Out with the old, in with the new - Happy New Year!

We welcomed in 2009 with our neighbors. Actually, we spent the minutes between 11:55 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. ducking for cover as our neighbors lit firecrackers of all shapes and sizes. Not only were the explosions deafening, but they also forced us indoors right when the evening spectacular took place. It's a Nicaraguan tradition to make a dummy stuffed with newspaper and fireworks who represents the old year. At midnight on New Years, the old year is blown to smithereens, thus welcoming in the new. The following photos are the before-and-after: the pyrotechnic-filled old guy, and his flaming remains.