Monday, December 15, 2008

Visiting Family

We had a nice day yesterday visiting Ibis' family in Lazaro Cardenas. It's about an hour and twenty minutes north of here but because we weren't sure how the car would handle, we drove more slowly. Most of his siblings who live in town came over for a large dinner around 2:30, then we all at around chatting. They were impressed by how much my Spanish has improved and I had a much easier time understanding everyone than I have in the past.

One brother had a baby last fall and the last time we saw her she wasn't even crawling. Now, at fourteen months, she's running and talking! Our nephew that we've spent the most time with was at the same stage she is, but an entire year later. They were both a lot of fun, and of course we took pictures.

Ibis tried to get a good picture with both kids, but every time our nephew put his hand around our niece's throat, she started screaming. He thought it was funny so he kept doing it. There's a whole series, but this is the cutest.


Here's me with our nephew. This is the same house where we lived for the first three months we were in Mexico. They've changed a few things around but for the most part, this is what it looked like.


Later in the afternoon we headed to a local park where the family plays volleyball Sunday evenings. There was a big Christmas party going on for the kids, but since the family are Jehova's Witnesses, we stuck to the playing courts. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures there.

One brother told us that they passed a horrible accident on the main road (we took a different way and didn't see it) but we had to go back that way when we left. Traffic was completely stopped and the family wanted a closer look.

The car that caused it:


The tree it took out in the median:


The bus it hit on the opposite side of the road:



I have never seen a more gruesome site. There was blood everywhere on the road, on the bus, and on debris from the car. By the time we arrived the ambulances had already taken the people to the hospital (which is on the same road about half a mile away) so we thankfully only saw the wreckage. As we were leaving we saw something on the side of the road that looked like a stomach, but I insisted we didn't take a picture of that.

Unfortunately, this type of accident is pretty common here. The car had to be going very fast to cause that kind of damage, and it's a busy street. We heard the driver was drunk and I don't know how many people died. We were very careful coming home and didn't see any more accidents, but scenes like that stay with you.

22 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

That looks like a pretty bad accident. If those are common you better drive extra carefully.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Wow! I bet that makes you glad you were taking the drive up so easy. Just to try and control your journey that much better.

Great pictures!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Travis, we usually avoid driving at night, especially on Sundays, because the roads are really narrow, unlit, and dangerous. Picture large buses bearing down on you in your lane because they're passing slower vehicles. There's just nowhere to go.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Janna, we almost stayed overnight after seeing that, but I wanted to be in my own bed.

WendyCinNYC said...

Nice family pictures. Very cute.

I once saw a bad accident and that image has seared in my brain. Be careful out there.

Robin said...

Adorable kids! That sounds like a fun day. It was probably relaxing, until you drove back and saw the remains of the car accident. Yikes! I hope that's a rare occurence!

Rachel Burton said...

What an awful accident. I hte driving by mangled cars and wondering what happened to the people in them.

And those kids are adorable!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Wendy, we've seen a few bad ones here.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, it was just crazy. The fender was still in the median. After we dropped them off we had to drive by again, and people were already speeding and weaving around each other as if nothing had happened.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Rachel, they really are sweet. The boy gets jealous of the girl because he was the only little one for almost three years, but he does love her.

Spy Scribbler said...

Oh, wow, Melanie, that is so sweet. What a darling family. Man, have I got pangs.

Every year, we go to DC for Memorial Day. There's this big motorcycle thing for the POWs that day, and every year, sadly, we pass two - three motorcyclists in body bags.

It's so sad. So, so, so sad. I know it's not the event that causes it, and there are SO many motorcyclists that it's probably just a simple matter of statistics, but it still feels so depressing. They go every year and do this great thing, and people die for it.

Okay, let's get back to your family. They are the sweetest!

colbymarshall said...

Man, that looks pretty bad. I hope that although it looked bad people ended up being all right. SO sad.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, that is sad. Especially knowing that someone always dies.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, I don't know. From what I could tell, the ambulances had to go back and forth, but I don't know how many people were involved. We're hoping to hear more details from his family today.

Anonymous said...

Oh God... that was horrible! I remember seeing a car flip over in front of me, and I heard screaming from inside the car. That image will never leave my mind. *shiver*

It looks like you had fun with your in-laws. The kids are very cute. :)

Unknown said...

it's amazing how universal the fear of automobile accidents is and the joy brought by children laughing and playing. Regardless of the cause; weather, bad construction, or bad drivers, there is no such thing as a 'good accident'.

Erica Orloff said...

Hi Melanie:
What ADORABLE CHILDREN!!!!!

E

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Ugh, Turkey, that would be awful. I had a car rear-end another as I was passing when I was first learning to drive. If it had swerved into my lane it would've hit me head on. Scary!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

K, yes, very true.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Erica, they are such sweeties! The boy gets very jealous, but then he turns around and helps her out.

Jewel Allen said...

Sad, Melanie :-(. It was a wonder when I lived in the Philippines how cars didn't get in more wrecks.

Hey, just stopping by to say thanks for your kind words on my blog. Have a merry Christmas and a fabulous new year!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Enjoy your holidays Pink. :)