Extreme Baby Shower
Extreme sports and a baby shower. Hmmm… Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
I suppose being 16 years old and expecting twin boys comes close to an oxymoron as well.
Yesterday I four-wheeled an hour off the main road on the other side of the valley to attend a baby shower for Nena’s 16-year-old daughter. Mountain folk often marry young, as is the case of Tatiana. She was married at age 15 and now is expecting twin boys!
Those of you who know me well know that I love jeeping in the mountains and that I have plenty of experience with that remote stretch of road that winds and jolts its way to Nena’s house.
Yesterday gave me reason to pause three times, get out of Zuki (Su’s Zuki), and actually lay hands on the Sikekick and pray!
My first stop came after I opted to take a newly carved road which I thought would circumvent a dicey stretch on the old path. After lurching down the wet, red clay, slippery slope for about a quarter of a mile, I slowly came to the realization not only that the two roads were not joining up again, but that there were no recent tire tracks on my path. I parked the car and in my dress and sandals hiked down a bit further to verify those facts. There was no option but to back up. Vision in reverse on a steep slope, trying to peer over the spare tire is difficult at best. The jeep skittered on the clay incline. After about 3 blocks of reverse I decided the road was just wide enough to turn around. It took me about 10 forward-backward maneuvers and bumping up against a barbed wire fence before I breathed a sigh of relief and used 1st gear low four-wheel to return to the original “road.”
I thought the rest of the drive would be “all downhill” from there. It was all downhill, but not in the sense of being easy. The water-laden mountainsides made it necessary to creep along in first gear most of the way. I was only about a half mile from Nena’s when my heart jumped. The road ahead did not look familiar. As I drew closer, I realized why.
Part of the mountainside had come down onto the narrow road! Fortunately, the tree that came down was not over the roadway, but 2 feet of soft mud and grass were. Oh, my! There was no way to back up this time. I once again parked the car, got out, and prayed. My only options were to rely on Zuki and God’s hand or wade through the mud and walk the final half mile, leaving Zuki right there. I carefully evaluated the situation – my pulse racing.
Gravity would pull me straight ahead, which was an advantage. There was no significant precipice off to the left – another advantage. The precipice that lay on the other side of the mudslide was preceded by at least 12 feet of solid road. So, with my heart in my throat, I slithered through the mud and had to only maneuver the car twice on the other side to head down what now looked like an awfully sweet piece of road.
Thank You, Lord!
It took at least 15 minutes for my heart to calm once I got to the shower. Since I arrived early, I helped Tatiana fry chicharrones and finish preparations for the shower. It was such a privilege to be there as part of the family in that remote mountain community! Nena asked me to give the welcome and begin the shower with a prayer – an anomaly in this very Catholic area!
Several neighbors were amazed that I’d driven down that mountain stretch alone! After consulting with many of them, I decided that it was a safer bet to return by the road that leads down to Vuelta de Jorco instead of chancing that dreaded curve on the road above.
Everyone said, “The road to Jorco was closed yesterday because the river was over it, but it’s not too bad today.”
OK, Lord! Protect me once again!
The road to Jorco was barely recognizable. It was obvious that the river had recently claimed it as its own bed. It presented no unexpected challenges, however, until I was almost down to Jorco.
As I rounded a curve, my heart skipped a few beats again. This shower was proving to be a true cardiac stress test! The left 20% of the road was now 20 feet below me on the left in the river. There was a channel running across the road that was 1 ½ feet wide and a half foot deep. The center portion of that channel had gone missing.
This meant that, if I were to attempt to continue, I would have to trust that the narrow strip of dirt my left tires would drop into would not decide to join the rest of the road lying somewhere far below. If I attempted to cross too slowly, my tires would potentially drop into the channel, never to budge again. At whatever speed, the whole section could give way.
With a gulp and a prayer, I charged the channel, keeping my left tire on the one piece of intact land. Zuki managed to drop both sets of wheels neatly in and out of the channel while God’s hand held up the muddy rut.
Usually baby showers are associated with women chatting, drinking tea, playing games and oohing and ahhing over baby clothes. This one would have made an exciting episode on any Extreme Sports program!
