Paro! Paro!

Yesterday we experienced yet another paro (strike) in Santa Cruz. This one was set off mostly due to the shortage in diesel fuel and the underpaid transportation government employees.

So what does a strike look like here?

See the pictures that we took a few blocks from our house. The micros (mee-cros), public buses that serve the majority of Santa Cruz' population, lined up together to block the major roads and the airports literally shutdown.

The grocery stores close along with everything else. It's quite a site. This is the fourth one to take place since we've been here. We take advantage of the the work we have to do at home as well as enjoy a nice walk without any traffic. Many people ride bikes, fly kites, etc. in the streets and then the paro usually ends around nightfall. Charles and I can't quite figure out why the strikes aren't any longer than they are. Often it's uneffective and just seen as a break for everyone but there is a lot of politics behind it - more than we understand.

We were talking yesterday about how that would go over in DC if all the metro shutdown and the public transportation stopped for a day. Chaos. Thankfully it doesn't seem to get too violent or chaotic here. Or maybe we just don't realize it if it does.