Day 1: "the drive"

I drive I69 in Indy twice a day for my daily commute, and i've seen videos of drivers in india spin deft defying moves. The drive we experienced today was much closer to the later than the former.

The clean air act does not have an equivalent here, buses holding 3 times too many people belch unburned diesel and oil in a way that has to be seen to be believed. At 5000 feet above sea level, we could feel the drop
In power in the motors from the thin air.

Lane markers are merely recommendations. One way streets become two way depending on the motivation of the drivers involved. Stop signs are treated as yields, yields don't exist, and would be ignored if they did. At one point the two east bound lanes of the highway were closed for several miles. No orange barrels, no flashing lights, just a small sign and a white rock or two. You have to say a prayer hoping the other drivers value your life as much as you do.

We saw the aftermath of a fatality. It was gut wrenching....and there were no fire trucks or ambulances, just dozens of local people trying to do what they could. It looked like someone went to run across the 4 lane highway and didn't make it. Later on we saw a funeral procession, no hearses, no big production, but it looked like every person in the town was part of it. It was clear that the deceased was loved by all.

We saw police with rifles standing like sentries. We didn't see them stopping anyway, but we were told they do random stops to check registrations and licenses. Nevertheless, it is common to drive without a license.

We stopped at a rest stop, bought some dehydrated bananas, some agua pura, and used "hombres bano". It was clear that Spanish is spoken by many, and I quickly needed to learn some. After only a few hours, I have learned more Spanish than I thought I would.