I thought I would share with you a little of how things have changed around here since the riots/demonstrations started a few weeks ago.

Did I mention that, generally, businesses and citizens aren't able to count on the police much to protect their property?  Here is what some businesses have done on Avenida Alemania on which we travel or walk daily.

This bank has covered all of it's lower windows with a form of sheet metal. The deviants were glad to have some fresh space on which to paint their graffiti.

This travel agency put metal plates on the lower widows and plywood on the upper windows.

This is my personal favorite. It is a grocery store. As you can see, they have welded steel plates over all of their lower windows. The have a steel plated door to close when they leave. The white lettering on red says, "Hello! We were waiting for you." That catch phrase now has new meaning.

I don't have a picture of the most troubling change from riots. I had to walk downtown a couple of days ago and noticed that the rioters had torn down many street signs. Not only do I rely on those to let me know what street I am approaching but I really need them to tell which direction(s) one can drive on the road. Roads can go from two-way to one-way to the other-way here so those signs were important to me.