You’re at the top of the Andes Mountains in a bus. It’s the middle of the night, and it’s only about 45 degrees. Suddenly, people around you start jumping up, yelling, screaming, and most of it is in a foreign language. Your friends tell you the bus has lost its brakes and you are starting to head down hairpin turns in the dark. “We have to jump off the bus!”

What? Did you hear them right? This is not a movie set, and you are definitely no stuntman, but yes, indeed, you must jump off a moving bus, at the top of the Andes Mountains, in the middle of the night. You are wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and, thank goodness, your sporty tennis shoes. Now comes the question: How do you jump off a moving bus and survive?

It’s simple, really. Just make sure the bus isn’t moving more than 10 miles per hour! Okay, okay, so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as you thought it would be, but I’ve peaked your curiosity, right?

The tale begins eight days earlier. We traveled eight hours across the Andes in a very nice, comfortable bus, awed by the beautiful scenery, happily snapping photographs. Then we spent 4 days in the Amazon jungle, making memories to be told another day. Coming out of the jungle, we were to rest overnight before getting on a bus again to make the trek across the mountains.

When we arrived, we learned there were strikes going on in the mining towns dotted across the mountains, and these could get violent. However, if we got on a bus leaving that night, it was a special road rally day, so the strikers were shut down for that day only, but we had to be out before midnight. Since we weren’t thrilled by the idea of being pelted with rocks or possibly being dragged from the bus, we grabbed all our gear and headed for the bus station.

As we settled in for the trip, we chatted and relaxed. Most of us drifted off to sleep quickly. Approximately one hour later, I woke with a strange feeling. It was too quiet. My husband leaned over and said, “This is the second time the engines have cut off. We’re on the side of the road.” He and several of the men on the trip headed off the bus to see if they could find out what was wrong.