Neighborhood Fireworks (Fuegos Artificiales)

For the last 20 years or so, I have lazily gone to bed around 11:00 or so, and rarely, if ever stayed up to see fireworks New Year's Eve. I think we went down to the beach one year when we first moved to Seattle, but after that- never. I never even stayed up to watch the "ball drop" on TV. Very boring guy.

My wife, in fact, is the one who loves fireworks. I mostly think of it as a loud, stinky annoyance. But last night was different. This is the first time our house has been in order and last night we decided to sit out on our terrace, overlooking the water and usher in the new year. I had suggested we go to the roof, but Denise declined. We still don't have our roof stairs installed (if we ever will) and the ladder is tricky. So we opted for the terrace, instead.

The weather was mild. Slightly cool, but a refreshing change from the heat of the day. It was a full moon and you could have read a book by it's light. Our neighborhood was in full swing. The neighbors had many guests and there was music and kids playing outside. Before midnight, there were lots of firecrackers and loud explosions. Our pets didn't seem to mind. Because we got them during the remodeling phase of our house, loud noises don't bother them. In fact, they wanted to be outside (in the back yard, of course).

Finally, as midnight approached, we could see some lovely displays from the east and west of us, along the coast. No doubt we were seeing some of the Atlántida show, and San Fortin and no doubt Salinas to the west. But what really surprised us was our local show.

Our neighbors, across the street had such a great production, that we couldn't believe it. They must have had it professionally produced. There was rocket after rocket after rocket- timed with precision. It went on far longer that I expected. Because it was so close, it probably was some of the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen! Really! But that was not all, the other neighbors and no doubt surrounding streets also added to evening. We felt we were in the middle of some great event- with laughter, shouting and a mariachi band playing in the background. Yes, mariachi music. Even though we are in Uruguay, with no Mexicans around, the local restaurant must have thought that mariachi music would suit the evening- and it did.

So from here on in- no more mister grumpy. I love fireworks! And I can't hardly wait until next year. Actually, I won't have to, since they have fireworks again on Jan 6th, Dia del Reyes (day of the kings) when they celebrate again and give more gifts. You gotta love a country that knows how to party!