Obon Festival & Vacation in Colombia
09 Aug 2005
August seemed to be the month in which people remembered the dead. On 9, August the atomic bomb remembrance was held, already sixty years ago. Despite the fact that people thought nothing would grow for the coming 75 years, is Nagasaki a very green city. Only the museum and surrounding park reminds us of the atom bomb. We weren’t able to see the day program (it was on a regular working day), but in the evening we were able to see the open air mass, and the various performances in the peace park. Nagasaki school children had decorated candles, which were lit all over the park. You saw a lot of children looking for “their” candle. They also made a wall out of small pieces of wood, which contained a peace message. It is unbelievable that we live in a city that was almost totally destroyed by an atom bomb, only 60 years ago. The atomic bomb museum is a very gripping museum, and definitely a must for whoever visits Nagasaki.
On 15 August the Obon festival was held. It is a kind of memorial day, during which a lot of noisy fireworks it lit, to get rid of the evil spirits. Groups of people walk through the city, with a kind of float, decorated with lanterns, and the destination is the river. There is a garbage boat, waiting for the small floats, which are unceremoniously thrown in the garbage boat. In the old days, people made small boats and after the walk through the city, the boats were put on the river and were taken away by the cutrent. This is not possible anymore, the river would be clogged in no time. Hence the alternative of creating a big float, which is destroyed at the end of the tour through the city. During the walk, people get thirsty and also drink alcohol. The fireworks sometimes got dangerous and you always had to watch out that they didn’t hit you with it. The noise of the fireworks was deafening, there is not a bad spirit who dares to enter Nagasaki…
Some of the floats are decorated with materials that can be used again next year. They are partly dismantled before the float ends up in the garbage boat. Lenette saw a couple of foreign women who got a lantern off one of the floats. That would be a great souvenir, so she asked one too, it is now hanging above our TV.
In September we went for a family visit to Colombia. We had a hot summer in Japan, and were used to high temperatures. Still it was difficult in Colombia, with temperatures of around 40 degrees and humidity of more than 90%. After a day or two, the jetlag wore off and we could stand the heat a bit more, we started going for longer walks. Everybody thought we were crazy, with these temperatures you don’t go for a long walk volontarily, they thought.
With Carlos’ cousins, we went to Cartagena for a weekend. Hang out at the beach and at night go with the chiva. A chiva is an open bus, with a live salsa band. You buy a ticket and the chiva drives you around town. Live music, drink as much aguardiente (fire water) as you like and dance while sitting down on a kind of picknick bench. Quite an experience, we had a great time.
It was a very relaxing vacation, and we were very spoiled by Carlos’ aunt.
On 15 August the Obon festival was held. It is a kind of memorial day, during which a lot of noisy fireworks it lit, to get rid of the evil spirits. Groups of people walk through the city, with a kind of float, decorated with lanterns, and the destination is the river. There is a garbage boat, waiting for the small floats, which are unceremoniously thrown in the garbage boat. In the old days, people made small boats and after the walk through the city, the boats were put on the river and were taken away by the cutrent. This is not possible anymore, the river would be clogged in no time. Hence the alternative of creating a big float, which is destroyed at the end of the tour through the city. During the walk, people get thirsty and also drink alcohol. The fireworks sometimes got dangerous and you always had to watch out that they didn’t hit you with it. The noise of the fireworks was deafening, there is not a bad spirit who dares to enter Nagasaki…
Some of the floats are decorated with materials that can be used again next year. They are partly dismantled before the float ends up in the garbage boat. Lenette saw a couple of foreign women who got a lantern off one of the floats. That would be a great souvenir, so she asked one too, it is now hanging above our TV.
In September we went for a family visit to Colombia. We had a hot summer in Japan, and were used to high temperatures. Still it was difficult in Colombia, with temperatures of around 40 degrees and humidity of more than 90%. After a day or two, the jetlag wore off and we could stand the heat a bit more, we started going for longer walks. Everybody thought we were crazy, with these temperatures you don’t go for a long walk volontarily, they thought.
With Carlos’ cousins, we went to Cartagena for a weekend. Hang out at the beach and at night go with the chiva. A chiva is an open bus, with a live salsa band. You buy a ticket and the chiva drives you around town. Live music, drink as much aguardiente (fire water) as you like and dance while sitting down on a kind of picknick bench. Quite an experience, we had a great time.
It was a very relaxing vacation, and we were very spoiled by Carlos’ aunt.