San Juan....a day to be careful

Ok I think I have had enough of Spanish Holidays. By far this is the most nerve wrecking holidays of them all. I should have headed the warning signs, but nothing prepares you for this day.

Tossa is quite the small pueblo...I can`t seem to say that enough. Until you come here you cannot imagine just how small it is. I have nothing to compare it to in America. It is literally impossible to have a town this small and still put it on a map without giggling. Tossa is so small that I could sneeze on one side of town and someone would catch my cold on the other, if not for the constant, gentle and inviting sea breeze that sweeps over us. With that being said, let me tell you about this holiday.

Well actually I have no idea what this holiday is for. Most businesses were open, as were I to avoid going to the beach with the family and my niece. Mostly the businesses were open because this is a tourist town. No high rise business offices here, no home offices of any major banks either.

Also, just about every day there is some saint´s day to celebrate. The more popular names get the most attention. every one here is name Maria so that is a huge shopping time. It´s usually treated much like a birthday but as you get older it seems you tone down the partying and extravagant gift giving. well when I asked Eric what was so important about this day, he just replied that half of the country is called Juan, namely the King. I sighed and pressed on. Carme could not answer the question ether so I am sorry, you have to look it up for yourself.

But the best and worst part of this day and leading up to it is the fireworks. I am not talking about driving in the warm southern night to Chesterfield County fairgrounds to brave mosquitoes to catch a 30 minute show of "ooohs" and "ahhs" while you kid has fallen asleep and begging for you to take him home. I am talking more like firecrackers. And everyone but me had them. Kids as young at 8 and 9 walk around with pockets full of these loud poppers and bangers. Older kids have knapsacks full of cherry bombs and beetle bombs. even the adults are launching explosive flares that burst 40 feet in the air. And this does not happen all in one day, it`s spread over a week. Many days I sit in my little store, mindfully working away on yet another website where the customer wants every animated gifs and unreadable fonts they can think of, which goes against the very fabric of effective website design. and just as I go to sip on my perfectly cooled iced cafe con leche...BANG!!!! POP!!!! SCREEEEEEEAAAAMMMM! Good thing coffee doesn't stain.

As soon as school is let out for lunch break, the popping ans whizzing starts. Carme warned me to beware of prankster throwing poppers in my store and running to startle me but I think they are afraid I would catch them in a 40 yard dash. After 40 yards I am done for a good week, but again...TOSSA IS SMALL and I would find them. There is only one school for God´s sake.

I took the startling bangs all week and got pretty used to them but when the sun started to set, the activity of pocket lighters and mischievous prankster increased. We went to have a meal at her mother´s house which I can only guess is tradition. We had plates of cheese, shaved Serrano ham and another of my favorite things to eat, wide loathed and seemingly thin sliced crusty bread rubbed with the juice of a raw tomato (simply call pan con tomat or pa amb tomata, in Catalan). Sorry if I get off on a rant here but take some bread (not the sliced bread like Sunbeam or Wonder Bread...go to a bakery or Ukrpos) and toast it if you would like. then cut a tomato (red not some half green one you got on your way to work from the Dinwiddie County gas station) and squeeze and rub on the bread so the seeds and juice are spread across the bread. Depending on the type of tomato, size of the bread, and if Jupiter is aligned with Mars, you may need the whole tomato or another half. The bread should not be soggy but the taste of the tomato will be all you need. Next dabble a little olive oil over the bread, again mind the saturation of these two tastes. And to finish it off, sprinkle a little salt to give it that extra kick. Simple but full of good tastes and quick to make or to eat with a nice dinner meal.

Back on point, so we are having dinner at her mom´s on the back terrace, with a perfect view of the town´s mostly clear sky as twilight was setting right about the western horizon. I would have enjoyed this time with my entire Catalan family if not for the random and loud explosions going on all around me. I had trouble tasting my food as I was imagining that this is what Beirut must have been like in the 80´s. and while I was yelling "INCOMING" and diving under the table. I swear it literally shook the dinner table. Out of the corner of my eyes were flashes of light and explosions louder than my thoughts. Occasionally a rocket was launched and exploded in the now dark skies. But nothing as organized at the Caroline County Fair site. Needless to say I was getting a bit shell shocked at the noises and flash bangs increased in frequency. This is why Tossa, being a small town, is such a big deal. I heard every firecracker that was purchased and lit that week and that night!

After dinner, since we had walked to her mothers, we took turns hiding in bushes and low crawling in the grass to cautiously make our way home. What normally is a 5 minute stroll was now a 2 hour duck and weave for our lives. Alex got a kick out of playing G.I. Joe but Carme was not too please when she hit a bush of thorn and brier.

We thought we are home safe. Notice I said...thought! The fireworks lasted well into the night and early morning. I sat in my widows with a flack jacket and Kevlar helmet waiting for the Nazis to come rolling thru town or the Spanish Nationalist Army or something. Finally when I could not keep my eyes open any longer I drifted off to sweet dreamland. I am not sure how long I was asleep before a thunderous explosion went off outside. I do not not how close it was but it woke me enough to realize I was drooling on my teddy bear I sleep with. I felt the shock of the sound waves in my feet but I am not sure if it was the explosion or me jumping from being startled. I was sleeping like a baby and refused to wake up. If the explosion blew up my house and took off my legs as I initially thought, then I would deal with it in the morning. Snore.