I almost walked 2 kilometers yesterday to pick up something at the bus terminal only to be reminded it was a holiday.  (While the walk would have done me good, not being able to complete my task would have offset the benefit.)

We have noticed that there are a lot of national holidays here so I decided to document them. (This will provide an opportunity for you to work on your Spanish.)

Those in gray cannot be ignored. The others can but, in most cases, are not. Yesterday, for instance, was the celebration of the Virgin being taken up into heaven. As you can see, it is a religious holiday that is not mandated. However, many shops were closed and the traffic was maybe a tenth of the norm. 

It is interesting that all Sundays are declared holidays but not mandated. I wonder if there are strained relationships between the Navy and Army since the day celebrating the glories of the former is not mandated while the day celebrating the glories of the later is. Since the Evangelicals and Protestants get their own day, I wonder if we should push for one.