Random Festivals that We Just Happen to See (Part 2)

Hola gringos

Some travelling has happened since the last update, but as always, there is so much to do that the internet is not always #1 on the to do list (although, jeeeez, its hard to live without a computer this long!)

What i meant to write about a little bit ago was our fashionable way of stumbling upon random festivals wherever we go. We were sitting in Tarragona on a patio with a tapa or two when suddenly we were peppered with mortar fire from hidden positions. Seriously, the street was overtaken with explosions all over. We looked around, and no one else seemed to be pulling the ´duck and cover´like we were, everyone was just going on their own way. What?! Crazy Spaniards. Turns out that the mortar rounds were cherry bombs and firecrackers that children use to celevrate the last day of school as wel as the Dia de San Juan. It was a fireworks fest. For 24 hours and more there were explosions and fireworks EVERYWHERE, around everycorner and in every childs hands. Not too safe, but kinda cool

We watched this happen for a while and then later on in the eve, I took a stroll down to the beach because of rumours of a concert happening. What I found was the pitch black beach taken over by people...young and old. Groups of students dancing, families with babies around fires, seniors and children sitting and talking. And fireworks shooting off into the water. It was crazy. It was as if no one was going to bed, they were all just relaxing and beaching it up

I walked around there for a bit, tried to espagnol it up. Once i got tired I thought I´d grab a kebab and go to bed so i walked down to the main square to find some food. I turned the corner onto the main street only to be accosted by a giant dragon shooting white flames from its face. Id walked right into the main fireworks parade in the middle of the street. I dont know how i didnt hear it before i got there because each dragon (there seemed to be one large dragon for each group, maybe school group) was followed by a regiment of drummers and other firework weilding figures. There were clowns running with giant sparklers and each dragon had large flames of sparks shooting from its eyes or nose. The air was full of smoke and music and i was basically in the middle of all this, confused. COnfused, but amused. It was something to see

And of course, at the end of the parade, the fantastic firefighters of Tarragona made sure that everything was safe. Huzzah to you brave firefighters

Ciao