Day 4- Last day in Spain

Day 4- Last day in Spain

Today I woke up early, (as I woke up a person in my 10 person room one of my roommates was coming in for the night) packed and headed downstairs to the lounge to surf the web for a little bit. I then came up with the best idea.

I went to iTunes.com changed the country I belong to to Spain and then downloaded the top songs from Spain, surprisingly a lot of them were American songs.  This is probably the first time that I have actually bought music on iTunes, but whatever I am on vacation and it’s only money, and when you are on vacation money grows on trees.

So the breakfast they had was atrocious, I had a single piece of bread with some butter on it and was on my way to take two buses to the train station to return to Cadiz via Cordoba and Sevilla.
BTW non-residents pay so much for the public buses. I paid about $4-5 to go about 4-5 miles on public transportation and it was annoying because each bus ride was just a little bit too long to walk.

Also someone told me to get on the wrong bus, so I was a little confused for a little bit, but I met up with someone staying at the hostel and got to the train station with plenty of time to spare.

I went through security, which was a joke because they only check your big bags and do not do anything to you at all, but the train ride to Sevilla was fine (and of course I got discriminated against again, I also got to pass through Cordoba which was another city I wanted to see but just didn’t have enough time for. So after my one hour transfer in Sevilla, I headed back to Cadiz (finally I sat next to a younger person who didn’t mind me at all) arriving at 1400.  I didn’t have to be back on the ship for another 4 hours so I looked around for an Internet café and a place to buy some peanut butter since I bought disgusting organic peanut butter in Nova Scotia.

Well, I was unsuccessful with the peanut butter, but Cadiz has free public Wi-Fi, which is legit, so I sat down, surfed the web, had tuna tapas with a beer and soaked in my last few hours of Spanish sun. I also called home because it was only $1.29 a minute (compared to $5 a minute in other places.) I then headed back to the ship and slept through dinner and went to bed early

So in my last day of Spain, I only had a piece of bread, tuna tapas, water and a beer. I am not sure how I survived that but all in all Spain was fun, a little tamer than I expected, but still fun and adventurous nonetheless.

Spain Day 3 Sevilla-Granada- Alhambra- Malaga

This early morning train ride was much easier getting up for. After I had woken up from my first hostel experience, sleeping with 7 other people thankfully all SAS peeps, I made my way to the Sevilla train station.  I got slightly lost along the way, but made it in plenty of time before my train, and then oh the horror. I realized that there were TWO major train stations in Sevilla (what gall a city of millions have) and I was at the wrong one. Well, I was in luck because the same train went to both stations. But my father would have gotten mad at me that I didn’t pay attention to the details, and my response would be,  “well I still got to Granada anyways”

So, only getting 3.5 hours of sleep I was really hoping to sleep on the train, and I was kinda successful, but at the same time that damn train was so loud.  Also this was the second time I was being quietly discriminated onto/against/(whatever preposition should go there and if my mom were here would correct me on it).  I was kindly sitting in my seat and the guy next to me wanted to move out of his seat so badly. He would go sit in another seat, then someone would claim it, come back to the seat next to me, and would leave when a seat opened up and come back when it was claimed. This cycle happened 3-4 times, but I was really too tired (and didn’t know enough Spanish) to say anything.

I get to Granada and something must have happened on that train because I could not remember any Spanish, I felt really really stupid. But I found my way to the public bus to get downtown and then to take another bus to get to the Alhambra. Man, that Granada bus was an experience. That thing was packed, I was in a foreign country, having no clue if I was going in the right direction, having gone Spanish brain-dead, and being all by myself; it was one of many experiences I have had. So I get to the city center find a Western Union to exchange a traveler’s check and find the tourist office so I can get to the Alhambra.

Probably my favorite part of the trip was walking up to the Alhambra with water trickling down the side of the dirt path, birds chirping and rays of sun blazing through the leaves of tall lush trees. I sat down for a while and took some notes. It was hella relaxing, and I now wish I stayed there longer, but I was unsure how long it was going to take me to walk to the top of the hill where the Alhambra was so I kept on going.

