Terror Taxi

 At first I thought the trip from the airport was a one off, however after two days in Lisbon I can tell it's a standing issue. When we came from the airport at the last horrific roundabout a rage of horns and hands and swearing out the window. Suddenly a huge flat bed truck stopped in the lane next to the cab mid roundabout and the driver jumped out and ran to the taxi window screaming. The driver quickly rolled up his window. Flatbed driver was raging, screaming. The word translates to blinking...which means signalling. 

The trucker finally went back to his flat bed. The taxi man said: "this is why i got rid of my gun...because the last time this happened I shot a man"

C and I were perplexed and jet lagged. Did he really shoot someone? Why was he not in jail?

The driver explained he had been in the army a long time and had to be careful about his guns. 

A one off. 

Then last night in a taxi going from Rossario to the hotel a Ben Hur like chase occurred with the taxi outrunning a raging driving. Again fists and swearing with our driver full window down head turned backwards as the car was speeding at 80-90 km yelling back at the car who was trying to ram into him or cut him off. 

Finally to our peaceful day at the Lisbon Aquarium: Oceanario de Lisboa. Small sharks, rescued sea otters, giant sun fish. Although there were squealing toddlers I said to C at least parents are bringing kids to see actual animals and to wonder at them, not just playing "baby shark" songs and videos ad nauseam. 

We grabbed a taxi from the Nation of Planets area and whizzed along the avenue along the seafront and river docks. The air was fresh, humid and clean. 

Out of nowhere a dust up about some light and then a BMW owner starts screaming and honking. Then races ahead at 140 km weaving where there is no traffic. The taxi driver slows to a crawl to avoid being near him. 

BMW races away. 

Finally just by the Fado museum another clash and the taxi man speeds up to well over 100 km to get to the stop lights so he could lose the rager. All this time he kept looking in the rear view mirror. 

We asked our driver to let us off at the Centre Commercial. He parked just beside the policia. 

When we arrived at the hotel yesterday morning and I told the woman at the desk about the "this is why I don't carry a gun anymore" comment, she replied: "driving in Lisbon is insane...I think everyone went a little crazy during COVID and now it's stuck"