Viva España

The first class of the day was interrupted by a pod of dolphins making their way across the sea outside our apartment. There were about six or seven, and they were so fun to watch! Eventually, they were out of sight, and we refocused our attention on Math and Literature. We have not had an interruption quite like that before, and it was a fun diversion.

This afternoon, we drove over to Fuengirola for the Three Kings parade. In many parts of the world, Santa is not that big a deal, but the Three Kings are the gift givers of choice. They show up with gifts for kids on January 6 every year, and many towns in Spain have parades on the 5th to welcome them. Since we didn't have any experience with a parade of this sort, we showed up early and were able to run some errands and play at a neat playground while we waited for the celebration to get under way. This was not your typical small town parade. The floats were quite large and carried internationally recognizable characters. And, there was more candy thrown from them than I can even conceive. One article I read in preparation for the event said that somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 tons of candy was thrown out at one of these parades in the past, and I don't doubt that statistic after what I saw tonight. It was a spectacular event, and we all had so much fun!

When the parade was over, we drove back to Benalmadena and headed over to the marina for dinner. We found a wonderful seafood restaurant and ate some truly delicious food. It was a wonderful day in a wonderful place!

Dolphins in our backyard

Working out at the playground

Waiting for the parade

Plaza de España

This man actually caught a piece of candy in his mouth (by accident)!

The Three Kings

Clay being tough with the polar bear at the marina

This boy LOVES fried sprat, a fish similar to a sardine.
He ate the majority of what you see on the plate!