Concrete Slides...

Dan and I had to change the oil in our motorcycles the other day, so to warm up the engines a bit first, we decided to take a quick cruise up Baul, a nearby hilltop park. I had been up Baul a few times but had never partaken in one of the main attractions - the infamous concrete slides. This is pretty much the first thing people mention when Baul comes up (after the spectacular view). So seeing as though we were up there anyways, and for a change there we no annoying kids hogging the slides, we decided to give em a rip. Up until this point, everything sounds cool. However, here's a few extra details: (1) The slides are steep. And long. (2) It had been raining and the slides were wet. (3) I was wearing sandals. (4) We decided to slide down on flattened oil containers for extra speed. (4) The slides are made of @#*!ing CONCRETE!

To be honest, I was a little uncertain about the whole thing, but hell, I had seen small infants sliding down, so I was not about to back down. So I hopped on my oil container and let 'er rip. I started picking up speed at a pretty alarming pace and because I was in sandals, didn't want to use my feet to brake. I caught a bit of air going over a hump in the slide, but managed to stay on course. It actually all pretty fun...until the end.

The slides end in a small concrete 'holding pen' about a foot off the ground, so basically, your only hope of surviving is to land on your feet. Well, lets just say that if that happened, I wouldn't be writing this post. I hit the concrete and slid across the holding pen with one foot underneath me (which turned out not to be too good for my foot) until I hit the wall at the far end. The picture below pretty much sums up the results of my concrete slide experience. Needless to say I'm not big proponent. Guatemala is full of hazards though, and considering I was riding a motorcycle around in sandals as well, I probably shouldn't be too upset.




Until next time,
Wear closed toed shoes.

Dave