"When we are in a bad mood, love moves away from us with terror, with fear, with panic and we are easy prey for everything that wants to cause us pain." Tony Potosino
It was the year 2005, I was working as manager of the systems department of a lumber group in a city in the interior of Venezuela.
Many call this city the musical city of Venezuela. It is located on a plateau and that makes its climate pleasant, but what makes it more attractive is its people. They are attentive, helpful, cheerful and really most of them are musical; they play an instrument or sing.
When you get to the limits of that city, it is impressive to see a beautiful landscape, with plains, crops, and an air of freedom and peace. The city, being on the plateau makes what is around you feel wonderful.
We had acquired a package of administrative systems for the group and it was necessary to train me on those systems and then I would instruct the staff.
The company that had sold the software was located in a city about seven hours' drive away.
Back then, services such as Uber Car or Uber Eats did not exist or were provided by a few cab companies that rarely made long trips. Those services were provided by individuals or companies dedicated to tourism.
I knew one of these private or independent cab drivers and asked him about the service.
We were able to agree on the rate, and the time and it would be a Friday at 01:00 pm to arrive in the early evening at the destination city.
That day before leaving, I had lunch with the owners of the company and at the end of the meal, we drank some Whisky with the excuse of digesting. One of the partners had been given some bottles of an Australian Whiskey called "Hellyer's Road" and they wanted to uncork one on the spot. I only had four sips and it left me with a pear flavor that pleased me very much.
After lunch, I rushed out to get my luggage and wait for the driver to take me to Merida; the destination city.
The man arrived on time, I boarded the vehicle and before leaving I told him:
-We are going to stop by a liquor store to buy a spirit.
I bought a bottle of Buchanan's Scotch whisky, a wine cellar with ice, and some glasses.
I didn't worry too much because I wasn't going to drive, I would arrive at the end of the afternoon giving me time to rest and be ready for the induction on Saturday. So I could have a few drinks for the duration of the trip.
When I had about half a flask in my head, I had the absurd idea of offering the driver a drink; a very bad idea.
But not content with that, I poured him several drinks.
When we were halfway there, I asked the driver to stop for something to eat. Regularly when I have a few drinks I like to eat something, I don't serve liquor without some snack.
I bought to go and invited the driver to eat something, but he refused, he didn't eat anything.
We continued the trip and I continued to drink and eat.
I had already traveled by land to the city of Merida, so I knew the landscapes of the road. But there came a point in the trip when I realized that the places I was seeing were not familiar to me.
I asked the driver:
-Where are we?
And he replied that he had mistakenly taken the longest route.
At that time that mistake was not a bad one because I got to know wonderful towns and beautiful landscapes.
The road to the city of Mérida by the longest route crosses the Andean mountain range and the cold is noticeable.
On several occasions, I asked the driver to stop because the urge to urinate was immense. Because the cold was so intense, the stream of urine seemed to freeze and at other times steam or smoke would come out.
Night came and covered us. That was bad because the plans were for me to arrive at the destination by the end of the afternoon.
The nightmare began.
I was lost, we were on a two-lane road and the lights of the vehicles coming in the other lane were dazzling me. So I tried not to look ahead.
Suddenly, I see the vehicle start to leave our lane and move into the oncoming lane.
I tell the driver that this was not right and the guy didn't react.
I looked at his face and the guy's eyes were open, but he wasn't answering me.
I yelled at him to get into our lane or we would crash into an oncoming vehicle.
The chauffeur just like that; all this was happening in seconds.
My senses were sharpened when I noticed a vehicle coming straight at us and started honking its horn.
While screaming at the top of my lungs at the driver, I took the wheel and straightened the vehicle dramatically.
At that moment the driver came to; he woke up.
I asked:
-Did you fall asleep with your eyes open?
And the wretched man answered me no.
I put the bottle away, threw away the drink in my hand, and became alert.
The curves came and there were many until we reached a small town.
We asked some people where Merida was and they told us, they passed it two hours ago.
I put my hand to my head. I couldn't believe what was happening. But that wasn't the worst of it.
The effects of the liquor had worn off with the scare on the road when the driver fell asleep with his eyes open.
We turned back, but before doing so I told the driver to let me drive so he could rest, that I felt up to it; I was sure I wasn't going to sleep.
The driver refused and we set off again.
But when I returned to the curves, I observed that the vehicle was opening wide to take them. The driver was not measuring the road and it was a two-way road. Fortunately, there were no vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
I had to raise my voice and at that time it was a mandate:
-Stop, give me the vehicle! You're not fit to drive, you'll kill us.
That would be how loud I talked to the driver and the guy agreed.
We changed seats, I checked everything in the vehicle and started the trip.
My inebriated state was gone, but just in case, I turned on the radio to listen to music and played it at full volume.
The driver was exhausted, not even the music woke him up.
At that moment I was alone, I couldn't count on anyone and I didn't know where I was. I had to be very attentive to the signs on the road, which would show me where to go.
The vehicle had good lights and the road was clear.
Until I realized that I was in the páramo, one of the most beautiful places of the trip but also the most dangerous because of the ravines on the side of the road.
The road was full of signs indicating where to go and thanks to that I arrived at my destination.
It was 02:00 am when I turned off the vehicle in front of the hotel entrance.
I woke up the driver who was sleeping like a baby and told him:
-If you want to stay at the hotel, I'll pay for it, so you can rest and come back in the morning without any problems.
The man refused.
In my thoughts was the idea that the driver wanted to commit suicide or was crazy.
I could not force him to stay, I paid him the money for the trip and watched him leave.
There was more than one who told me that I should not have paid him, because of the attempt on my life. But I was also at fault for offering him liquor.
I immediately checked into the hotel and went up to my room. I went through the shower and collapsed on the bed.
When I woke up it was 02:00 pm, I had overslept. I showered, got dressed, and rushed to the company to be trained.
Since the workshop was for me alone, there were no problems. They thought something had happened to me and were very worried.
I told them about the trip and they all laughed; how could they laugh when the driver almost killed me?
The universe took care of me and prevented anything from happening to me.
Two things I learned from those hours, one is not to drive while drinking alcoholic beverages, nor to offer it to the driver.
The other is that you should never, ever undertake a long trip with a person who does not know the route and who does not belong to a responsible company.
On Monday I was back in my city of residence with the necessary knowledge to install the software.
I came back alive from that weekend of terror.
For this weekend I have chosen the option:
Uber weekend
Have you ever had a bad, frightening or funny Uber Car or Uber Eats experience? In at least 400 words, explain the situation, what happened, why and how it turned out. This needs to be a real experience, not a fictional story but can have happened to you or someone you know.
This is my participation in [Week 126] Weekend-Engagement.
If you would like to participate in this initiative, just click here
I invite @verdesmeralda and @nbarrios67 to enjoy this good weekend.
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Fortunately, the universe took care of your life. It seemed like I was reading a suspense story, I was super nervous. And how scary when you saw the driver asleep with his eyes open. A lot has happened to you.
Thanks for the invitation!
Hi Isabel (@verdesmeralda).
Yes, some things have been lived and that has been good because I can tell them.
Thank you very much for your visit and your comment.
May the universe fill you with everything you long for.