(I am sorry this is a long post, but long day=long post)

I finally got to the top of the hill and tried to get the ticket that I had reserved a month ago, but then I realized I brought the wrong debit card because I have this complex safety system of debit cards and I forgot (or didn’t pay attention to the details) to bring the right one. But of course, I still got my ticket without paying any extra money.

I slowly went through a lot of the Alhambra, but I think I missed a big section of it and took tons of photos and videos and even took some time to sketch in my notebook. I should have gotten an audio tour, because I was basically there looking at buildings not knowing the history of the place at all, and guess what, I still don’t really know the history of the place, but I do know that the people who built it had a lot of money and a lot of time on their hands.

After the Alhambra experience was done (you will see photos and video when I don’t have to pay 40 cents a minute for internet) I took two public buses to the regional bus station at the edge of town and went to Malaga. And of course I got discriminated against again, because there were two seats left on the bus, the one next to me and another one. A woman comes sits down next to me thinking that was the last seat on the bus, looks around, sees the other seat and sits there instead, and then another person came on the bus, stopped at the seat next to me and looked around for anymore options before sitting next to me.

And Mom, I know they were not doing this because I smell, because I showered that morning and put deodorant and smelled nice and fresh, even after a day outside (believe me I checked a whole bunch of times.)
So the bus ride to Malaga was fine I guess, Malaga is a big city with a lot less culture than Cadiz, Sevilla and Granada, but it has the Mediterranean Sea, which I really wanted to touch.  So I get off the bus, looking for the local bus system, but instead find my way to the train station and finally ask some one (in horrible Spanish) how to get to the main local bus terminal.

I took two public buses to my hostel and ended up getting off a stop too early because the driver of the bus told me that was my stop.  I walked the rest of the way, and finally got to my hostel, and was greeted by a beautiful woman SPEAKING ENGLISH. I was instantly in love, not really, but really.

So I settled in my 10 person room (I am being economical) and walked the whopping 30 seconds to the beach (I am being strategic) and took my first steps in the Mediterranean Sea. I was proud of myself for finding a $20 room with a sea view and literally right across the street from it. It looked just like an ocean but whatever.  The great thing about the beach was that I was getting calluses all the walking I had done and after walking on the beach my feet were nice and smooth. After about an hour on the beach (it was way too dark to stay any longer) I went back to the hostel took a shower and then went downstairs.

I ate dinner at the hostel because I was tired for obvious reasons, and for 10 Euros (about $15) I got a sub, a liter of water and a liter of a mojito. Oh man that sub was good, and the water was refreshing, and the mojito was absolutely amazing.  Back at home, I would never pay any where near $15 for that but whatever, I am kinda on vacation.

As I ate dinner, I had a long conversation with this Australian couple travelling the world, and that was just another really awesome experience. But by midnight, I had to call it a night because I had to wake up early again to catch the train to get back to Cadiz before the ship leaves.

This was one great day, full of many mishaps, bountiful beauty, and crazy chaos. Spain is awesome!

Spain Day 2

Cadiz - Sevilla

     I totally understand why Spaniards are the least efficient people in the world. (source unknown) So after going to sleep at 5am (I had to pack) I woke up at 6:45 ate a quick breakfast and I was off to the train station. Don’t worry, I have learned my lesson, late night at a club/bar + early morning train ride = not a happy tummy and head. My train ride to Sevilla was the smoothest thing possible, but my hour and a half of sleep was not enough. And o boy, my Spanish is bad and I was being the forgetful Marcus of my younger years.

     So I got to Sevilla, and I had no idea where my hostel was, and I forgot my reservation sheet on my bed in the ship. The lord loves me though, because the Tourist office just happened to know where the hostel was. It was an interesting 15 minute walk to the hostel. I checked in and got into my 8-person room, where there were some random people sleeping in the beds, and had the beds pushed together.

