs! Although they were laughing and were good sports about it! To be honest, I don't think we were ever in danger, those drivers have memorized every curve on that drive, but he sure was in a hurry! What an adventure!

The funny thing was, that, normally, the scary part of the trip is that the road is pretty close to the edges of the cliffs and you can see how far down. But, this trip was in the dark, you couldn't even see the edge, but somehow it was still quite the adrenaline boost! It will be fun to take the bus back down on Tuesday and show them how high up we were!

Again, and this is for the parents, we were not in real danger (I don't think anyway haha)...it was just very exciting! Most bus drivers aren't quite as crazy as that one was! We are all here safe and sound and are very excited to show our cousins the area!

6 comments:

AJ and Jordanne said...

So glad you made back in one piece! Haha...that's a great experience to have, one they will never forget!! We're going to pick up Damaris' friends next Friday from GYE, we hope they get the ride of their lives too (kidding, it can be kind of scary)!!! Our last ride in from GYE in September was a late night, cloud and fog filled evening of terror...

Unknown said...

Hey there Michelle and Chad! Michelle Fair sent us your blog page....We just came back from our circuit Assembly today and then came home to reading your encouraging experiences! What an encouraging weekend for us! I don't know who I am more excited for.. you and Chad or Melissa and Josh. I'm sure you must be THRILLED to share your life there with them. But at the same time, they will come home with a whole new appreciation for the work you are doing, the truth, and how easy we "Americans" have it here, preaching ( in our air conditioned cars, Dunkin Donuts on every corner, etc.) I hope you all have a great time together and benefit one another. We love you all and are sooooo pleased to see you all serving Jehovah so fully in while you are so young, able and willing. Your blessings will surpass your years. What an encouragement!! Have fun and BE SAFE!! love to you all,Rachael, Chris, Brooke and Makenzie, Kemlage

Cathy Schnerr said...

Enjoying your experiences. Can't wait to hear if Josh got to practice his Spanish and how the cousins enjoyed their visit. I don't know if I'd survive the Crazy train, I wonder if Jeff would like that driving job?

Aaron said...

Hola mes amigos..... ?donde es el fotos?

mominlebanon said...

It's time for a new post.

Unknown said...

Hi!
My husband and I are visiting Ecuador this month with our son and were trying to track down any English groups in Cuenca and Salinas area so we could attend meeeting. Of course we would attend a Spanish meeting also if no English were available, but we don't speak Spanish. Do you have any info about where the halls are and when they meet?
Thank you,
Roxanne
Alaska
South Anchorage Congregation