Life's a Stitch

There was a noticeable security presence at the airport in Bordeaux reminding me of post 911 military presence in the US. 

Back to Catalonia, but this time extending our reach to Tarragona and further. We've decided to visit Morocco, a place a bit beyond our usual comfort zone. 

In the meantime, our timing was right for the Fira Santa Teresa, a large festival featuring a Castell competition. These are the traditional human towers of the Catalan region. The winning team reached ten high. 

The bottom layer are made up of the burliest strongest castelleros, while the top couple are small children. Look on the right side of the tower in this video and notice the tiny munchkin in a helmet climbing up the side. It was hard for me to watch, but can you imagine the parents or grandparents? A contingent of ambulances is at the ready:

It's pretty impressive but like bullfighting, one of those Spanish sports that I find a bit difficult to comprehend.

There were parades and traditional folk dances to break the tension.

 And of course, excellent festival food: