No Brakes!

In a few moments you will see perhaps the funniest pictures I have seen on island that were taken candidly. These pictures tell the rest of the story . Maybe it was even funnier because if God had not been merciful you probably would have seen a news report back in the states to this effect:

"3 Peace Corps volunteers die tragically along with Eastern Caribbean (EC) Director and Country Director after brakes failed in Saint Lucia."

So the story before the pictures. I was picked up by Kate the EC director and Sharmon the St. Lucia director to attend a close of service party (COS)for some volunteers preparing to go back to the states.

They had also picked up two other volunteers, Nicholas from Anse Le Raye and Star from Marigot Bay. We were driving down the west side of the Island which has the Piton's (two inactive volcanoes) that are driven past, the roads are incredibly curvy and steep as you go down the coast that would make any Nascar driver envious. The roads are surrounded by a tropical rain forest that is all around with an occasional Horse or Cow on the road for good measure.

As we were just coming into Soufriere I was running my mouth bragging about the work I had been doing with the Canaries Street Party when we hit an incredible pot hole. A pot hole that was so large it nearly swallowed the car. We popped up on the other side. When Nick and I looked back to see what we had hit we saw a homeless street lady clapping for us in maniac glee impressed by our impact. Then Nick noticed our rim covers spinning in the street next to the lady which had exploded off from the impact.

We turned back to tell Kate when we heard her quitly say, "The brakes are gone."
The BRAKES are gone!!! Kate maneuvered the car through the street missing beggars and pedestrians handling it beautifully with no brake control. She took us uphill until our forward motion stopped and placed it in park. Now mind you the brakes did fail before we hit the pothole/gutter so it was not Kates fault, in fact it was probably a good move that helped slow down the car.

These gorgeous pictures perfectly show the aftermath, enjoy.





































Yes, yes I had no idea what I was looking for or pointing at, but I can say that I did feel better after opening the hood. Look at Sharmons expression, PRICELESS! Click on the picture to zoom in for a closer look at Sharmons expression.
















































I have to again commend Kate and Sharmon on how well they both handled it.

It was a good time and certainly made a great story.