Being at the far end of the parade route, it took a little time for the floats and marching bands to make their way to my location. Eventually they did come, much to the pleasure of the waiting masses.

Many floats were nautical in nature and carried a complement of bead-throwing pirates. Flanking these floats were additional bead-tossing pirates on foot. I'm sure it was a task to pace themselves and not run out of beads before the end of the parade.

Around five o'clock, I decided that I had seen enough and began retracing my path to the bus depot. As I departed the city center, I looked back to see the parade still winding its way through the barracaded maze of streets with no end in sight.