some day

headed yesterday to troodos even if the pistes are not officially open. there is snow. took some photos. took some photos because i couldn’t snowboard. the snow doesn’t properly cover the stones.

but not about this i want to talk about, but about bad luck.

the morning didn’t start very well. the house was cold (even if there is central heating), a kid was shouting and the building site across the street was noisy above any acceptable level.

after coffee i packed myself up and hit the road for troodos. the slopes were closed and no one was skiing or snowboarding, i would have climbed the hills for few short descents. but alone in the forest, in winter, even so close to the main road didn’t look appealing.

on my way back the problems started. 7 km away from the nearest village, one tire  exploded. never bee in this situation, let alone by myself.

pulled over, realized that my phone’s battery is completely empty so i thought i shouldn’t be far from the village. why not try and drive like this.

first is the noise, then is the burned tire smell and the shaking wheel. and the growing fear that somehow the car will fall apart.

after 2 km (smoke from my left exploded tire) i pull over again and check the option of fitting the spare tire.little did i know that, even if i had the proper lifting installation, i would have never been able to unscrew the wheel.

after 10-15 min of balancing my options:

- can’t change it myself as one piece is missing from that thing that lifts the car

- can’t call anyone as my phone is dead

- can’t stop anyone as i am literally in the middle of the forest and the traffic is low at the hour. plus, on the island, being a rather fair skin, blonde foreigner appeals to the local men in a very unorthodox manner. too risky.

so i decide to slowly drive to the nearest town and search for help. and so i did, with my warning lights on, 10 km per hour, pretty scared that the axe that holds the wheels will break for good.

and when i saw the village i stopped on the outskirts and walked looking for help. to realize i’m still 2 km from the village and i have stopped near 2 restaurants.

first 2 men i found i asked for help. a taxi driver. with the apologies i ask in advance to this gentleman who changed my wheel (with his own jack as mine was not usable), taxi drivers are the worst kind of men on the island when it comes to picking on foreigners bearing my description.

but this one did help me for nothing and i got to use my knowledge of greek as his of english was of no help for any of us.

all seemed fine until we realized, after fitting, that the wight of the car flattens the spare wheel.

drove in stress for 2-3 km (a flat tire can become a  not-anymore-a-tire in a matter of minutes) and found a gas station and filled it with air. little did i know that the spare wheel has no adherence at all. so my car refused to climb a very steep slope covered with dust. i had to stop and climb it with first gear and attracting all the attention because the left tire was sliding and making terrible noise. i was still in the village.

my luck changed while on my way home. i saw a pile of tires on the left hand side and the first occasion, i turned my car and asked the guys (signs and greek) if they have a tire for me.

they only charged my 20 euros for the job + tire (second hand, better than what i’ve had anyway).

i made i to town with no problems.

One Response to “some day”

1. oana says:

   February 7, 2010 at 4:21 pm

   wow! that was a helluva story…