Having witnessed the ‘seeing in’ of the 2011 New Year I continue to realise that nothing has changed that much in Lima! Over nine million people housed in about one third the area of Melbourne and most of them firing off firecrackers!
Just after 11.00 p.m. we ascended the steps of the Columban CEM, next door to the Center House, to view the proceedings.
As midnight approached so did the intensity of the incendiary activity! Nothing at all like the grandeur of the Sydney Harbour Bridge display, but just a total conglomeration of colour and sound. Everybody trying to outdo each other in the fireworks stakes! And no camera at hand to record the event.
There was even a photo of the Sydney Harbour Bridge fireworks in the local paper ‘El Comercio’ alongside the story of the centenary of the discovery of Machu Picchu.
It is almost mind blowing trying to estimate the monetary value of what ‘went up in smoke’. However, at least the people were having fun and enjoying themselves. I just hope the emergency wards of the Lima hospitals were not inundated with hand and face injuries!
The final legacy of the evening was waking up to the cordite haze and smell that hung over the city.
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