Mount Jesus and Carnaval

My alarm went off around 9:00 this morning. I quickly turned it off and rolled over back to sleep. Katie, Esther (our other team member/roommate) had decided the night before to go climb the mountain the Jesus statue resides on, which I now affectionately call, Mount Jesus. I knew I needed to get up, but my motivation lacked greatly. Part of me just wanted to stay in bed and let the other two go climb Mount Jesus. Well, about 10 (when we should have been leaving) we all started getting ready. About 10:30, we headed out the door, water in hand, to climb the mount.

After hiking up the stairs and paths, we reached the top. As I came up out of the last stair case, I was amazed at the beauty around me. I could see the entire shore line and the mighty mountains in the background of San Sebastian and neighboring cities. I looked at the two of them and was like, thanks for making me come up here, it was totally worth it.

(On top of Mount Jesus)

After we climbed back down, we headed home for lunch and to get ready for Carnaval. I'm too sure of the significance of the festivities here, but the entire town gets involved. We arrived downtown and soon found the parade. I'm not entire sure how long it was, but we stood in one spot for about a good two hours. The people were dressed up in colorful and elaborate costumes dancing to music being played through speakers on top of a van. Each one had a ton of dancers and a float at the end of their section. We saw pirates galore, musketeers, and some things that I have not a clue to what they were. But we enjoyed the festivites of the evening.
(Some of those in the Parade)

It's been a full day. I'm excited that tomorrow we are going to attend a local church. I most likely won't be able to understand anything that is going on around me, but being surround by HIS children delights my soul.

- jen