Monday, March 3, 2025
Paul light a cigar, Michael and Julien pour yourselves a glass of wine, this is going to be a long post.
It all started with a quick walk along La Playa de Poniente . . .
The tide was out . . .
. . . the Bahía de Poniente was blue
There it was on my left . . .
. . . the Gijón Acuario BioParc
The Gijón Aquarium is only a short 300 meter walk from the apartment, today was the day for me to finally visit.
Grandson Jacob, who loves all things Marine Biology related, would enjoy a visit to this interesting aquarium.
That was one BIG shark!
One small frog
I believe this is a trout
A baby Galapagos tortoise
Camouflage is big in the ocean
Golden
Yes, I'm looking at you!
Sea Urchins
Again with the camouflage
Starfish are fascinating . . .
. . . and there were lots of them
A sleek looking . . .
. . . Cuttlefish
The black ink secreted by cuttlefish is the key ingredient in the delicious Sicilian dish, Spaghetti al Nero.
Sea Anemones, I believe
Art Work
The Acuario had lots of these pieces of art work solely made from items found in the ocean's waters, some natural, others human made.
There is plastic in the seas . . .
. . . LOTS of plastic!
A small squid
A crab and a fish
Blending in with the environment
but a bit foreboding
Tasty, I'm sure
Watching these move with the
motion of the water was mesmerizing
These Blue jellyfish moved . . .
. . . ever so elegantly
Underwater flora or fauna?
A colorful crab
Fish and turtles living together
Again, starfish are fascinating
More . . .
. . . reclaimed . . .
. . . aquatic art
Shark sighting
Seahorses were visitor favorites
Nice fin
Marine Iguana
These strange four legged
specimens are from Mexico
Synchronized Swimming Pairs
A form of coral life, yes?
Lots of wonderful colors in the sea
A Leopard Moray Eel
A Cow Fish
Grandson Jacob first introduced me to this species on a visit to Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific a few years ago.
He called it a Texas Longhorn Fish.
Tropical fish with ZERO camouflage
Not hiding at all
Clown Fish
A green Seahorse
One last bright starfish on the
way out of the Acuario BioParc
Of course the Acuario had a
souvenir store as one exited
Mary would go for one of those
pink seahorses, for sure!
The Majestic Book of Sharks
I decided to get a snack in the
much safer sounding café instead
Although it would not be my #1 thing to see when visiting Gijón, I still would highly recommend a visit if you were staying in town for a week or longer, especially if one of your kids aspired to be a Marine Biologist some day.
After my aquarium visit, I spent a few hours back at the apartment before heading into town for the Grand Antroxu Parade that was set to start by Gijón's El Bibio Bull Ring at 7:00 p.m.
Shadows
Neighborhood Watch
They captured the Princess again
I think that those are two
angels beneath the cross
We would see these two Mutant
Ninja Turtles in the parade later tonight
I love the look on these two trying
to sneak the Sardine past this cop.
BUSTED!
I found myself a good spot to watch the festivities standing behind three short, adult Spaniards offering me a clear view of the parade route's start.
Not part of the parade but
colorful nonetheless with the
bull ring as the backdrop
The Sardine led the way
at 7:00 p.m. SHARP!
The last band of the parade signaled the end the parade when it passed us at 8:45 p.m.
We were all in for A
GOOD TIME INDEED!
Aztecs?
Aztecs who can DANCE!
A look of sheer JOY!
Xixón LOVES its drums!!!
So do I as it turns out
I think that I saw one of these
at the Acuario BioParc today
Golden Dragon
Our first big float
Neptune or Poseidon?
This is the God of the Sea, Neptune to the Romans and Poseidon to the Greeks.
Given Spanish history with the Roman Empire, I'd have to say that it's Neptune.
The coral hair is PERFECT!
That jellyfish doesn't look
quite right to me
Devil Worshipper or Rams Fan?
Satan himself . . .
. . . and his minions . . .
. . . minions with rhythm!
The eyes of some of these
minions were disturbing!
After our brush with Hades,
these colors were a good change
Young drummers in training . . .
. . . and what they aspire to be one day
GREAT outfits!
The Mask
Gold pants are always a wise
fashion option
Japan was represented . . .
. . . by dancing Geishas
Dancing Madagascar Zebras
Zebra Drum Line
Why not?
The Geico Gecko?
Titled "The Death Mask of Venice"
I told you that we'd see those
Mutant Ninja Turtles again
Turtles with Rhythm
An extremely colorful group
of dancers coming our way
A Egyptian Pharaoh and . . .
. . . Irish Leprechauns
It was a diverse group to be sure.
Not quite a Riverdance display
I loved her outfit!
Another Japanese troop was next
The Emperor and his First Consort
Everyone had a dragon
around their necks
Samurai Warriors with drums
OH MY GOD!
They were playing KAZOO SAXOPHONES!
I want one.
A better look at those dragons
A huge eagle guarding
its nest that's full of eggs
It was getting late, so I asked no questions and just went with it.
A flock of pink birds was next
to appear on the parade route
They were followed by this
big blue bird
The Purple Gang was back again . . .
. . . and in full force!
After an hour and forty-five minutes,
this fun, energetic and LOUD Carnaval
parade was finally over
I headed home but I realized that I was hungry.
I needed sustenance.
This Bohemian Disco Bar
caught my attention
Instead, I walked a few blocks farther to the Aquila o Sol for a delicious chimichanga and a Negro Modelo that both clearly hit the spot.
Some late night American football news . . .
Our current Serie A Standings
Remember, in Europe records are listed in this order: Wins-Ties-Losses.
Our two Mariners Flag Teams play
four games at home on Sunday against
two squads from the Cantabria Bisons
The Bisons are based in Santander which is located about 110 miles/175 kilometers to the East of Gijón.
I may miss these games as all of Serie A is on a bye week this coming weekend.
Instead, I plan to take the bus and travel to Bilbao, the Capital of the Basque Country, for the weekend.
It was a GREAT day in old Xixón as I enjoyed another fun day at the Acuario BioParc and taking in more of the Antroxu 2025 festivities.
