Carnaval!

Hi all,

Here in Ecuador, we celebrate "Carnaval" on the Monday and Tuesday just before Lent starts. Traditionally the event is celebrated with water... lots of water. In fact, you better be careful just walking down street because someone is likely to take the opportunity to launch a water balloon at you from a nearby house. So every year we get a group of friends together and head out to our shortwave transmitter site for a giant water fight in honor of the tradition.


This year we had one of our largest "parties" ever with several families bringing along extra kids to share in the fun. Water balloons, squirt guns, buckets of water and even the garden hose are appropriate weapons on such a day. More recently the government has attempted to limit the amount of water that is used, so "foam" has become a popular addition to the armament. Usually by the end of the day you have some very soaked and foamed kids.

Afterward we had a picnic lunch/BBQ for everyone involved. Everyone brought a dish to share , so there was lots of food after all of the fun. The kids had a great time. The parents did too, although we mostly stayed inside until the water part was over.

Doug