My Kingdom for a Horse

Today was the fiesta de Sant Medir (apparently the patron saint of horses) in my neighbourhood. The festival is intended to bless the horses, so local riding associations take to the streets to celebrate.

After being woken by the Spanish version of a 21-gun salute (more like 35 guns, I’d say), my roommate and I wandered the barrio to catch the festivities.

Every street was filled with groups of drummers, people on horseback, and trucks filled with people throwing candy to the spectators. Children and adults alike were filling huge bags with the candy that they caught.

We stopped in a bakery to get breakfast, and the bakers had a pile of candy that they were throwing out the window at the trucks. As we stood there, a group of drummers came marching toward us – right toward us. They then marched into the bakery and back out the other door, much to our amusement. Fortunately, the horses didn’t follow suit.

After wandering around, collecting candy, we went to a plaza for a nice lunch, and then to market to visit my favourite dry-goods stand (the lady there is very patient with my ignorance of baking vocabulary…).

We’re now sitting in another plaza, enjoying the late-afternoon sun (and balmy temperatures), having a tea, and taking advantage of the available Wifi…

Ah, this is the life.