A very scary experience

I'm writing this as I recover from a very scary experience we had this morning. On our way to school every morning myself, Diana and her son Daniel always take a taxi to beat the traffic and escape the very over crowded buses at rush hour in the centre of Lima. Today we did as we always do: we hailed a taxi in the street and, after negotiating a price with the driver, we got in.  On hindsight, as the taxi pulled up I did think it looked a bit old (even for a Peruvian taxi - which can be pretty ancient!) but being a bit of a novice when it comes to travel in Peru, I quickly forgot all about it. We got in and took off.

Diana gave directions and off we sped (literally) towards the school. We had only gone about 2 blocks when we came to a junction. Our driver, in typical Lima fashion, sped right on without stopping to check for on-coming traffic. All of a sudden another taxi, also speeding and not watching, came out of nowhere.  Everything happened in slow motion.  We were going too fast to stop and smashed head on into the side of the other taxi. Yikes!

There was a terrible couple of seconds afterwards of shocked silence.  Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt even though the taxi had no seat belts. Unfortunately, for the taxi driver his car was a bit of a wreck and had to be pushed off to the side of the road by some helpful bystanders, leaking fuel.  Sadly, with the loss of his car the driver also probably lost his livelihood.

We got out after a few minutes of shock and made to school a little late in a safer and slower taxi. We're all a bit sore and quite shaken up by what happened but more than anything we are thankful we weren't going any faster and that nobody was in the other taxi. Things could have been very different and much worse. For me it's woken me up to the dangers of the roads of Lima but most importantly I've seen God's protection and care in a very personal way. He promises that He is with us always and those who trust in Him will walk in safety, their feet shall not stumble and they shall not fall. (Proverbs 3:23/24). 

 I don't mean to scare senseless anyone thinking of visiting Lima because in all the time I've spent here I've never seen an accident till now.  We happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and these things happen but I've also learned my lesson: it pays to be vigilant and careful when out and about in Lima. Thanks be to God that He is ultimately in control of whatever happens to us.

Not my photo but definitely captures the chaos of Lima's traffic