Santo Pedro y Santo Pablo

The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul is one of the oldest festivals observed by Christians. There is evidence which suggest that this day was celebrated as far back as the fourth century.

St. Peter, a Galilean fisherman by profession, was chosen by Jesus Christ as one of his twelve apostles. He was also the first apostle of Jesus Christ, assigned a role of leadership. He was one of the few apostles who were with Jesus to witness the Transfiguration. Several churches including the Roman Catholic Church, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion consider him to be a saint.

St. Paul on the other hand is the author of 13 of the 27 books of the Bible. He is also the hero in another book, the Acts of the Apostles. He was born in Tarsus, located in present-day eastern Turkey. He was a tentmaker by profession and was a Roman citizen. For someone who made a living by making tents with his hand, he could write with the fineness of a philosopher. He is considered one of the greatest people to have existed in the Western world, one who was responsible for establishing some of the very fundamental concepts of faith.

The Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul is celebrated as a public holiday in some countries with customs varying from location to location. Special masses in the churches may be held to commemorate the martyrdom of the two saints. Coastal and island communities may decorate their boats and wharfs to give praise to St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen. (From the web)

Last year while in Crucita we had our first Pedro y Pablo festival, it was a lot of noise, a little pomp and circumstance, but little more, well yesterday we had it San Jacinto style! Wow!

Mike and I went to the market in Charapoto by bus, and got home around 10:30am, as we were walking home from the bus stop we saw a lot of action heading towards the water, as we rounded the corner we were stunned! What a sight!

I wish these pictures would really show the amazing-ness of this spectacle, but they don't! We continued the block to our house, and of course it was full crazy in front, many boats were already on the water. Huge shrimp boats, loaded with people, and smaller boats all around, zigzagging back and forth, some had balloons, many had cases of beer, partiers on land and sea, and what a gorgeous day!

As we watched we heard a parade on the street in front, and sure enough it came down our little sandy side street, right infront of the house. It was only about 2dozen people, but they were carrying the two statues and chanting, they proceeded to the shore, got on a waiting boat which took them out to the bigger boats. Here are some pictures taken from a neighbor who was on one of the larger boats.

Getting the statue from the small boat onto the big boat.

What it looked like from the water, looking towards our house. After the statues were safely on the big boats, everybody lined up and paraded south down the water towards Crucita, so glad we didn't miss this!

By noon, it was again quiet in front of the house, the boats were on parade and the parties had been taken elsewhere. We walked down the Boca road and had a pool party at Casa WF, another glorious day in paradise! Stay tuned, the adventure continues...