Topes Flying

I’ve been thinking how bug free Hermosillo feels. I’m not complaining mind you. I’ve seen huge red ants at the park, and little ants. And at night, like now, I hear a few crickets and night bugs.

But the worse bug they seem to have is those pesky little flies that land on the lip of your coffee mug just when you’re getting ready to take a sip. But that’s it for the insect world that I can see here.

Speaking of flying things, I was airborne for a several seconds (too long) today. I really didn’t think I was going that fast when I realized I was just half a second from being on top of a topes speed “bump”.

The truck and I must have been 3 feet in the air – and managed a perfect crash landing. Grrrrrr. No wonder there are so many hospitals in Hermosillo. It’s incredible. Damn topes.

On occasion they’re marked – could be you’ll see a sign, slow down, and just when you’ve gone a couple of blocks and decide it’s an old sign, wham, you hit it. Or maybe there’ll be a sign about 6 feet after you’ve already flown over the damn thing.

I am too afraid to stop and do damage control. When I finally do stop, it looks like the biggest damage happened in the back when something crashed into the distilled water and cracked it. But it’s the desert, everything will dry out soon.

If you decide you want to experience a pedestrian death-by-vehicle, here is the place to do it. I can’t believe how people dash across the street, in front and in between cars going 45 miles an hour if they’re lucky. Even the little kids know how to duck in and out of traffic.

I think Muni drivers must have gotten their lessons here. The buses act as if they are the bullets at target practice. And the people are like those bumper cars racing across the streets, around corners, disregarding oncoming traffic let along lights.

Buses - and cars - barrel through stop signs, red lights, yield right of way and then think nothing of stopping in the middle of the lane to let people off or pick them up.

I do like the blinking green light warnings. The green light blinks three times before it will turn a quick yellow and then red. And I also like the order of the lights. Most of the time, the green forward and green left turn come on at the same time, letting one direction go all the way together. Then when their light turns red for them, the other direction gets to go forward or turn. It seems to really work here.