As early as 7 a.m. there were buses and pick-ups full of people barreling down the street toward the beach. By 9 a.m. there were already thousands of people by the lake. Here it’s said tourists go to Antigua for Semana Santa and the indigenous people come to the lake. Seems to be true.
Paul and I went for our coffee, then walked to the market to get pineapples. The streets were already full, people walking down to the lake for the day. This is the busiest day of the year here, the Saturday of Semana Santa. People are everywhere, cars are parked everywhere. Atmosphere festive.
Paul decided to get his hair buzzed off. I’d suggested it a while ago, but he was finally ready to try it. We went up to the barber and in a couple of minutes the deed was done. I like his new look. The younger girls freaked a little when they saw him.
Later that morning, Paul went on a long bike ride to Santa Catarina the next town over. He called and said traffic was lined up all the way from Solola to get into Pana, and all the way to Santa Catarina. He said the entire Pana beach is packed with people. I was oblivious to this last time I lived here.
In the afternoon we decided to walk to the beach to see exactly what was going on. When we got to the lake we couldn’t believe the number of people packed on the shore. Thousands of people, most in traditional clothing. It’s like the Daytona Beach of the indigenous. What people were saying is true. Except it’s not just a teenage scene, people bring their entire families from grandparents to babies. Then they sit in little family groups on sheets of plastic, blankets, but mostly on the grass. There are vendors everywhere selling everything imaginable. Flowering plants and Easter hats seemed to be popular purchases. People are making and selling food in temporary restaurants. Pick up trucks were parked bumper to bumper, door to door, in a way that unless you were on the edge, you weren’t getting out. Have no idea how anyone got out of that parking situation. Paul and Cali decided to go home and Kier wanted to walk back by way of Santander.
We had to cross the river to get to the main street. There was two boards across making a bridge. But the oddest thing happened there. There was only room for single file on the bridge, and people weren’t moving. I looked closer and people who were going opposite directions had met up in the middle of the bridge, but neither side would back up to let the other side pass. They were just standing there on the bridge, a total impasse. Kier and I stood there watching it for the longest time, no one took leadership to say, back up here, let’s let the other side through. They just stood there silently, waiting. I have a picture of it that I posted. Kier and I went to another part of the river and went across on stones. When we looked back the bridge people were still there, standing silently at the impasse. I wonder who eventually resolved it.
We eased our way through the packed out crowd on the Santander side of the river. What a mass of people. There was a huge stage set up on the other shore, with a decent band playing. More food, more vendors, hardly any room to move. The funny thing is that Kier and I tower over most of the people. I feel like a regular giant which is not a typical experience for me. I’m usually looking up at Kier and her friends, feeling a bit oompa loompa like.
After we maneuvered through the crowd we decided to go to the lower Dehli and get a bite to eat. We hadn’t been out in a while, just the two of us. After eating sharing some nachos and a drink, we headed up Santander toward home.
That’s when the rain started. We ducked into a store and looked at earrings. I thought of the thousands of people who must have been scrambling for cover down at the lake. When the rain settled down we continued our walk to the top of the street to rent a movie.
When we got to the Porch, I met one of my friends who was planning to watch Avatar in one of the viewing rooms. She invited Kier and I to join her. Neither of us had seen the movie so we decided to stay. I had no idea the movie was so long. We ordered popcorn and drinks and settled in. While we were there one of the cooks got her hair cut. Movie was entertaining even though we had to keep explaining the movie to my friend. That part was a bit distracting.
When the movie was over we walked over to Circus Bar to get a pizza. Paul and the younger two girls were there and had already ordered. The street was packed, the restaurant was packed. We squeezed around a small table, but it was fun. All the girls were upbeat. Cali was starting to fade and as I’ve probably mentioned before, when she’s ready for bed, she just falls asleep. I saw her droopy eyes and knew we were running against the clock. We finished up, grabbed a tuk and got her into her bed without having to carry her great distances. What started as a quick walk down to the lake to check out the situation at 2 p.m., turned out to be an all afternoon and evening outting. I needed to put on some warmer clothes.
After the girls were all settled in for the night Paul and I went back to the Porch. Quite a few of our friends had gathered there, so we hung out for the rest of the evening there. It was the last night of Semana Santa and people were enjoying themselves. Marco Trio was playing, which is music we recognize. Lots of us were dancing. Paul even got up at the end of the evening and joined in the fun. We danced until the band finished after midnight. A lot of fun, really.