Mr. Toad's Wild Cab Ride (in Portuguese)
What is the smallest airport you have flown into?
In 1991, I was living in Munich and flew to Portugal to watch an
auto race in Estoril, a few miles west of Lisbon. On the
morning of my departure, I was expecting heavy traffic and
airport delays, so I gave myself plenty of time to get to the
airport.
I walked down to taxi stand, got in the first waiting cab and
told the driver "Lisbon airport." We agreed to the price and
off we were.
As I expected, almost as soon as we hit the freeway, we got
stuck in the morning commuter traffic going into Lisbon. But,
when we reached the first exit, the driver took it and the ride
began.
The driver clearly knew "the back way" to the airport. We were
driving at crazy speeds down back alleys and very narrow roads
and around blind corners. There was more a couple close calls,
including one scrape with a metro bus, but I saw no apprehension
in the driver's face. It was more than a little dangerous, but
the adrenaline rush drowned out concerns for my personal safety.
The only analogous experience that I can think of is Mr. Toad's
Wild Ride at Disneyland.
When we got to the airport, I gave the driver the agreed amount,
plus a healthy tip and told him that was the best ride I had
ever had. I then sat and waited at the airport for quite some
time, because the driver had been a little too fast.
The trip was absolutely fantastic and the cab ride was a nice
way to end it. I will always have fond memories of Portugal.
Alan
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