Blackouts and fireworks
hello if anyone is out there.
Its been pretty quiet here really. Visiting relatives of Ricardo have left as has his wife Christina as she works and lives a few hours away. Ive just been working really. I hadn't realised the size of this presentation so started getting stuck in yesterday.
About two or three in the afternoon it started pissing it down, severe tropical storm stylee, roads become rivers and there's no point going outside except to get wet type affair. I didn't mind though, as I was cracking on with work and enjoying it, at least until the power cut. Luckily it returned about 5 minutes later and I was able to turn on the computer, unfortunately only for long enough to realise id lost the previous 3 hours work before it cut out again. Damn. It was still light so I read. Appropriately the period of the endless rains in 100 years of solitude began. Toward the evening it began to cease but the power didn't return. Ricardo had come home so we ate before it got too dark and decided to head out to what I thought was some sort of open air theatre thing in the park of Simon Bolivar. The rain had stopped but large sections of the city were still in total blackness. As we approached the centre the streets were packed with people and seemingly endless cues snaked off in confusing directions. We got of the bus and rather than blindly joining a cue decide to follow the largest to its source. I asked Ricardo again where we going and it was actually the Plaza Simon Bolivar rather than the park, which given the amount of people would have been a lot more sensible. The cue came to a mass of people standing behind a flimsy wall made across the street where they were letting through dribs and drabs of people who were lined up properly. We were still some four blocks from the Plaza where evidently something a lot more spectacular than street theatre was supposed to be happening. We joined a cueish type mob near the front and waited as the crowd became more desperate and police more exasperated. Shouting and whistling built into pushing and return whistling from the police who despite their vast numbers and military uniforms looked like a pack of lost boyscouts at a gabba nite, not one above the age of 21. The pushing evolved into crushing and with a smooth final push and a sigh of relief the wall was breached enveloping the screaming police boys in a sea of people. As they frantically blew their whistles the crowd broke into a run and we didn't look back. Almost as soon as we had started running we came across another barricade but this time they police were not as foolhardy and let us through. Every barrier just seemed to lead to more endless cues until the cue was indistinguishable from the crowd and small streets flowed slowly with people. Confused we looked up to the sound of an enormous bang and a flash of light. The closing fireworks of whatever it is were trying to get to. There was no going further as the police had barricaded the streets again but as explosions filled the air and the crowd built they opened the flood gates again. We ran, there was no choice, herd mentality, and pure bedlam as sparked rained from the sky to the street and the city echoed with explosions. The crowd eventually slowed to a walk and we reached the plaza. Impenetrable. As we arrived they tuned and exited and it was impossible to go upstream. We turned and wandered back dodging the animated street vendors selling tasty hot food from suped up wheelbarrows at discount prices as the night drew in. It was good. Ten times better than having actually reached the plaza normally and standing still like a sardine watching some municipal spectacle.
The electricity eventually returned at 3am this morning when after some delirious puzzling in bed I realised that I had left my light on when the power had initially cut out and that explained the early artificial sunrise. Today not much really. Re did the work I lost and have enjoyed getting stuck in for the rest of the day. Being a normal work day the office came to life in the morning with people comming and going but that's all really. It looks like I wont be going to Cali for a while as the people I was going to meet are going to Baranquilla on the North Coast so I think im going up there as they are launching the University HR campaign i spoke of and am translating and re-writing the English presentation for. Anyway we shall see.
Its been pretty quiet here really. Visiting relatives of Ricardo have left as has his wife Christina as she works and lives a few hours away. Ive just been working really. I hadn't realised the size of this presentation so started getting stuck in yesterday.
About two or three in the afternoon it started pissing it down, severe tropical storm stylee, roads become rivers and there's no point going outside except to get wet type affair. I didn't mind though, as I was cracking on with work and enjoying it, at least until the power cut. Luckily it returned about 5 minutes later and I was able to turn on the computer, unfortunately only for long enough to realise id lost the previous 3 hours work before it cut out again. Damn. It was still light so I read. Appropriately the period of the endless rains in 100 years of solitude began. Toward the evening it began to cease but the power didn't return. Ricardo had come home so we ate before it got too dark and decided to head out to what I thought was some sort of open air theatre thing in the park of Simon Bolivar. The rain had stopped but large sections of the city were still in total blackness. As we approached the centre the streets were packed with people and seemingly endless cues snaked off in confusing directions. We got of the bus and rather than blindly joining a cue decide to follow the largest to its source. I asked Ricardo again where we going and it was actually the Plaza Simon Bolivar rather than the park, which given the amount of people would have been a lot more sensible. The cue came to a mass of people standing behind a flimsy wall made across the street where they were letting through dribs and drabs of people who were lined up properly. We were still some four blocks from the Plaza where evidently something a lot more spectacular than street theatre was supposed to be happening. We joined a cueish type mob near the front and waited as the crowd became more desperate and police more exasperated. Shouting and whistling built into pushing and return whistling from the police who despite their vast numbers and military uniforms looked like a pack of lost boyscouts at a gabba nite, not one above the age of 21. The pushing evolved into crushing and with a smooth final push and a sigh of relief the wall was breached enveloping the screaming police boys in a sea of people. As they frantically blew their whistles the crowd broke into a run and we didn't look back. Almost as soon as we had started running we came across another barricade but this time they police were not as foolhardy and let us through. Every barrier just seemed to lead to more endless cues until the cue was indistinguishable from the crowd and small streets flowed slowly with people. Confused we looked up to the sound of an enormous bang and a flash of light. The closing fireworks of whatever it is were trying to get to. There was no going further as the police had barricaded the streets again but as explosions filled the air and the crowd built they opened the flood gates again. We ran, there was no choice, herd mentality, and pure bedlam as sparked rained from the sky to the street and the city echoed with explosions. The crowd eventually slowed to a walk and we reached the plaza. Impenetrable. As we arrived they tuned and exited and it was impossible to go upstream. We turned and wandered back dodging the animated street vendors selling tasty hot food from suped up wheelbarrows at discount prices as the night drew in. It was good. Ten times better than having actually reached the plaza normally and standing still like a sardine watching some municipal spectacle.
The electricity eventually returned at 3am this morning when after some delirious puzzling in bed I realised that I had left my light on when the power had initially cut out and that explained the early artificial sunrise. Today not much really. Re did the work I lost and have enjoyed getting stuck in for the rest of the day. Being a normal work day the office came to life in the morning with people comming and going but that's all really. It looks like I wont be going to Cali for a while as the people I was going to meet are going to Baranquilla on the North Coast so I think im going up there as they are launching the University HR campaign i spoke of and am translating and re-writing the English presentation for. Anyway we shall see.
