Saturday, April 4

Saturday morning started with pancakes for the kids and Scott.  Then we walked over to Plaza de la Gavidia and went into the Casa (Home) store for the first time.  We were in search of simple (aka cheap) desks for the boys.  Rosa's room here came with a desk and she LOVES it!  In fact, she tells us regularly that she likes this room better than her room at home.  Grandparents, if you're reading this, please know that Rosa has a desk for Denver on her wish list.  And, the boys now have desks on their wishlists, too.

Luckily we found the perfect desks and they came in 2 different colors.  Cody's, the blue one, was the floor model.  Devon's, a green one, was in a box, and while the cashier was wrapping it with a tape handle for us to carry it home, Devon and Rosa hopped onto the swing at the front door.

Here's Cody and Rosa in our courtyard carrying the desk home.

Here's a very happy Cody at his new desk.  We have 2 extra kitchen chairs that fit perfectly with the desks.  Cody's sitting on one and Devon now has the other.

Saturday afternoon Scott rented a bike and rode to the soccer stadium to see a Sevilla Futbol Club game.  There are 2 home teams in Sevilla with this one being the really good one and the other one just 1 or 2 years out of the minors.  

Scott took some great videos.  Just listen to the fans cheering like crazy.

Sorry that this video is sideways.  Perhaps I'll get around to rotating it another day.

Scott loved the energy at the game.  And the end score was Sevilla 2 and the opponent 0.

We weren't sure how roudy these games would get.  We've learned that no alcohol is sold to help keep the games (the fans) safe.  So we'll likely take the whole family to another game.  

Sevilla is weating the white uniforms.

While Scott was enjoying the soccer game, the kids and I walked over to the American friends' apartment.  On the way, we saw a number of paso carriers gathering at a corner bar and having a beer before beginning their long and tiring journeys.

Here are the 5 kids at the Americans' apartment looking out the 2 living room windows to try and see the procession.  At this point all we heard was the procession music.

The boys at one window

The girls at the other window

In this picture the girls are in the foreground, then a church that's under construction (though some scaffolding was taken down so that Semana Santa processions could go by), and then the bus station, and then the procession (just 100-200 feet away) and a yellow building.

Cute picture of Teagan at the window.

One of the processions' bands.  We noticed that there was plenty of space for us to go see the procession up close.  And so we all put on our shoes and headed over for a fabulous front row viewing spot.

Notice a nazareno in a wheelchair.  We haven't noticed too many wheelchairs in town.  People seem to be very mobile.  But it's wonderful to see this nazareno being able to participate for the many miles that the procession will take.  

At all of the processions, the locals were super helpful with the children and giving them the chance to be up front.

All 5 kids touching a paso (or giggling about it)

Notice the shoes under the paso.  And notice that they're black.  Under the Mary pasos, they wear white.

The paso stopped just in front of us (amazing) and we saw some of the carriers getting out for a breather.  This is no easy task.

Notice the head covering on this man.  All of the paso carriers wear head coverings like this one.  There's a towel on the back of their necks wear they hold most of the weight.  By the end of the week, we noticed that many of these men had big lumps on the back of their necks and it was often raw with some skin missing.

After the soccer game, Scott met us at the American friends' apartment and had a drink.  Then we took off to find a dinner place and to get the tired kids to bed.  We didn't make it far - just 2 blocks to the playground we'd already visited twice that week.  The kids played while Scott and I sat down to have a drink.  And sure enough, our new friend Susana and her daughter showed up.  So we settled in, waited until the kitchen opened at 8:30pm, and ordered dinner.

After we got home, Scott helped put the kids to bed and then he headed out to see one of the last processionals of Semana Santa.  This one went by the plaza where we'd eaten dinner the night before.
The pasos (religious floats) are something that the brotherhoods at all of the churches contribute to.  Each year they raise money and add something to the paso.  Some of the pasos are newer (started in the 1970s).  This procession that Scott saw had the oldest paso to process this year.  It was from La Soledad and the paso was from the 16th century.  Truly amazing this tradition that has lasted for so many years.

While most pasos have bands behind them to help the carriers keep step, this processional was a silent one.  Just before the paso got to the square, a hush was sent across the plaza.