Hey there blog readers...sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Let me start with Espana (yea, the tilde over the n isn't gonna work on this email)!!!! Tuesday night (1/27) was the night before our arrival. I tried to go to sleep early, but once again failed. i dunno why its so hard to get to bed before 11. I finally packed some stuff, and plugged in all my chargers (laptop, camera, video), and went to bed at 12. But...once again I couldn't fall asleep. On my mind was the fact that we were going to see land after 9 days, and that when I woke up, I would be in Europe, in Espana. I tossed and turned, and I was sooo tired. I finally went to sleep at 4:30 or 5. It really sucked. I woke up at 6:45, really tired, but I got hit by a sudden surge in adrenaline. I looked out my window, and saw ORANGE LIGHTS!!! AND LAND!!!! YAY!!!! Needless to say (if my ALL CAPS doesn't speak clearly enough :) ) I was pretty excited. I grabbed my camera and ran to the top deck. We were pulling into port, and I have never been so glad to see land. I could see the coastline of Cadiz, Spain. A lot of people were on the top deck, cheering and taking pictures. I joined in on the celebrations and then grabbed some breakfast. I joined a group of students, and we shared our excitement about Spain. We couldn't wait to get off the ship.
So, we finally got off. I walked down the gangway and stepped onto land for the first time in 9 days. The ground was STABLE! It wasn't swaying back and forth. So... we had a trip that was leaving later, so we ventured through the city. First, we exchanged some dollars for euros, which was, actually, much more difficult than we imagined. Achal and I went to 6 or 7 banks and were turned away because we were not clients. Finally, one bank asked for our passports and we showed them a copy, and they agreed to exchange the currency. They charged a pretty hefty fee, but we had no choice. I got 100 euros for about 140 dollars. We ventured off into the city, euros in hand. The first thing I noticed was how different the city was from US cities. There were plazas everywhere, and a labyrinth of narrow streets (calles) that were near impossible to navigate without getting lost. We walked around, and grabbed some snacks, or tapas, at a local place. In Spain, the meal times are very different from what we are used to. Breakfast runs late, lunch starts at around 2, and dinner isn't even served until 8:30 or 9, and that is considered early. They eat tapas in between all the meals.
We made our way back to the port, and I took some pictures of the ship. We met our group at the pier and set off on our city orientation. What was hilarious was that we all loaded onto 4 buses, and we though we would go through the city in them. Instead, literally 2 minutes after we got on the buses, we arrived at the drop off point and the start of the walking tour. We spent about 30 minutes loading buses for a 2 minute bus ride. We got a laugh off that, but then we started out tour of the city. It was fun, and we saw a lot and learned about the history of Cadiz. We came back to the ship, and then decided to venture off again. We were accompanied by our "turista" friend Smith (more on that in a second). We used our mad Spanish skillz and asked a local which restaurant we should go to and ventured off. So, the turista thing... basically, we were at a restaurant for lunch, and the waiter asked us which drinks we wanted. I said agua (water), and when it was Smith's turn, instead of replying cerveza (beer), he said uh.. beer. The waiter chuckled, and walked away. And we looked at him, and said, "Dude, he probably just muttered 'turista' (tourist) under his breath." And that was the start of the turista joke, that we constantly referenced everytime we did something stupid that only a tourist would do (e.g. going into a restaurant and requesting food before lunch was actually served).
Anyways, so we went to the restaurant that was recommended to us, and it was AMAZING! Achal and I ordered some cheese pasta and it was delicious. And then something interesting happened. We were seated at the bar, which is much different than sitting "at the bar" in the US. In Europe, people are very responsible with their drinking habits, and all restaurants have a bar, where adults, kids, children, and families all sit together. It is pretty cool. Plus, as an added bonus, the menu at the bar is significantly cheaper than the menu if you sit down at the table. ;) So, Smith had his jacket on this stand below the bar table, and it suddenly started moving. He started freaking out, and picked it up. To our amazement, there was a moving platform below the bar table for collecting trash. We obviously thought it was the coolest thing ever. That was perhaps the highlight of the restaurant experience.
Then, we ventured off into the city again (it was probably around 10 by this time), and I made some phone calls. I quickly realized that the rates printed on the card were NOT the rates I was being charged...lol. By this time, Achal and Smith had walked "around the corner" and told me where they were going. I finished the phone calls, and ventured around the corner, but couldn't find them. I walked up and down several nearby streets and realized I was probably not going to find them, and that I was alone. I needed to get back to the ship, which was about a 20 minuted walk minimum through a maze of narrow streets. I started my walk back. There was almost no one on the streets. Probably the sketchiest thing ever. So, I started walking back alone. I walked down one street that was kinda dark, turned around and went back to the plaza. Then, I went another way. After 10 minutes, I somehow returned to the same plaza. Shit. So, I took another street, and walked for 10 minutes. It was kinda dark, there was no one on the street, and by this point there were definitely scared thoughts running through my head. I took some random turns and, thank God I have an amazing sense of direction, because I saw little landmarks i recognized from earlier in the day, and took turns accordingly. If I had a bad sense of direction, I do not think i would have made it to the boat. Anyways, finally after several turns, I saw the road that runs around the city along the beach. I knew I was still really far from the boat. Instead of taking shortcuts, I walked along the beach all the way back to the ship. I was completely alone the whole time, and very sketched out by this point. When I finally saw the main plaza, next to which the ship was docked, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and got back on the ship. So yea, that was pretty bad. Thank God I am brown, tall, and grew out my facial hair. I'm pretty sure i walked by some very sketchy people who gave me a look, and then looked away and continued what they were doing. I don't fit the "muggable" description too well, I guess. Who knows? All in all, a truly unforgettable experience.
The rest of the night was uneventful. We were going to leave for Sevilla the next day, and I was very excited. I couldn't sleep well and finally fell asleep at around 4. Which was bad cuz we had to leave at 8 AM the next day.
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