Sugar cane burning is incredible!

Yesterday was a day off, which didn’t amount to anything other than a hangover after a quarter- final World Cup win over Sweden in the early hours, so I spent the day resting and trying to wrap my pounding head around England being in a semi- final. 

Hangovers have never felt so good.

Later that day, my friend was phoned by his farmer asking if he wanted to see a sugar cane burning. This is something that happens this time of year. It is quite a sight, even from a distance. It is beautiful to see so many fires from so many sugar cane farms, from dawn til dusk. The flames are visible even from a distance. 

At 5.15pm, we jumped in a mini bus that the hostel kindly let us use and headed to the farm. Sadly, they started the fire earlier than scheduled as the wind changed direction pretty quickly, but the seven of us that made our way there were not disappointed. Here is what we saw as we approached the field.

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The fire was intense. Even from a distance you could really feel it. By the time it was directly opposite, it was almost enough to make us back away.

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I didn’t know how quickly these fires burned the sugar cane. It travelled up the field incredibly fast and to the height of a multi storey building. What was just as impressive was how fast it burned out. As soon as the fire reached the end of the field, the fire diminished and the roar of the fire stopped immeditely. It was like blowing out a match. Small fires continued to burn outside of the field where the farmer was igniting it, but the large fire was no concern. Campfire sized fires looked like they could be put out by stomping on them compared to the blaze before it.

17 days to go. I’m glad I’m still experiencing different things whilst I’m here and I hope to squeeze a little bit more out of Ayr whilst whilst I can. 

Have you ever seen a sugar cane burning before? If you get the chance, do it!