Fat Tuesday

Gary and Grace, Linda and I, grabbed separate busses and made our way into Barra for an evening of Mardi Gras action. Our bus arrived first and once we gathered our two friends we walked down to the water taxi and crossed over to the Grand Bay.

Over at the docks we checked on John K's sailboat, enjoyed the cool breeze, and then returned to the beach at Barra.

There was a definite excitement in the air. The town was prepared for Fat Tuesday. Streets were blocked off and filled with carnival rides, the plaza was set with chairs, and the stage was electrified with lights and sound speakers. A loud evening lay ahead for Barra; we were glad we lived in Melaque.

Our first stop was Bananas for drinks and sunset. We sat and chatted while watching the sun go down. As soon as the sky was filled with color we heard the loud thumping of music coming from the street. The Mardi Gras parade was passing so we settled our check and went out to watch.

Like last year's parade, this one was a mish-mash of homemade floats and costumes. It is hard to explain exactly what each float represented. I don't think the people who put the floats together actually knew why they created what they created.

This year one float stuck out as the most un-politically correct float of all time. It was a float of cannibals in blackface with a very young lady as their captive. You make your own interpretations from there. Only in Mexico, is all I can say.

When the parade was over we walked through the plaza and past the kid's rides to dinner at Galeria de Arte. We've not been here before for a meal. We had a wonderful dinner which included a tasting of fine tequila. We chatted for quite awhile with the host, Robert, who obviously loves his passions of photography and tequila. Linda was very impressed and I think she has a new favorite tequila. 

After dinner we walked back to the main street in Barra and caught a taxi home. It was a nice night and a pleasure spending some time with Gary and Grace.

Not many pool players tonight!