Wandering Through Windy Wellie
Everyone walks at an awkward slant in Wellington thanks to the infamous, overbearing winds that whip through the city streets. The air comes off the Pacific and bursts through the downtown buildings, creating a wind tunnel effect. Yesterday was nice and sunny, so I had a hard time believing that the city was the windiest in the southern hemisphere, earning it the knickname “Windy Wellie.” But today! It is raining, but it’s not just any old rain. This rain must be blown into millions of particles by the gusts of wind before they reach the street level, refusing to fall straight down in normal droplets.
As I walk down the street the wind strikes over and over, covering my face in a fine mist of cold water. Garbage from the street floats upwards, almost hitting me in the face while an A-frame advertisment for a Morrocan restaurant seems to gain a life of its own as it skids across the pavement. I got a haircut today and the guy styled it really nicely but it didn’t stand a chance in the face of this weather!I stood at the corner of a street waiting to cross, desperately hitting the crossing button hundreds of times, and having to hold onto a pole so that I didn’t get knocked over into the street and run over by a truck.
I’m very serious about all of this. I felt like I should be giving a weather report to a tottering camera man while holding an umbrella, if only so that it could be flipped inside out to show how strong the hurricane has grown.The city is the capital of New Zealand and it has the most dense population of cafes anywhere in the southern hemisphere. In fact, that has been what my day has been reduced to–ducking into cafe after cafe to recharge my batteries with some espresso in order to press on towards the blasts like the Energizer bunny.
Tags: 1
transcendborders
Leave a Reply