Happy New Year

Before too much time passes, I'd like to comment on the fireworks presentations in Mérida on New Year's Eve.  We stayed home, mostly because of my lingering leg injury. With a slow hobble and Pablo's assistance we made it up to the rooftop around midnight.  There were so many fireworks exploding the whole scene was reminiscent of NYE in Hawaii or a night out in Iraq. The streets and air were so full of smoke, visibility was about ten feet. The explosive loud noise occasionally disturbed my ear drums. 

We could see big colorful globes emanating from churches and other organized exhibits from our vantage point.  The  neighbors all around us had bottle rockets and m80s or cherry bombs and smokemakers.  We have escaped most NYEs in the city...one year we drove off to Palenque and ended up in Guatemala. . Another NYE we went with one of my absolute and best friends to Akumal - snorkeled before breakfast, and enjoyed seafood dinners on the beach.  Last year we treated outselves to a terrific Argentine steak house in Mérida.  This year we grilled T-bones and sauteed mushrooms with onions at home.  Pablo enjoyed some Sidra (typical holiday cider) and with all my current meds and antibiotics I allowed myself Coca Cola. There was no avoiding the smoke, and that is what most reminded me of Hawaii on New Year's Eve.  After the milennium,  folks in Oahu finally put the cabash on the free for all purchase of fireworks in the state.
Until 2000 we could legally buy as many rolls of 5,000 or 10,000 and maybe even 50,000 firecrackers.  Loud and long displays of jetsam flying around our 100 year old coffee shack.  NYE was mostly a nervewracker for me, so I drank my way through it, and at the end of the night I was the one lighting all the fountains in the driveway with the kids.

This photo is from 1996-97 with the guys working out the details.

1997-98

1997-1998.

The explosion, this one shot on the milennium.

Da smoke.

Da morning after.