Over a year ago I illustrated the dangers of travel in the Andes with a series of roadsigns that would scare even the most experienced driver. Today I can illustrate it with photos of the recked remains of a taxi that drove off the road into a ravine. This is a daily occurance in Peru – though only bus-fulls of dead are enough to make the news, albeit briefly.

In the case I witnessed today, in the rural roads linking Chilete and San Pablo in Cajamarca where I happened to be passing through, no-one lost their lives. Locals helped drag the taxi back up onto the dirt road – something they do for others knowing someone might return the favour if they go over one day.

Photos attached.

Update 3/12/07:
Like I said, crashes usually only make the news when bus fulls of people plunge down a cliff. Today just that happened in Apurimac, where a Cial bus full of children ran off the road into a Andean ravine. Seven have been reported dead while another fourteen are injured.

Tags: apurimac, cajamarca, chilete, cial, mountains, san pablo, traffic