Holy Week in Spain...A different experince...

   Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is celebrated with enormous passion here in Spain.  Floats with statues of Jesus and Mary are carried through the streets, usually accompanied by marching bands and followers wearing robes and odd pointed hats.  We were vaguely aware of these processions, and assumed we would encounter one during our travels.  Little did we know we would see one up close and personal.

   Last Friday, we toured the church and bell tower of the Iglesia (Church) of San Pedro, right across the small plaza from our apartment in Cuenca.  They charged one euro per person to climb the bell tower, but it was worth it.  The climb involved navigating several stories of tightly wound circular stairs before reaching the bells.  We could see these bells swinging and ringing from our apartment.  The view from the bell tower was magnificent...

San Pedro and bell tower from in front of our apartment...

olive branches in front of the Church...

"And I'm climbing a stairway to... heaven... ?"

How many more steps... ?

View of our apartment from the bell tower...

This one swings all the way around...

The moon just above the bell...

Great tile roof...

I can't believe I'm up here...

This ain't no crystal staircase...

The bell captain... ?

   That night around eleven p.m., as we were getting ready to turn in for the night, we heard some rhythmic drumming from outside.  We went to our front window and could see there was a procession taking place, leading up to San Pedro.  We grabbed the camera and shot this short video...

   www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0IdmYjfFXY

   It was quite amazing to see, especially being unexpected, and right outside our window.  We have since seen several more processions, both in Cuenca and here in Logroño.  They get larger, louder, and more elaborate as Easter nears.  We had not planned to specifically be here to witness these processions, but it certainly has been another interesting thread to add to our travel tapestry.

   We are now in Logroño, Spain, in the la Rioja region.  We are staying in a wonderful hotel in the heart of the Old Town.  Situated along the Ebro river, Logroño is a vibrant and beautiful city with charming public parks and town squares, lots of tapas bars, and it is the gateway to the la Rioja wine region.  Unfortunately, while sitting in one of the tapas bars, we handed our camera to a waiter to take our picture and he dropped it, damaging it beyond repair.  It was an older and not very expensive camera, but still a disappointment.  So most forthcoming photos will be by cell phone. 

   The good news is that we love the whole tapas experience here in Logroño.  It is tasty, quick, and oh so cheap.  More on tapas later....

   Click on or touch any photo to enlarge...