Tarragona

Tarragona - one of the most surprising cities Ben and I have visited. We went there because of promises of sun drenched beaches and 2nd century Roman ruins littering the city. but when we arrived, I wondered if we had made a bad decision. The place seemed dirtier than the other towns we had been to and to be honest, on the ugly side. Fortunately, the problem was all about location and after exploring the city and thinking we were heading to the beach, we ended up at an overlook above the ruins of an old Roman colisseum that had the Mediterranean as its backdrop. It was weird to think about the thousands of people that died for the entertainment of others in such a gorgeous setting.
However, the most unusal thing that happened was after dark. Ben and I had been wandering around, admiring the roman ruins hidden away in random nooks and crannies and incorporated into the buildings that had been built over them. How about I explain it like this:
You are wandering narrow streets in the evening after twilight has passed. Everything is fairly quiet except for the kids playing soccer, people walking their dogs, and a curious number of locals that all seem to be heading in the same direction. A church bell rings and more people continue to quietly rush in the toward one of the narrower alleys where more people are already standing, some with children on their shoulders. Of course Ben and I follow. From afar all we can see are the tops of candles and lights flickering against the walls of the houses and buildings lining the alleys and streets. When we reach the small crowd of 10 people lining the streets, that is when we see them; people of all ages dressed in white, walking down the street in parade formation, murmuring silent prayers, some holding candles, one holding a full size crucifix, and others wearing long pointy masks that look very similar to what someone in the KKK traditionally wears. Occasionally a a priest will say something and the others will repeat what he says in unison. Then they will stop and a small group of high school and middle school aged kids will play a short, solemn medieval sounding song using only a clarinet, violin, cornet and drum. When they finish, the parade moves on. What had we happened upon? The regular spring ritual in which the town would sacrifice their annual tourist? A world record for the largest seance? Nope, it is Tarragonaś version of Semana Santa.