This weekend was a moved one. It was a little longer than usual, Friday was a holiday due to the battle of Pichincha, one of the big liberation battles against the Spaniards, 1822 that was. So, Friday we said goodbye to a friend (Ellie's and her brother's boss and mentor) of ours who had died of an heart attack 4 weeks ago, but that merits a whole post. The celebration of life was wonderful, and we drank way, way too much afterwards. Like really, really too much. You know, when that little voice in your head is already screaming, but you just drown it? Always a bad idea.
... and then came Saturday.
That morning was terrible. Haven't had a hangover that bad in a while. To add fuel to the fire, a friend of mine had invited to a very special kind of birthday party - a pirate techno boat party. Yes, just like it sounds. How for the frequencies sake was I to survive that? And no, I couldn't just not go. That was the family who had taken care of Lily while I was sick.
Hungover as we were (a shared suffering, at least), we arrived around 4pm at the pier at Lago San Pablo with Ellie and her brother. The weather was playing along, so I was able to take a few nice shots with my shitty cellphone camera.
At least there was a nice breeze. And beautiful views. And the boat did not rock too badly. We installed the music, powered up the generator and off we went. A bar with a lot of beer, booze, wine and snacks upstairs (nothing better against a hangover than more alcohol!). We mainly staid on the top deck, with the subwoofer vibrating electro-beats through the whole ship, adding to the incredibly relaxing atmosphere.
Then the sun slowly went down and left us with a mesmerizing play of shades, colors and lighting. It was something else. I'm not a patriot at all and don't really like national flags and all that, but this one was just too good to not take a picture if:
The came by many clusters of totora reeds, where a white birds were chilling out. The lake and its surroundings are famous for their art in totora, they make everything out of it, baskets, carpets, art, you name it.
We weren't the only ones on the lake, though. A few other boats were roaming around, but they "only" had salsa music, not German electronica music straight from Berlin. The DJ was a friend of my friend from his days in Germany, and did a great job.
The clouds opened and closed, suddenly letting the warmth of a fading sun coming up on our faces, and we appreciated that. It felt overwhelming, more so after 3 cans of beer, when the headache was off and the body was scrambling its last reserves to get them feet moving.
When we were half way around the lake, the sun finally said its goodbyes. It was beautiful. I did not manipulate any of the pictures, maybe then it would be a better reference, but I kind of suck at that, so... This is what you'll get!
Lights on and further we went! The round was completed, and I was super tired. Ellie and her brother decided to stay further, while I couldn't take it anymore. I took Ellie's car and went back home, and fell asleep quite early.
This was surprising. All of it. Such a great idea! My friend was SO happy with the turn-out, the crew he had invited was so much fun and just seeing him smile from ear to ear all evening long made me happy, too - and I'm pretty sure everyone else felt the same. It's great to have that kind of community, where the happiness of one lifts everyone's spirit, and does not cause any envy.