Hitched

‘May the ride be with you’ is a common expression around these parts when someone is heading either to or from Pavones. To get a ride makes a long walk much more manageable, particularly when you’re heading into town with your laptop, camera, bottle of water and it is probably close to 40 degrees in the sun.

I have been fortunate enough to get a ride every trip to and from Pavones. So far. Rarely all the way, I might end up walking for an hour or more before I get one. Sometimes it just takes me a couple of kilometres up the road. But every little bit helps.

There is a bus service but it leaves Punta Banco at 5am and the return bus is at 5.30pm – so not entirely helpful.

This week the rides have been getting more fun and interesting. On Wednesday I was thrilled when it started to rain and a motorbike pulled up to take me on the back. On the way home I got a ride with Clay, this American who has lived here for a very long time and rides his quad bike like he’s 15. I swear he went for every rock and pothole.

But the ride in this morning was gold. Actually the three of us got on the back of a ute for part of the way and then continued walking when lo and behold, up the road it rattled. The blue buggy.

The fact this car moves at all is a modern miracle. The story goes that a few weeks ago it rolled down into the ravine on our hill (driver under the influence). Stuck there upside down, the driver and passenger got out, unhurt, and somehow got help to get it out of there. So this buggy now rides around with no doors, no windscreen, no tailgate. You need to be careful what you touch and hang on to as you go along as it is as though it has been opened with a can opener.

I’m pretty excited to see what awaits me on the way back today…