in sevilla

hi everyone
today is palm sunday. we went to the cathedral,10 am, to a high mass said by the bishop. so much ceremony. vestments, inscense, candles, chanting, moments i love being brought up as a catholic. we took part in a long procession around the massive, beautiful cathedral,holding our palm fronds. the cathedral is enormous. it was a mosque in the past, the current bell tower was the mineret. i look forward to the blending of islamic and christian history through this region, knowing of course that it was war that brought change. not unlike a final four match with the buildings being trophies. ridiculous.
last night i woke at a little after 3. church bells signaled the passing of time- 3:15, 3:45 and on till just before 6. i thought of the last time i traveled, it was in morocco last summer. there too, a call to prayer kept me company as i lay awake. i liked the idea that around the world, people are laying in their beds united by a call to prayer. also,
i was told on my first camino by an italian man ´´the spanish never sleep``. i believe it is true. all night long there were groups of people walking by the hotel. some just talking and laughing. some singing and clapping their hands to a repeating beat, flamenco? maybe. all of it was happy. there wasn´t one harsh sound, no fighting, no broken bottles, just happy talk and full laughter. one voice takes command, tells a story the others laught, add a little, more laughter. in spite of the time, i loved listening. at 5ish the groups were less often, until only a bird sang. then the huge street cleaning machines came through. they used 3 cycles of sweeping and washing. 6 trucks in all. oscar, i could imagine a transformer street sweeper. think about the robot you could make from a street sweeper. clean-up guy. many powers.
barb and i have been outside listening to the guildes ( i think this is right) parading for semana santa, holy week. the costumes are eerie ( skittles colored kkk robes) and the music dramatic. a steady drumbeat with a heralding trumpet.we can´t really get close enough to see the floats etc. but the scene is amazing. i have a short film. but there is no usb connection on the keyboard or computer. i bet there are semana santa you tube clips already from a million others. take a look.
tomorrow barb and i begin to transform into pilgrims. we are no longer tourists. we have our credentiels and have our first stamp given to us in the cathedral. we have found the yellow arrows to lead us out of town. we are ready for the first step.

until later,
mary
ps. travel tip. when in a tapas bar, ask the server to bring you three tapas, fish, meat and vegetable- they choose. they bring you the most delicious plates and they slow down to explain what you are eating. perfect.