Around Our Barrio, October 25, 2011

I intended to take a photo of our street, Colibri, before the paving process began.  Unfortunately, I laggardly missed that by a day, so I took a photo just after the street had been sprayed with a thick oil in preparation for the trucks with hot-mix asphalt, the spreader crews, and the steamroller.  I know that aphorism the road to hell is paved with good intentions may not seem to apply to this instance of my failed intent, but the pre-sprayed street was a worthy photo subject because here many of the roads, our own Calle Colibri¹ included, are paved with carefully arranged-by-hand stones, the sections delineated by continuous lines of stones about 5 feet² apart, the broad sweep of which on a gentle curve is--despite the jarring effect if you're fortunate enough to be passing quickly over them in a cab--a pleasing sight. I would romanticize this paving if I said "alas, poor _____," and so, no more; however, the stone streets can be a beautiful example of the manual arts and as sensible a use of abundant stones as are the walls between fields on the island of the white cow³.

The pavers did come to Colibri, and I was on hand with camera in hand to preserve a glimpse of the interment of the earlier paving technology, thus:

The paving process was followed by, on election day for judges here in Bolivia, another Dia del Peatón, which brought many of our neighbors (and Lynn and I as well, see photo) out to celebrate pedestrianism with a good walk on a fine, sunny afternoon.

Once paved, the street needed a line to demarcate right-of-way for two-way traffic. This brought an interesting series of events.  First a continuous double yellow line appeared.  Then it vanished.  Some said it was the work of the ladrones (and most probably Peruvian ladrones, I heard) who could be expected to steal just about anything. A close look at the pavement, however, revealed that black paint now covered the area where the double yellow line once had been.⁴ And then a day or so later a single white dashed line appeared on top of that, and shortly after that crosswalks demarcated by lines of raised caution-yellow reflectors and a speed limit sign of 10 kilometers per hour (kph). This was an excellent idea because the new paving seemed to have instantly increased the average auto speed by about 30 kph, a real hazard because at the top of the block there is a school and almost always there are groups of children going to or from it.

The name of the school, 26 de Octubre, is an important part of these goings on in this barrio as well. That date--tomorrow's date--is also the birthday of President Evo Morales.  Tonight the residents of the barrio have been preparing for a big celebration (see video) of President Morales' birthday. Lynn and I walked up to the school, which will be the center of the fiesta, to chat with neighbors (Marcela, our favorite tienda lady, hit me with a wad of confetti) and celebrate the improvements (in-ground natural gas lines, asphalt streets, speed limits, crosswalks, a beautiful school) that all together will make life in the neighborhood easier and better. Happy Birthday, Evo, and thanks!

__________
¹ more formally, Cerezos del Colibri.
² or 1.524 meters.
³ Inishbofin, where building stone walls also clears more land for planting, though plowing still is probably best done with a short coulter.
⁴ I did not remove any of the black paint to determine whether the yellow line was still beneath it, but, the character of the Peruvians aside, I believe it to be so.