Every December and March there are local fiestas in Villa Real, the small town outside of Tamarindo.  These fiestas are small town carnivals complete with food stands, carnival rides, LOTS of drinking and drunk people and of course, a  bull ring.

There’s lots of fun activities that go along with the fiestas. One is the Baile de Polvo (the Dust Dance) which takes place in the bull ring (minus the bulls!!) and marks the beginning of the fiesta.  It’s called the Dust Dance because well, when you get a few hundred people dancing in a dust ring, you make a big dust cloud.

Another event that takes place during the fiestas is the Tope — a horse parade where riders meet in the center of Tamarindo (the Circle) and ride to the fiestas in Villa Real – about 2 1/2 miles away.

The Tope this year took place on St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17.  I personally didn’t care to ride.  It looks like a lot of fun, but sadly I’m not too keen on riding horses.  I think they’re awesome to look at from afar, but I’m actually a little afraid of them.  And they say animals can sense fear so I thought it would be best not to take any chances.  However, the hubby and our good (hilarious) friend Fabio decided to participate so I opted to be the photographer for the day.

For those wanting to actually mount up and ride, you pay a nominal entry fee which entitles you to ride with the group, a free lunch and of course, a complimentary “drink” – which to most people means beer.

If you have your own horse, that’s great, but if not you can rent one from Jeronimo, who seems to be the go-to guy for the best horses.   He has a house and stables in Villa Real and for $30 you can rent a horse for the event.

We arrived at his place around 10:30 a.m. and hung out there for a bit watching him prep the horses.  The horses definitely sensed that a party was in the air.  I’m sure these horses have been through a million of these things before.  I’d think it’s as big a party for them as for the people.

Around 11:30 or so, the guys finally got their horses and the party officially began!

After doing a bit of riding on the dirt roads behind town, me and the guys met up in Tamarindo to people watch, and of course, have a few drinks. Little by little, spectators, horses and their riders filled up the Circle.  Salsa music floated through air and everyone, including the horses, was in a festive mood.

Every year this guy mounts up his own sound system to his horse and blasts salsa music.  Classic!

Us “non-riders” got in our cars and headed out to the fiestas.  It took the riders around 2 hours to get from Tamarindo to Villa Real and by the time they did, a good number of them appeared to barely be able to stay on their horse.  Poor horse!  We all stood along the side of the road like we were cheering runners coming over the finish line.

As the sun set over the backdrop of the fiesta, people met up around the food and beer stands and in the cantina and shared laughs about the day.

Until December…….

Here’s a gallery of all of my photos from the Tope.