Out and about all day, in need of a little refreshment. We decided to hit the Santa Pola (Costa Blanca, Spain) seafront at dusk for a quiet drink at one of the cafes. Wow, it’s really busy tonight … more than usual for August.
Not only difficult to park, but just getting around: queue and jams everywhere, but no sirens or flashing lights. We tried the underground parking station in the Castillo area—couldn’t even get near it, as fifty other cars were in front also trying to find a spot. We found out later it was fiesta, dedicated to the Our Lady of Loreto, a local saint.
We’d inadvertently stumbled into the middle of the Moros and Cristianos parade, and we’d just caught it.
Finding a park spot in the dark was a slight challenge, we finally found a tight car spot; it paid to have a small, zippy car, methinks?
The parade had already begun, from the Palmeras Park to the Castillo Fortaleza de Santa Pola. … Thousands of spectators, hundreds of participants, lights, action, noise, color …
We squeezed in amongst the crowds just down from the Palmeras Park, where camera flashes were that frequent they seemed to be in time with the drumbeat.
The beat was going ... uhmmm, uhmmm ... drums cue (ratta-tat, ratta-tat), trumpets blared, cymbals clashed … the spectacle was amazing, spectacular even!
Videos or photos do not do justice: you just have to be there and experience it for yourself, boys and girls were enchanted, enraptured with the colorful spectacle. … as the day slowly turned to night.
I had never seen such a fantastic, awesome sight up that close before.
Maybe it’s not possible in larger cities since there are so many people.
Santa Pola is just perfect for up close and personal with the event, as they had very few barriers between spectators and the procession.
So much detail of the costumes, so intricate the design, pomp and splendor, ancient somnolent chant, mesmerizing the audience …
It was packed all the way from the start to the end of the parade winding its way down to the Castillo; there were floats every five minutes it seemed like.
Difficult to gauge how many people there were, people up the side streets, standing four or five deep.
Each one of the floats and the arm-in-arm walkers behind it was even more splendid than the previous one.
The crowds cheered and cheered some more …
Later on, many bars had Moros and Cristianos themes and were open for drinks and tapas all over town, even some at the new Santa Pola marina. Revelry all over the place until very early in the morning. What an end to the glorious series of Fiestas that we were fortunate enough to be in town for! Next year, we’ll know when to come back ...
For photos and a full write-up, visit my personal website (URL is located in my profile) and click the “Jacquis Musings” section.
