Posada 12.18.08

We were treated today! Marylyn & I took the bus into the town of Bucerias to shop & pick up some foccacia bread that she ordered the previous day. We had eaten at a little sandwich shop on the day we all went in looking for batteries that had to die for foccacia bread. We purchased some from them and asked where they got it from, to which they told us about this bakery in Bucerias called 'Yunior's'. We got off of the bus and walked around the small town. It's nice with dirt & cobblestone streets,
a beautiful town square, & a large shopping area. We wandered the streets looking at everyone's wares and found the bakery & picked up a full sheet of foccacia bread for 200 pesos. It was two large pizza boxes worth and was it heavy! Haha… Anyway, we stopped at a little shop and were shopping & talking to the ladies and they invited us to come to a block party where they lived that evening. Sure! We'll be there! So after a day of wandering the town, we walked to the bus stop and were hanging
when we saw Willem & Mary Jane in a van and the motioned for us to get in! It must be our lucky day! Haha…

Later that evening, the 4 of us took a bus back into Bucerias and wandered the streets until we found it. I hope I can do the scene justice as it was spectacular. Again, the streets are cobblestone & dirt, the street was a dead-end street and only 2 blocks long. At the open end of the street, a large light stage had been set that basically blocked off the opening to all vehicles & was booming music down into the street. When you were walking along the main street, you couldn't really hear it
as it was directed down the street. The lights were multi colored and spot lights, shining down on the street. And there were kids chasing the lights before the festivities began. The houses along the street were mostly one story with a couple two story houses. There were trees planted along the sidewalk and Christmas lights were strung on a few of the houses. Some of the kids were dressed up as angels, Mary, Joseph, & wise men. The celebration was for Posada, which is the 12 days before Christmas.
The kids in costume & many adults gathered in front of a gated house & began to sing verses to the Posada song. Paraphrasing the song, Mary & Joseph were gathered in front of the gates asking for a place to stay for the night, and were turned down. They asked again and were turned down again. But finally (after 6 verses of the song), they were allowed entrance. The song was very beautifully sang and the costumes were beautiful.

After the song at the gates, piñatas were brought out for the kids. Now this was funny. There were a total of five piñatas broken - 3 spiky ones and two Santa Claus shaped ones. Most piñatas have spikes on them and we were told this represents sins and when you are beating the piñata you are fighting the evils & sins of the year. And when the piñatas are broken the candy represents the 'fruits' of successfully fighting the sins. The piñatas were only for the kids and each kid got 5 whacks on
the piñata. There were big kids and also itty bitty small ones and those piñatas were tough! A couple of them were made out of clay and the others were made from paper mache and a couple times the adults 'helped' the breaking of it by either hitting it or helping to tear it open. When it was ripped open, all of the candy & confetti fell out and the kids would swarm the area, jumping on the piñata as soon as it was broken. I found the funniest part was the man who was raising & lowering the piñata
(the piñata was not stationary - it was raised & lowered by a man so that the kids wouldn't break it so quickly!) he was hysterical. He had a perma smile and was having a blast teasing the kids with the piñata. While the kids were hitting the piñata, the adults sat up & down the block in chairs chatting with each other. We spent quite a while talking with the lady who invited us, Cynthia, and after all 5 pinatas were broken everyone was gathered in the main area when it began raining balls.
Not beach balls, or soccer balls - but like a four-square ball? On the 2nd floor of one of the homes, just above one of the tiendas, all the lights were out but these balls kept being thrown - one or two or ten at a time, it was very random. Everyone was jumping & trying to catch one! One time, I even caught one (we were standing to the side but it was thrown directly at me!) so I handed it to a little one who hadn't managed to get one yet. There were probably a total of 50 balls tossed out to
the crowd and then the goodies changed. Backpacks, hats, jewelry, clothes, you name it. Everyone was having a great time trying to catch something and as soon as they caught it, they left the area and let the rest catch something. And amazingly….no fights! After that, it was time for food. The locals gathered for a nice dinner of roasted corn, rice & beans, & bbq. And one last thing before we left, all of the kids under 10 years old were told to line up on the street and each of them was given
a baggie full of candy.

We didn't want to impose, so we told Cynthia thank you and took off down the street to find a restaurant. We found a place that looked like a total hole in the wall, with an extremely large driveway so we thought why not?! We walked down & were seated…right on the beach! The waves were crashing in just beside us and we had an excellent dinner. There's nothing more relaxing than the sounds of the ocean and we were getting tired so we headed back to the bus stop & to the boats. We were sidetracked
in La Cruz at Philo's bar as they had a live band (they always have a live band!) and Bill from Grey Max was playing. We stayed there for a while and were surprised when we didn't make it back to the boat until after 1am. Time flies when you're having fun!

Here's the verses in Spanish for Posada, if you're interested: (I hope it posts OK!)

AFUERA ADENTRO
1. En nombre del cielo 1. Aqui no es meson,
os pido posada sigan adelante,
pues no puede andar yo no debo abrir
mi esposa amada. no sea algun tunante.

2. No seas inhuman, 2. Ya se pueden ir
tennos caridad y no molestar,
que el Dios de los cielos porque si me enfado
te lo premiara, os voy a apalear.

3. Venimos rendidos 3. No me importa el nombre,
desde Nazaret, dejenme dormir
yo soy carpintero pues que ya les digo
de nombre Jose. que no hemos de abrir.

4. Posada te pide, 4. Pues si es una reina
armado casero, quien lo solicita,
por solo una noche como es que de noche
la Reina del Cielo anda tan solita?

5. Mi esposa es Maria, 5. Eres tu Jose?
es Reina del Cielo, tu esposa es Maria?
y madre va a ser entren peregrinos,
del Divino Verbo. no los conocia.

6. Dios pague, senores, 6. Dichosa la casa
vuestra caridad, que alberga este dia
y os colme el Cielo a la Virgen pura,
de felicidad. La Hermosa Maria!