Driving in South Africa. Vol. 2

Yesterday I fell off the road.  

I am not making this up, or trying to be funny. Well, funny maybe a little, since I'm still in one piece, and lived to tell the tale, but in all honesty I really did fall off the road.

"How can one fall off the road?", you may be asking yourself, seeing as the road is intrinsically already a part of the ground, making the action of falling pretty much impossible. Still, I must remind you that you have never seen me drive, or if you have, I know from experience - not to mention the impromptu speeches pertaining to my lack of driving skills at my farewell party in Mexico -  you will not be questioning the possibility of my falling off the road. I know you my dear friends, and I can feel the love.

Anyhoodle, how did the events unravel? Well, I was minding my own business (a major problem when I'm behind the wheel) driving around in my hood, as I suddenly came to the conclusion that I was supposed to turn left at the upcoming intersection. As I was on the right most lane, and NOT on the turning lane, I seriously contemplated using my Mexican experience and turning anyway, but scrapped that plan in favor of a plan much more suitable for South Africa. I would change lanes and nicely slide myself in between the oh-so-fancy Mercedes, which had more or less been up my posterior since leaving my house anyway, and the bakkie (a pick up truck) with the population of a good-size village crammed in the back. No problemo. Todo bajo control (read with strong American accent).  

Long story short, I grossly miscalculated the required length of my otherwise nicely executed slide, and consequently did not stop where the asphalt ended and ended up letting out a tiny scream instead as the left side of the car less than graciously lurched down into the dirt, a good 20 or 30cm below the surface of the road. Thank Zeus, or in this case Daihatsu, for good ground clearance. No harm done, and as a bonus I totally freaked out the lady up my you-know-what. 

I seriously thought about bashing the condition of the roads (so much better than in Mexico, unless we're talking dirt roads, but nowhere near the northern European standard) in this post, but the truth is, yet again, it was me, ALL me.