Home on the Roam

Thread the Needle (Driving)

aluinal

There are compact cars, and then there’s this abomination.

Driving in Ponta Delgada means getting comfortable threading a needle between stone curbs, parked cars and pedestrian elbows with zero inches to spare.
It is hard to capture just how narrow the streets are but here are some surrogate measures.

Jenny threads the needle.
Rent a car and you have to pay extra to cover wheel damage. Narrow roads and stone curbs result in lots of scuffed and torn wheels. They recommend you document the condition of your wheels before driving off in your rental. These are before photos, as Jenny’s expert driving resulted in no damage.
Fiat 500 parked within inches of its life.
This turn is called “squeeking curve” on Google maps. The tight corner and cobblestone road bed combine to make every car squeal even though top speed is about 2 mph.
Our whip for the day. A compact by the standards of gas-guzzlee nation, but large by Azores standards.
Nothing to do with narrow roads, just a cool old car.

Leave a comment