So we woke up yesterday morning to thousands of people standing outside of our bedroom window. Many of whom were wearing cloaks with pointy hoods covering their faces. Now I realize we were not in the deep south of the United States, however it was more than a little disconcerting.

Yesterday was Semana Santa. Or as we would put it, Palm Sunday. And apparently our lodging is right on the parade route. Literally thousands upon thousands of people were lined up watching the procession. It went on all day long.

Now, I did look up with those hoods meant here lol… and no it has nothing to do with hatred in the deep south. These have been around for a very long time and the simple meaning is they cover their faces to say that they are not important and the tall pointy cone tells people to look upwards towards God.

It was actually quite the spectacle … if not quite the noisy one. It literally started around 11 in the morning and the very last passing was just at midnight.

Now I am not what you would call a religious sort of guy, but watching the folks during this day was incredible. Apparently, especially here in Cordova, this isn’t just a holiday. It’s an identity. And it was on full display.

Well, here’s the irony, my next video is about culture shock in Spain. And I had it fairly well planned as far as the differences I wanted to cover. But this one actually got me for real. I knew about the costumes (in a way) beforehand, but staring at hundreds of people dressed like that still brought forth a serious culture shock. LOL!

Anyway, today it is mostly quieter out there and I think I’ll go finish that video now. Should be safe now. 🙂

~ Rick