And when I say "a little run-in," I mean... literally.

Got derailed from my original plan to check out El Tigre delta this morning when I had a little run-in with a taxi.

I have successfully avoided frostbite, malaria/dengue fever, altitude sickness, decapitation by surfboard, several earthquakes, and even a common cold for four months. I've crossed ten borders without issue, safely taken many crazy taxis/twelve airplanes/four overnight buses/too many day buses and boat rides to count, and walked somewhere around 500 miles over the length of this trip without even a blister.

So why was it in my destiny to be knocked over by a Buenos Aires taxi the day before heading home?

Bad news is, I lost a day (and man, was it a gorgeous day outside). I might have some bruises. My back is a little sore from where I got slammed into the concrete and my knee is a little creaky on the side where I got hit. I am still a little head-achy and nauseous from the whole thing.

Good news is, it could've been a LOT worse. It could have happened anywhere. Nothing on me or my person was broken (even my glasses hit the ground hard and survived) and nothing was taken from me or lost by me in the mayhem. The ibuprofin is working. I'm eating what is allegedly "the best pizza in Buenos Aires" tonight for dinner. We still have most of tomorrow here. And it reinforced my opinion that South Americans are the nicest people on the planet. I've heard of numerous bikers in Portland getting hit by cars where the drivers don't slow down, let alone stop. Here I had a nice little crowd of helpful gentlemen around me holding up traffic with their stopped cars, who wouldn't leave until I absolutely insisted. The taxi driver even offered to give me a ride back to the hostel. Um, a) it's 50 feet away and b) REALLY?? YOU JUST HIT ME, THINK I WILL BE AVOIDING YOUR CAR AT ALL COSTS. BUT THANK YOU.

So today was unexpectedly my last zero day until I can't call them zero days anymore. From now on they will be called "unemployment."

Hmm. All day I've been trying to figure out what I was supposed to learn from this unique experience. I wonder if having a last zero day was all part of the Universe's greater plan...

I will never again use "I could get hit by a bus tomorrow..." as my rationale for doing adventuresome things though. Be careful out there, especially at this intersection:

(taken the next day)