Last Parade Before Lent

There was a small parade on Saturday and music and dance, a little larger parade on Sunday, a bit larger party on Monday, and a real blow out Fat Tuesday Parade. The children get a real kick out of running "away" from the clowns (men dress up as women) who chase them and shower them with flour. A long time tradition which probably once meant something - maybe the flour chased away the bad demons. Those characters dance and act up at every intersection and throw flour on the crowd and also confetti. Of course, there are floats! Maybe not like the Rose Parade but some of them have beautiful girls dancing hula or wearing beautiful white gowns and waving. They throw candy. Other floats have men dressed up - one in particular made the crowd really laugh - it said "Por Gulpa del Alcohol Una Boda Resulta" and had a very large man in a white brides gown with another large man in a mariachi suit, some of the attendants were dressed as mariaches but they were women dressed as men. There was also a float with "women" in some scanty clothes posing alluringly. The side walks were crowded with families, grandparents and small babies. There was so much talk and laughter at all the flour throwing and who became covered with it. Most of it was thrown at pretty teenaged senoritas who laughted and screamed. We did get caught in a little flour but were not really the target. What fun!

We stopped by a little hole in the wall to get a drink and ended up having lunch - a wet("drowned") bagette pork sandwich and a coke. We had never had one and enjoyed it as well as talking to the owner, an older senora who spoke only Spanish.

We are enjoying our guests very much. They are adventureous and independent. We have tried lots of fruits and veggies - today we bought cactus leaves (nopales) which we will cook. Also bought a different kind of squash and some ceviche. A while ago we bought a fruit named, mame, which was good for one taste for everyone and then we threw it away. Maybe we needed someone to tell us how to prepare it. We like to experiement.

Don't want to get too carried away with this blog so I'll find a nice picture and be blogging you later.