It’s Wednesday the 16th of February and after a week of fiestas and 4 days of carnival, Tena sleeps. Well relatively; strictly speaking it’s back to work and school.
I’m sitting on the pavement out the front of our house, (something I’ve not been able to do for days for fear of being ambushed!) and I reflect as breathe in a wiff of rotten egg. A dog wanders past with a distinctly blue tinge to its coat, even it has not escaped the carnival.
Carnival in Tena is a crazy affair. Once school breaks for holiday on Thursday lunchtime, it’s full steam ahead for a long weekend of crazies. The kids cover each other’s school uniforms with water, flour, eggs and coloured spray foam. The fiestas reconvene in the evening and you’re mistaken if you think there’s ever a choice in participation in carnival antics! Standing watching the Miss Tourism presentation, my ‘friend’ turns round and sprays coloured foam in my face, followed by water, beer and the rest!
For 4 days walking anywhere requires all valuables, books etc. to be tightly wrapped in plastic bags, as buckets of water are poured from roof tops on unsuspecting passers by. It seems whenever I’ve just had a shower and gotten dry I’m stung another time by mad carnavaleras. Even travelling in taxi or bus you are pelted with homemade water canons. The premise of war is integrally understood. If you are not armed with at the very least a water bomb in your hand, you are a prime target! So if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em!
Suffice to say after 4 days of wandering around in wet clothes, however hot it is, everyone has a cold. Just another carnival in Tena! As I write I wipe my dripping nose but luckily on unscented toilet paper!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment