Leon Palm Sunday

We both slept better last night despite the discotheque across the way. Both wore our earplugs to bed, and we slept until about 7 am.

Today's weather is much better. We were able to be on the front row of two events today. The first was "Procession of the Palms" at 10:30. The floats passed, and one of the many men carrying the float reached out and handed Phil a card as a momento. As the float passed and the band played, it brought tears to our eyes. Many talented musicians. I was surprised to see that many had three different instruments to play. Only a few had traditional music on paper flip cards ( a lyre), but others had a small tablet or their phone attached to the instrument. It was the first time I had seen that.

We went to the main square outside the cathedral on the front row for the "blessing of the palms" and then joined the mad rush into the cathedral for Mass. Although we had a seat (outside the main seating area on a bench), it was very distracting to have people walking around during the service like they were touring the cathedral instead of attending Mass. There were no "cathedral security" people like in Santiago who make you be quiet or stop moving around and taking photos during the service.

We have 3 more processions tonight nearby, so we are going to take a nap before the one at 5 pm!Read more