When you grow up in North American, such as in our extraordinary country of Canada, you become accustomed to certain safety standards and regulations. Lots of them, for almost everything and we accept them as just part of life. In reality, we don’t even really notice them anymore.
There are railings and barriers to stop people from falling off of cliffs in all the national parks. Wearing a helmet when you are riding a bike, or even a horse is the custom. The first thing we do when we get into a car? Put on our seatbelt. And you best believe that car will have passed a thorough safety inspection.
It took having an almost life-changing experience in Havana, Cuba to fully appreciate why many of these laws are a thing. We like to have a lot of adventures, and some might say we like to take risks. This is true, but we are also very safe, and we always follow safety guidelines and rules. We had become complacent in believing that the governing bodies in charge would do their part as well.
Cuba is a fascinating country. The Cuban population is as resourceful as they come. The image you have in your head right now of cars from the 1950’s filling the streets is 100% accurate. 60-year-old cars are everywhere. Keeping a car running for that long and keeping it in excellent, good driving condition is no small feat. Apparently, as we learned, not everybody can do it.
Cuba | 2011
We hired a taxi to take us to the famous fortress, Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro. It wasn’t a very long drive, but it was up a winding road that we absolutely did not want to walk up. Our first red flag could have been the condition of the vehicle – it was a little bit dirty, not nearly as shiny as most of the cars; there were a few rust spots on the body, and it just looked…tired. But hey, not everyone has the time to wax and polish their car daily, rust spots are not the end of the world, and I would look tired too after 60 years of work. So, of course we hopped on in.
Cuba | 2011
The four of us climbed into the back seat and I put our youngest my lap. I reached up for the seatbelt and was met with empty air. Nope, seatbelts were not put into this car. Hmmm, red flag number two? That’s okay, we’re not going far. I will just hold onto her very tightly. (That should never be the best plan.)
Our driver was very friendly and took an immediate shine to our children. Our son is now the proud owner of the driver’s Che hat. He was very informative and obviously loved that his work allowed him to meet all kinds of people. Off we go, climbing the trail, taking the turns at significant speeds, all while having a great conversation about his home city of Havana. A lovely drive. Until.
Without any warning, the car door on my side flies open and I am staring at the road under us.
Aaaaaahhhh!
Luckily, I was already holding onto our daughter with an iron grip, but it didn’t stop my body from swaying towards the open door as we are hurtling up the road. I grabbed the driver’s headrest and managed to stay in the right side of the car. My heart was no longer on the right side of my body.
The driver didn’t seem too surprised that his car door flew open and he was appropriately apologetic, although a little too blasé about it for my liking. We all walked away from that incident and nobody got hurt but, I am most definitely scarred for life. Needless to say, we did not ask him to wait for us.
Chalk this one up to ’different country, different rules.’
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