December 24 marks the final Pase del Nino. This extremely long parade is exactly like the prior smaller ones that we had the opportunity to see, but it lasted for six and a half hours. We took an ice cream break, a lunch break and did some window shopping each time to return to Simon Bolivar to see more of the parade. Beautiful costumes, off key bands, exuberant dancers and smiling faces lasted for the entire parade. A good laugh breaks all language barriers. Toward the end of the parade there were about 6 floats with roasted pigs on them. My favorite was this whole hog with a tiny umbrella over his head. The lady standing beside me and I both had a good laugh over that one. The final figure in this parade was not Santa but a smiling archbishop waving to the Church community. I suspect that he waited out his time to appear in the comfort of his office not in the Plaza de San Francisco as the other participants did.
Feliz Navidad
Sally
