Photo Friday: Downward
Day 023 – August 14, 2011
Photo Friday has decided to go with the theme of downward for this week’s photographic challenge.
I tackled this theme earlier during another photo challenge and you can see the results (and pictures of sand dunes and my daughter riding a sandboard near Laguna Huacachina) by hyper-jumping-linking to here.
For this challenge, I need to tell you about a street near where we live in the suburbs of Lima and tell you about the wonderful thing that happens on Sunday. On that day, the district officials have decreed that two lanes of the four-lane thoroughfare are to be closed to automobile traffic so that all manner of pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, and roller skaters can enjoy the street without fear of being hit by a car, truck, or bus.
Local businesses, sensing a fabulous opportunity to place their wares out in front of people enjoying a beatuiful stroll, set up booths all along the path. Children’s toys, dog food, recycling bins, and homemade honey all can be spotted along the asphalt.
At one end of the closed street, a bounce-house company sets up a giant inflatable contraption for the kids to play around in. Every week, it’s a different theme enshrined in plastic and powered by electric fans. We’ve seen aliens, Noah’s Ark, and pirates.
Below you can see a sock-clad lad enjoying his downward (see…there’s your theme for this week) journey on a bounce-house that (although you can’t tell from this picture) is shaped like a skateboarder’s half-pipe.
Everybody say “Wheeeee!”
As I sit and write this entry in May of 2012, our family has rarely missed our Sunday appointment with the “Saludable carretera” (or “healthy road” in English). It is a wonderful opportunity to walk, stretch the legs, let the kids ride on their bicycles, and see dogs in all manner of sweaters.
Posted on May 4, 2012, in Peru, Photography and tagged bounce house, children, Peru, photography. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
What a great idea to close off part of the street to vehicles and make it available to pedestrians…
It’s a fantastic idea. I recently read that Los Angeles (Car Capital) does the same thing to a ten-block area of downtown (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lugo-349125-streets-people.html)
This is an interesting shot =)
Thanks for stopping by and for the kind comment.
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