Sunday service.

Town was closed today.
Streets, shops everything was closed.

Down here on the seafront it was business as usual, though.

First to arrive was our surfer lady, same one as last week and the week before and it definitely is a lady. Is that a surfer dudette or dudess? I've no idea but I wouldn't like to give any offence to any of my readers because of any perceived unfairness to the ladies.

 Anyway, the surfer dude lady arrived. Surveyed the scene and took the decision that there was sufficient surf to make sitting on a board in a wetsuit a sensible proposition.

This she did. For what seemed ages she sat on her board moving not even slightly. Eventually, and I'll hazard a guess here, heat exhaustion over came her patience and once again she missed out on the wave of her dreams for another week. I do hope that she doesn't give up but not as much as I hope that when she does meet with a decent wave the fright of seeing it doesn't render her rigid with fear.

Next we had a ballerina on the beach. A full on ballerina, an actual live one. I don't think I've ever seen one before. Definitely a lady.

In fact, she was on the breakwater initially, along with a photographer, his assistant and a cluster of Quadra Ranger (?) lights, batteries, umbrellas, stands, beauty dishes, radio triggers and mutltitudinous other toys as well as a box of flashguns. Canon gear.

It all looked very, very expensive but worth it? Absolutely. The  lady was leaping about all over the place but her poses were held utterly to perfection and at one point she stood one leg on the ground, the other pointed vertically upwards and her body leaning at right angles to her left with her arms making a point. Pretty good and very dramatic but ..... the assistant was holding a small bit of cloth and when the wind filled it he shouted and with no obvious effort she's at least three feet (probably more) in the air, perfectly held poise with wind filling the peachy dress thing. I've never seen anything like it. Then she did it again and again and every time I watched to see if she crouched or squatted to get some upward thrust going but it was just like it was all done with one foot and no warning she just launched herself vertically upwards and seemed to hang there for ages with the wind billowing gently around her.

I know nothing about ballet but what she did was amazing. If I had a long lens I'd have got closer but they were a bit fussy about letting Joe Public come anywhere near. Then she changed into proper ballet dress frilly frock thing and started running, leaping, spinning and generally bouncing all over the beach. To ascend unaided to the height she was attaining off sand left me, frankly, incredulous.
 

Out of respect I kept away till they were leaving whence I was there as this shot shows. Once I got this one I applauded. The assistant turned, looked and put himself betwixt me and them and the ballerina made more haste. I hope I didn't annoy but I've never seen anyone do what she did.

Still not interested in ballet, though.

However, I do have a photo of a real live ballerina on the beach and I've not seen many of them before. That could become my standard refrain from now on when shown someone's amazing photo of a dragonfly, kingfisher or whatever. You know who you are, just wait .... "Yup, it's good but have you got a ballerina on the beach?"

Within a few moment the reason for town being closed became apparent. Bikers. Not the noisy HOG's, that was yesterday and they were noisy. And shiny. And chopped. And blinged up to extremes as was the tattooed live band whose attempt at rendering Hotel California was laughable but not like their rendition of Smoke on the water, which I was not alone in recognising as being just plain wrong. The second restart was no better so we left and they tried Born to be Wild. I don't think Steppenwolf need worry. Maybe these riffs are hard to translate into Spanish, too.

No, today's bikers were these. Thousands of them. Really, thousands. Bit of a surprise seeing as they're going the wrong way down this one way street.

Families, teams, serious soloists, everyone. Just so many it was chocobloc for the duration which was not an inconsiderable time, made longer by frequent tear drying stops, assisted rightings, collision impact recovery and plain smartphone induced failures of concentration.

It must have taken well over half an hour for just the main bulk of cyclismos to pass below us.  The rolling roadblock was perfectly executed, initially a car "0" with tannoy announced the imminent arrival of what we didn't know. Shortly thereafter police scooters on road and pavement forewarning us again, then more and more warnings all in Spanish and then the appearance of the riders made pennies drop.

Droves of them on every sort of bike imaginable. Some very serious ladies and gentlemen, some obviously out for a laugh, some barely big enough to sit astride their trainer bikes with stabilisers fitted and some (many) old enough to have been great-great grandparents (they may well have been), some dressed sensibly and some not but all just oozing fun.

It was a lovely sight and rounded off with a couple of flatbed trucks, a couple of repair vans and a pair of ambulances. I do hope that it only began with a pair of them.


After all the excitement we wandered with the crowds and so enjoyed the ambient that we may just do it again if the opportunity arises.

I'd even do the cycling if I had a bike here but I'd certainly do the loitering like everyone else seems to enjoy for such long periods of time.

Even the lone accordionist playing The Godfather theme (extreme left in photo) was not out of place and certainly more amenable to the occasion than the faux metal band of yesterday.

For those who just wanted time alone to ponder and give thanks in the cool of the lengthening shadows there is always that facility, too.






Great day, great place, great privilege to have been able to enjoy it.


Love it.