Una Tormenta

Yesterday we were visiting one of the aldeas (think smaller village in the surrounding area) to meet the locals, get some lunch, and attend a liturgy where we would be introduced. We went around to visit all of the houses, and While the people here may not have much at every stop they would offer us cafe and comida. Culturally, it's rude to turn down such offers, so the other volunteers and myself drank cup after cup of coffee and ate what was handed to us (note: when I say 'coffee,' don't confuse it with the stuff you can get at Starbuck's (on a side note, please boycott Starbuck's and all it's owner stand for). This coffee most closely resembles mud in its consistency and tastes very sweet due to the mounds of sugar added to it (I think it''s kind of good)). It's the rainy season, and unfortunately for us as we were saying our goodbyes one of those tropical storms you always hear about decided to strike.


I've never been scared of trueno or relampago (thunder or lighting)..... or at least I hadn't been until I felt and saw both no less than a football field's length away. The lightning actually looked kind of rounded as it came down (it probably wasn't, but the flash was so bright that it seemed that way anyways), and the thunder sounded like a bomb had gone off (not that I would know what that sounded like..... but you know what I mean). In total, the storm couldn't have lasted more than 30 minutes, but the torrential downpour was enough to transform a small stream trickling across the road into an impassable river (or so we thought). After waiting for a few hours (in which time the river only went down a foot or so) we decided it was safe enough to cross (actually, we were just really bored and wanted to get home. Plus, another truck had just (barely) made it across so we thought we'd try our luck). Enjoy:

Video Courtesy of Joe Runde