Extreme sports and a baby shower. Hmmm… Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?
I suppose being 16 years old and expecting twin boys comes close to an oxymoron as well.
Yesterday I four-wheeled an hour off the main road on the other side of the valley to attend a baby shower for Nena’s 16-year-old daughter. Mountain folk often marry young, as is the case of Tatiana. She was married at age 15 and now is expecting twin boys!
Those of you who know me well know that I love jeeping in the mountains and that I have plenty of experience with that remote stretch of road that winds and jolts its way to Nena’s house.
Yesterday gave me reason to pause three times, get out of Zuki (Su’s Zuki), and actually lay hands on the Sikekick and pray!
My first stop came after I opted to take a newly carved road which I thought would circumvent a dicey stretch on the old path. After lurching down the wet, red clay, slippery slope for about a quarter of a mile, I slowly came to the realization not only that the two roads were not joining up again, but that there were no recent tire tracks on my path. I parked the car and in my dress and sandals hiked down a bit further to verify those facts. There was no option but to back up. Vision in reverse on a steep slope, trying to peer over the spare tire is difficult at best. The jeep skittered on the clay incline. After about 3 blocks of reverse I decided the road was just wide enough to turn around. It took me about 10 forward-backward maneuvers and bumping up against a barbed wire fence before I breathed a sigh of relief and used 1st gear low four-wheel to return to the original “road.”
I thought the rest of the drive would be “all downhill” from there. It was all downhill, but not in the sense of being easy. The water-laden mountainsides made it necessary to creep along in first gear most of the way. I was only about a half mile from Nena’s when my heart jumped. The road ahead did not look familiar. As I drew closer, I realized why.
Part of the mountainside had come down onto the narrow road! Fortunately, the tree that came down was not over the roadway, but 2 feet of soft mud and grass were. Oh, my! There was no way to back up this time. I once again parked the car, got out, and prayed. My only options were to rely on Zuki and God’s hand or wade through the mud and walk the final half mile, leaving Zuki right there. I carefully evaluated the situation – my pulse racing.
Gravity would pull me straight ahead, which was an advantage. There was no significant precipice off to the left – another advantage. The precipice that lay on the other side of the mudslide was preceded by at least 12 feet of solid road. So, with my heart in my throat, I slithered through the mud and had to only maneuver the car twice on the other side to head down what now looked like an awfully sweet piece of road.
Thank You, Lord!
It took at least 15 minutes for my heart to calm once I got to the shower. Since I arrived early, I helped Tatiana fry chicharrones and finish preparations for the shower. It was such a privilege to be there as part of the family in that remote mountain community! Nena asked me to give the welcome and begin the shower with a prayer – an anomaly in this very Catholic area!
Several neighbors were amazed that I’d driven down that mountain stretch alone! After consulting with many of them, I decided that it was a safer bet to return by the road that leads down to Vuelta de Jorco instead of chancing that dreaded curve on the road above.
Everyone said, “The road to Jorco was closed yesterday because the river was over it, but it’s not too bad today.”
OK, Lord! Protect me once again!
The road to Jorco was barely recognizable. It was obvious that the river had recently claimed it as its own bed. It presented no unexpected challenges, however, until I was almost down to Jorco.
As I rounded a curve, my heart skipped a few beats again. This shower was proving to be a true cardiac stress test! The left 20% of the road was now 20 feet below me on the left in the river. There was a channel running across the road that was 1 ½ feet wide and a half foot deep. The center portion of that channel had gone missing.
This meant that, if I were to attempt to continue, I would have to trust that the narrow strip of dirt my left tires would drop into would not decide to join the rest of the road lying somewhere far below. If I attempted to cross too slowly, my tires would potentially drop into the channel, never to budge again. At whatever speed, the whole section could give way.
With a gulp and a prayer, I charged the channel, keeping my left tire on the one piece of intact land. Zuki managed to drop both sets of wheels neatly in and out of the channel while God’s hand held up the muddy rut.
Usually baby showers are associated with women chatting, drinking tea, playing games and oohing and ahhing over baby clothes. This one would have made an exciting episode on any Extreme Sports program!
