Last Friday, Nov. 28th, we took a trip up to the University here (la Universidad de Oriente), which is a short bus trip away from the city. It's a beautiful campus, set in the hills. We ended up coming back on the University bus after dark, so it was a rare time off the boat in the evening. We chanced upon the cathedral downtown during Friday evening communion mass. Families, dogs, children - it was a big celebration, including a parade through downtown with robed church officials, censers, chanting, singing, and a statue of a bishop or a saint, into the streets surrounding the main downtown square. They went right past fruit vendors and the general hubbub of Friday evening revelry downtown.