A Pickpocket, a Pagan Parade, and Hero. Busy day.

Wow, we had an eventful afternoon!!

The day started out with swimming lessons like most Saturday mornings. Lots of fun and then home for a nap (Katie and me both!). Then we decided to hit the town for a bit. We headed to downtown and had a super yummy lunch and then wandered downtown to see what we could see. Wow... and what we did see...

First as Mom was looking in a souvenir shop and I was walking around with Katie we hear a woman yelling frantically and running up the stairs out of the metro. Everyone started to turn around and look and I guess she was yelling something like, "Stop him, stop him!" THEN I look over and there is a guy racing across the square and someone running behind him. Who was it running behind the alleged pickpocket or purse-snatcher but none other than MY HUSBAND! AHH! What?!?! I shouted after him, "BE CAREFUL!!!!" I don't think he heard me.

There were lots of people watching this all going on. My brave (or crazy) husband caught up to the guy and seemed to say something to him and they kind of stopped running. Then out from behind a bus appears a police man who knocks the guy to the ground and the woman who was yelling caught up to them too. Jonathan left the situation in the good hands of the police man and walked back to us on the other side of the square with a proud but, "what just happened?" look on his face. All of the people around were looking at him and some were pointing. One woman said, "He was so brave." And another said, "Very valiant!" As we walked away from the scene a big group at an outdoor restaurant applauded for him! It was really a strange experience. I'm proud of him but I'm mostly really glad he was safe!

You'd think that would be enough action for an afternoon but there's more...

As we continued on downtown we heard some REALLY loud drums and saw some people in ornate costumes. A parade or processional of some sort was starting. Most people were in masks and strange costumes or dressed as animals like a wolf or a bear. Several had intricate headpieces on and were dancing around to the music. It was really aggressive music and kind of scary. They proceeded down the street and back up and around. We asked the police nearby what it was and they said that it was some kind of traditional pagan ritual/ceremony or something like that.

I have to say it was really strange. The music was loud and aggressive and disconcerting and the dancers were hitting each other and people in the crowd on their heads with balloon type things. It was strange...

We moved on from there and found a really large group near the main plaza. This was a mass in honor of a statue that was brought down from Fatima, a nearby religious pilgrimage site. The statue is here for the 50th anniversary of another large monument in the city. This service/ceremony was SUCH a contrast to the one we had just passed. The music was pleasant and calm and the crowd was respectful and paying great attention to the big screen that was projecting the service. Very interesting contrast...

So, after that our feet were quite tired and our brains were full from all that we'd seen and done and we were ready to go home. Here we are, safe and sound. Thank you Lord!

And you? What did you do today? :-)