Friday night was the first night of the annual fiesta in the next village to us, Antas. It is our favourite fiesta as Antas is normally the sleepiest little village, and a place we go to for its little pizza place, but it comes alive during this week and you wonder where all the hundreds of people come from.
Everyone is out to have a good time, there are numerous rides for children, and even the operators really look like they are enjoying themselves too (remember this is a country that love children!), dodgems and a couple of scary rides for older kids and generally just loads going on.
Being Spain, Fiesta’s don’t really get going until pretty late – we arrived at 10 pm with children ranging from a year up to 5 years old – they, of course, were delighted at being allowed to go out at this hour and go on all the rides, get balloons and generally have a brilliant time.
By 11 pm, we were all hungry (we had given the children their dinner at 7 but we had not eaten) so we managed to bag a table in one of the outside makeshift restaurants – dozens of tables and chairs, crammed in the square, with their grills, outside kitchens and fryers, and ordered fantastic roast chicken and chips, Calamari and drinks along with hundreds of other people. It is just lovely to see tables full of families, but also lots of the older generation all out for a good old gossip and a good time completely unaware of the time or the noise!
Noise seems to be key at fiesta’s in Spain – not least the, err, singers who appear on the stage which has been put up for the occasion. I really am not sure whether the locals think they are good (they aren’t) but everyone has a laugh anyway, and waits for the first couple to get up and dance.
After we had had our chaotic, but fun dinner the children wanted to go on more rides.
I had other ideas so whilst they went off to the giant teacup, I headed for the Churros van! I have blogged about Churros before, sticks of hot doughnut type things, with hot chocolate. It is only the 4th time I have eaten them though – too scarily bad for you and so very special when you do have them.
By this time, it was almost half past midnight and things were in full swing. However, we were all a bit shattered and so decided to call it a night – we are such amateurs when it comes to staying out late – the Spanish are so used to it, and it is their way of life. We love joining in though and really living in their world, even if we do have to go to bed early!
Yummy Almeria 