Caught by the downpour

For reasons that will be self-explanatory, this post was unable to be illustrated by photography.

"We'd better hurry so we can get back before the storm hits," Ryan said as we walked up the road away from the creche.

I looked up. The blackest clouds I had ever seen hung low over the mountains.

We all quickened our pace and came out onto the main road, hoping we would find a tap-tap quickly.

"On second thought, we can just take motos instead," Ryan said, as several motos zoomed up. Sometimes we could wait for 20 minutes for a tap-tap, and the motos could quickly take us back. It costs about a third as much to ride the tap-tap as to ride the moto, but still, the moto ride is only about 50 cents per person.

We mounted and took off. The bright sunshine still blazed above us, and it seemed that we would beat the rain.

But as we neared the center of town, we came to a place where the road was wet. Rain had been here, though the sun still prevailed in the sky. The moto driver slowed down a bit so that we wouldn't get quite so splattered with the water the tires kicked up.

Just outside of town, the first drops began to fall and the sun was blotted out. Water quickly got in my eyes and as the rain increased in intensity, blinking it out was no longer an option. I just sat there with my eyes squeezed shut, enjoying the quick breeze and the zinging raindrops against my skin. I was sidesaddle on the moto, behind Ryan, who was behind the driver.

Then it hit me:

"How can the driver see????"

We were driving pretty fast. How in the world?

So just in case you didn't think that 3 or 4 on a moto was bad enough, try doing it in the rain sometime!

We were drowned rats by the time we arrived home, drenched to the skin.

---------------------------

Ah, this is so much fun!

Where else can you hitch a ride down the road in the back of a pick-up truck and wedge yourself in with 15 other people?

Where else can you ride on the roof of your SUV on your way to go out to lunch with your coworkers because there are already 4 people in the front seat, 6 people in the back seat, and 3 people in the trunk?

Where else can you ride a motorcycle in a skirt and flip-flops because women get to sit side-saddle?

And where else can your moto driver (who is carrying two or three passengers behind him) see in the blinding rain?