The mountain drive that left me rattled…

WHEn I was working in new Mexico I had an afternoon free, so my american workmate said he would organise a ‘cheap’ rental car so I could look around the area on my own.

The car, which came from a company called Rent-a-Wreck, duly arrived. I set off on a lovely sunny afternoon to the Sandia Mountains, heading up the winding road towards the peak. after a while, my Rent-aWreck began demonstrating why it had that name by slowing down to a crawl. I turned off the air-conditioning to give it a little more oomph, but eventually I was going so slowly I decided to pull over into a small lay-by. Fortunately there was what looked like a narrow footpath, so I decided that, as it was a nice afternoon, I would take a stroll. as I walked towards the imposing peak, I stopped to admire albuquerque city below. as I did so, I brushed against a large cactus, which stabbed me with a very sharp needle. I delicately removed this sharp spike and watched the spot on my arm gradually change from a small dot to a large red circle.

I decided that this was a good time to return to my Rent-aWreck and make it back to the hotel. Later that evening, my american workmates were having a get-together, to which I was invited. By the time I arrived, my war wound had enlarged to around 2 in in diameter, and — being bright red — was very noticeable. One of the americans saw it and asked what had happened. I explained that I had been assaulted by a large cactus. Since there are very few cacti in the residential part of albuquerque, he then enquired as to exactly where it had happened.

I explained how my Rent-aWreck had given up part way along the road to Sandia Peak and I had decided to abandon my drive and have a stroll. at this point the room went quiet, and a lone voice said: ‘We don’t normally go there — too many rattlers around.’ It transpired that, actually, nobody goes there — as it is riddled with rattlesnakes.

I still wonder what would have happened if a snake had confronted me. It would have made my cactus incident pale into insignificance!

Philip Lewis, aldwick, W. Sussex.