Our Mini Olympic Games...

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When I was in my early teens, we used to have our very own Mini Olympic Games...

Every Easter our whole family would go on holiday to some Bungalows in a small town near Mexico City, called Cuautla, and it was my most treasured holiday of the year.

​The weather was always perfect and we always spent 2 weeks at this place that could only compare with Fantasy Island (The TV show) where everything and anything could happen within the confinements of this mini village-like place.

This place was formed by some 25 Bungalows or cottages which were built right around some magical grounds...Green grass, beautiful trees, a great swimming pool and a volleyball court.

Many families would go there every Easter, usually the same ones, so it was like a yearly family get together.

I remember I was always rather excited to get there and catch up with my friends, which I only met there once a year.

Most families had kids of several age groups so we all had mates to hang around with and play with.
We played most of the time, sunbathed and swam in the usually freezing cold pool, and at night, we would sit in a circle and sing along to someone playing his guitar right under the moonlight, they were called "Lunadas", mostly organised by the older guys. 

All that was incredible, however, one thing that some of the parents used to organise was our "Mini Olympic Games", which got all of us involved in several competitions, running, walking, swimming, jumping, and all kinds of other sports that might be appropriate at that time.

I remember I used to take this quite seriously, as one does when you're a kid. Winning a place in the finals of anything didn't only mean winning at these games, it was like winning at the real Olympic games!

At the end of the games, we even had a Medal Ceremony, where the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place were named and stepped up to their chair or rock or whatever spot to get their medals. The medals were made of bottle tops, flattened and painted in Gold, Silver and Bronze...and they had a string so that we could wear them around our necks...

It was, in our innocent eyes and minds, moments of glory and we stood tall and proud when we won before our peers, and we'd smile and some would cry when people around us would clap and cheer.

What a Kodak moment that always was...