I mis-read the schedule yesterday about the main parade. Note I said main parade. There have been several. We were the first ones on the street and I had to maintain to De Anne that this was the spot. The good news was we got a marble bench, on the curb, in the shade. I vowed we would keep it. Other folks started drifting in and when we saw an old man park himself on the next bench over we knew we were in the right place. We amused ourselves trying to figure out why there was sand covering the intersection, and watching cars trying to enter an underground parking garage even though the sign said full. They would have to back out into the street filled with pedestrians, turn around, and then the next car would make a doomed attempt.
Finally, the parade started. Bands, bagpipes (an old Spanish tradition??), giant figures, big heads, horses pulling carts of basil, and cute kids throwing hard candies. Everyone was waving clumps of basil and the smell of it in the street was intense. If you did not have basil the guys walking beside the carts would supply you.
The reason for the sand in the street became clear. It was a cobblestone incline and the horses needed it for footing. A horse and cart had just passed us when the horse fell. There were several men for each cart and a half dozen quickly surrounded the fallen horse to quiet him and release him from the harness. This commotion made the horse next to us and behind the fallen horse jumpy. De Anne and I both quickly jumped up on the bench to get our toes out of the street.
Back up and getting hitched up.
Some other snafu must have happened because the parade paused, with a float full of children, right next to us. They were throwing candy to the kids in the crowd. One little boy threw one to De Anne. She smiled at him and thanked him. He threw a few more to her. Then the game changed just a little. He started throwing candy at her. Some of the other children saw how much more fun this could be and De Anne had candy coming at her from several angles. The ringleader is in the red hat. After the parade we found some children happy to accept our loot.
We worked our way through the masses back down from the old city to the Rumbia.
You can never guess what is around the next corner in Tarragona. Line dancers dancing to Tommy James and the Shondells - Mony, Mony. The next song was a bit more appropriate for the venue. Achy, Breaky Heart with lyrics in Spanish. After that the group took a break and a flash mob broke out with more line dancing.
Just too much fun! I was getting dehydrated so De Anne put me on a park bench and returned with a couple beers and an empanada. Purely medicinal, of course.
Today was the high point with teams competing in human pyramid building. The excitement was immense and the crowd as well. One team did have to halt at three levels and start over. I had noticed on the second level one man lost his initial grip and did not get reset well. I think that may have been the problem. Their second try was good.
About to complete a 7 high.
This is the team I "practiced" with. Picture at 5 levels with 3 to go.
There were no accidents today and everyone was grateful. The day finished with a last parade using the big walking statues again.
Tomorrow a trip to the market, laundry, and beach time - that's it!
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