I woke up with a bad hangover this morning. And mother nature was not in a good mood either.

Thanks to my earplugs, I had slept through a massive thunderstorm going down over the playa.

We had rain, hail, and a number of direct lightning strikes right on the playa.

The energy in the center camps went out, and the playa dust immediately turned into the mud that everyone feared.

In the end, they had to close down the entry into Black Rock City, as the mud basically makes all the roads impossible to pass.

For thousands of Burners who were arriving, this meant to return to Reno and wait, or stand hours and hours in the queue and not move, as the mud would immediately clock their vehicles, and turn into a cement-like substance when drying.

We stayed in our tents, secured the cushions and seats and just waited… in the early afternoon, the roads had dried somewhat.

But once you walked over it, your shoes quickly accumulated so-called playa heels. As more and more mud sticks to your soles, you grow an inch or two just by walking to the toilets.The roads became impassible, huge chunks of playa mud being torn out by bikes, cars and shoes and leaving holes and bumps.

 

Still, at one time I had to get out again and started to ride around the playa, having a look at the art, and a couple of drinks at Celestial Bodies.

I stumbled over one of my favorite camps on the playa, the Steam Bath Project. Installed in a small igloo-like contracted tent, a steam bath was a perfect way to get rid of the first days of accumulated dust, sweat and sunscreen.

Later that evening, cars started rolling onto the playa again as they re-opened the gates and let in the people who had been camping out in their cars since the early morning.

We hung out at different camps in the neighborhood, from BloAsis to GlamCock’s, and biked around a bit. Another day exploring the playa.