Late night update: Stayed up until really late, shivering in the cold, all to be able to say we saw the Straits of Gibraltar with Spain/Gibraltar on one side and Africa on the other. Of course it was ten o’clock at night, so all we saw were city lights, but hey … that counts.
And when we got back to the room, we set our watches ahead yet another hour. This time it was to account for all of Europe moving to Daylight Savings Time. Easy enough. Except …
Apparently, this time the phone automatically moved itself forward, adding to the previous reset we had done. That put us two hours ahead. And that meant our alarm went off at 5:15 instead of 6:15. I think. At least that’s what the ship time on the TV said. Oh, well …
We gave away palm crosses. I took a baggie full of them on the chance they might be conversation starters. And they really worked. I gave some to our regular dinner companions. I also gave one to our room steward Maali, to our waiter Vivian, to an elevator full of people heading to breakfast, and to a very nice couple who were upset that they would have to miss mass. Chris gave one to a waitress from San Lucia who was sad to miss church as well. She put the cross in her hair clip. I saved back two for our pickleball friends, Marcos and Kinny, hoping to see them at some point during the day. The only ones who refused it were two Jewish ladies. They were quite kind in their refusal though. They thanked us for the thought.
Our excursion was for a city tour of the town of Malaga, with emphasis on archaeological sites. We only saw one - a Roman theater - and we saw none of the advertised castles. Nevertheless, my favorite “site” was the bullfighting ring. It holds 30,000 people, but they only sell 10,000 at a time. They make more money that way.
But by far, the Palm Sunday procession through town was something I’m so glad I didn’t miss. Hundreds of kids and adults as well as two different bands led the procession. The highlight, of course came when about a hundred men carried a massive full-sized statue of Jesus on a donkey. But that was not all. There was a full diorama of people, plants and even a full sized palm tree. Amazing and impressive. And to think, there were festivals and parades just like that one going on all over Spain.
On the negative side, because of the massive religious and cultural implications of Palm Sunday, there were literally thousands of people massing in the town square. It was very difficult to stay near enough to our guide so as not to get lost. Still … well worth the experience.
And speaking of experience … we finally got to see a complete performance of the high diving/ water show. We had tried three times before and it was canceled each time. Either weather or technical difficulties. This time only one part of the show had to be dropped because of those dreaded technical difficulties. But they continued with the rest, and it was amazing. Lots of acrobatics. Numerous very high dives. Even some tightrope walking. And the synchronized dancing looked and sounded like they had been taught by a Pacific Islander. Well done.
Oh, and as I was walking up to our seats, a young boy maybe nine or ten years old approached me with eyes wide as saucers. He pointed to my t-shirt (that I got for Christmas) and said in a very heavy accent, “Mee-Kee Mon-Tell?” Yep. I was wearing my Mickey Mantle baseball card shirt. I assured him that he was correct. He beamed and skipped away. Gotta love those budding baseball fans of all ages and nationalities.
After everything was over we stopped off and picked out the two photographs we wanted to get as our 50th anniversary portrait. One is serious and about as dressed up as we got. The other one is really relaxed and fun.
Luke 19:38 says, The King who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!
Father, thank you for that Palm Sunday experience. Made me appreciate you even more. Amen.
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