TKD, All Day, All Night (photo heavy, fair warning!)

Yesterday, being Three Kings Day - obviously - I headed into town early. It was very, very quiet, with the smells of home cooking overwhelming all senses. 

A Three Kings Day Miracle

I'd stopped at the basketball court just for a look before the festivities.

There was barely set up happening

Seeing El Batey's lechon pit weed covered was a little sad.
So far, lechon had not been on my holiday menu.

By the time I got back from town the scene was transforming fast. Parents and children were arriving, parents and older family and friends sitting or standing and chatting while the children ran. And ran. I wanted a drone camera to hover over them, watching them all gather and run before some unspoken signal had them back at their parents knees for a moment. Then off and away, running and laughing just for the sake of running and laughing. Only one unsmiling child I saw and he had some sort of hand held something and headphones on. The rest were almost exceptionally interactive and happy. It was beautiful.

There was cotton candy, a big hit!

By the end of the morning, the adults had lined up too.

The Three Kings went by with the Mayor, to parade around the neighborhoods before they came to us.

And then, there they were!

I'm just guessing Sylvia knows this King

Before the presents got handed out, there was a show to be seen. There was magic, with doves and rabbits and more. There was snow (the snow was a huge, huge hit) and music and enough to keep a whole lot of children of many ages, including the child in many of the grown ups, entertained for quite a long time. 

This little boy stole hearts all day

Baby Desi won't remember this
but Delilah and Daphne will!

Carolyn was stylin'

   

Snow!

MORE snow!

The magic was magic!

It was almost time for presents to be passed around. 

They worked hard all day gifting Culebra on many levels

But there was still more to see first

A magic coloring book. Blank pages became
filled pages became colored pages. 

A beautiful bunny really did come out of a hat

 Ok, NOW it was present time. 

I lasted through about 16 names and headed out.

One last bouncy house shot

This was on a vehicle covered with a lot of other strange stickers

After dumping photos and recharging the camera battery I headed back down to town, hopefully to see horses. The timing of any horse parade sightings on Three Kings Day is always a mystery. A few people know what I'm asking about but never know when it will happen. More and more the response is "What horses?" 

But I went anyway. No horses. Not on the waterfront, not anywhere. It was time for some liquid refreshment, with a stop on the way.

Carlos was making delicious sandwiches from his El Panini truck.
I know the food is amazing, and the set up is nice too. Check it out.

Breakfast is being served!

 I kept walking. 

A fast rain swept in over the bay

I don't think they will fit, but Francie will love the color!

Ben let me have a chip from their China trip.
I am not big on potato chips but it was,
surprisingly, very good. Really.

I heard there was some pig roasting going on and knew that this would not be my last foray out and about before Three Kings Day was over. 

I don't know who did the art work but I like it

Happy Landing has remodeled and it's all for the good. The new owners have spent the past year working on this (not easy when it is open while the work is going on), resulting in a fresh new look with a good old vibe. 

Dominoes dominate

Following my nose I went into what used to be the bar but for this day was set up to break down the pig. The men working were nice enough to give me (without me asking; how did they know?) a crisp piece of skin and some bread. I initially said no to the bread but was told it had been cooked inside the pig. Ohhhhhhh! That made all the difference in the world; I was honored to eat that incredibly good smoky pork bread.

I got there too late to watch the cooking.

Only hours ago I'd been lamenting a weed covered grill pit and now I didn't have to lament anything at all.

Macaroni salad, arroz con gandules
and of course, lechon. Thank you, ladies!

Yum

And then, there they were, coming out of the darkness! The horses!

This guy is Mikey, from St. Thomas.

He and his friend came over, having NEVER been to Culebra before. They got together with some local guys who let them ride their horses. Very cool!

I missed some good shots because the lighting was not great, but at least I have proof that Three Kings Day still means horses. At some point.

...as he rode out of sight,
happy Three Kings Day and to all a good night!