SPAIN

My absolute absolute absolute favorite place so far. I just had the time of my life in Sevilla, Granada, and Cadiz. I was challenged culturally and linguistically and FINALLY experienced things I didn’t understand.  It was fabulous.

First stop, Sevilla. My friends (Ashley, Haley, Jake, Brett, Dan) and I all got this wonderful apartment owned by the most friendly and helpful Spanish couple, Ima and Jesus. We spent the first day at this bar they own down the street a bit drinking sangria, eating tapas, and chatting with a few locals. (When I say ‘chatting’, me personally, I was nodding and smiling and laughing when others laughed.) I’m embarrassed to say I could get the jist of the conversations but not much else. Dan and Jake were excellent at speaking and would translate for us when they could.

Then we headed to a bull fight. We spent way too many euros on the only available tickets which just so happened to be in the front row. I partially knew what to expect, but it was still difficult. It was gruesome, and it was confusing all the while being impressive and entertaining. I can’t say I exactly enjoyed myself, but I’m very glad I went. I’m very curious as to what it all means and how it all started. The locals sitting near us did the best the could, but I’m still so curious.

They next day we wandered around Sevilla some more making stops at both the cathedral and the alcazar. The cathedral is the third largest in the world, I believe. The architecture of both establishments is just mind blowing. It’s so so beautiful and extremely intricate – all done BY HAND. You just find yourself standing and staring in awe.

Then to Granada. I knew nothing about the place, but Jake wanted to go so Ashley, Brett, and I tagged along. Best decision ever. I was just really comfortable there. You could walk the streets and alleys forever and still pop out somewhere familiar.

We got there late that day so our evening can pretty much be summed up by two words: tapas y cervesas. The next morning we got up for sunrise and headed to this viewpoint across the way from the Alhambra, a HUGE fortress thing that overlooks the city. (See above) It was a bit cloudy but so beautiful. A view hours later we went to visit the Alhambra itself. More impressive architecture and gardens and the views from inside are as impressive as the ones from the outside.

That night we went to a Flamenco performance. COOLEST THING EVER. Well, since I too dabble in dance, I found it pretty amazing. We’re not sure how authentic it is because it is such a tourist-y thing, and we don’t know what flamenco should really look like, but I don’t care. It was amazing. The dancers were so passionate and so intense and extremely extremely talented. Part of the dance is very similar to tap… just fast-forwarded like 50 times. So cool. At the end, they pulled people up to dance with them. I just about jumped out my skin with excitement when one of the dancers grabbed my hand.

It rained quite a bit the next day so we took it kind of easy. It’s really amazing how much the weather affects your motivation/mood… especially when you lack the proper attire to fare it. We did some shopping, drank some caffe con leche, and paid a visit to the cathedral. Another astounding architectural structure.

We VERY nearly missed our 18:30 bus back to Cadiz, but thankfully we made it. The 5 hour trip back wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated.

Our last day in Spain was extremely relaxing. I really needed that. We wandered around the markets and shops in Cadiz and then headed to the beach—despite the extreme cloud cover. We posted up on a big rock for awhile just taking it all in and then grabbed our last sangrias in an oceanfront restaurant. It was perfect.

My visit to Spain has me ready and rarin’ to go for the rest of the voyage! I was starting to get a little tired of Europe, but Spain definitely gave me the experiences I was looking for. The Canary Islands may not be the place for that, but I CANNOT WAIT for Ghana!