     5 minutes later about 15 more SAS peep (SAS= Semester at Sea) and so we went out to lunch. BTW Sevilla is dead Sunday morning. Even though they are about 95% Catholic, most do not go to Church, so many shops were not open, but we found a place, and had pretty good lunch.

     After lunch I was ready for my siesta, because I still had a headache. I was mad at myself that I was too tired to go see Sevilla, but O boy after that siesta I was ready to go. So I bumped into some SAS kids on my way out and we just walked around, took some pictures, did some shopping saw some cathedrals. Then we bumped into some more SASers and we followed them to a bullfight. The spontaneity of all of this was really fun. The bullfight was pretty cool and got tons of videos. I feel so bad for the bulls, but it was a good experience. I then had dinner with some other SASers, so that by the end of the day I had probably spent time with about 25 different SASers. All of the bars close by were closed, so it was an early night (I went to bed at 2am) to wake up at 5:30 to head over to Granada.

     Sevilla was fun, I wish I did a little more, but the architecture, and the way of life was nice to see. Goodbye Sevilla and hello to early morning train, Granada and Alhambra and Malaga!!!

Spain Day 1

Marcus’s Blog
Spain Day 1
Old and New Cadiz
     I woke up really early, before sunrise to see us pull into to port. The sunrise was absolutely amazing, and after 8 days at sea, land was finally in sight. So ready or not here I go.

     Getting off the ship was fairly easy, I located the train station, got a map of Cadiz, then took a Churches of Cadiz tour. Cadiz is a town/city that is declining in population but is still hella dense; there are over 110,000 people in a 11km2 area.  So it didn’t take too long to get a full tour of the city. Some highlights were the “new” cathedral and the front gate.

     The “new” cathedral, constructed over 300 years ago, is massive and beautiful. It is not really efficient because its human capacity is fairly small because the walkways are so huge. Our group of 30 people filled up most of the seats in the congregation area. I feel that I was more in a tourist trap than an actual cathedral, but nonetheless that church was amazing.

     I also really liked the front gate to the city. Old Cadiz is a walled city guarded by two brothers (now statues) who were beheaded in the 3rd century for being Christians. The front gate is really beautiful, and expresses the rich history and the different theologies that have resided inside those walls for over a millennia.

     This first night, after having beer, tapas, some rice meal and Sangria we walked over 45 minutes to the clubs. It was fun, but they played bad American music because they saw all of us Americans at the bar. Nonetheless we all had a good time, but I could not handle the Spanish lifestyle, and I had to go back to the ship by 4am.
  
     Cadiz is arguably the oldest city in the Iberian Peninsula, but the stuff built in the 3rd Century has all been lost. It was a nice little town, and my first day and night was really fun and informative but I could not stay there for 4 days, so Sevilla Sevilla here I come.

Spain was Great! Morocco here I come

I know I am a horrible blogger, but Spain was really good, saw some interesting things, but I am about to get off the ship for Morocco, so I will go more indepth about my experiences in Spain and about Berber Villages in the Atlas Mountains when I get back in a few days.

Espana Esta Aqui!!!

We have pulled into port. Waking up before the sun for about the third day in a row. I never thought I would be so surprised to see a string of lights. But as we pulled in Cadiz pronounced kinda like Ka-dith is really beautiful. We took sunrise pics and ate some breakfast. Now I am about to go see some churches, then possibly go to the beach do some shopping, go see some flamenco, bullfighting, and cow spearing(?). Then party the night away.

Once again, I can't believe I am doing this, I can't believe this is actually here. I am trans-Atlantic!!!

Espana esta aqui!!!

So After it All, I STILL Feel Unprepared

So it is kind of weird. I almost don't want to get off the ship, because I know that as soon as I am in Spain, life get's really hectic. Today we had our cultural pre-port presentation and it was actually pretty interesting. But then it hit me that I am going to Spain in 2 days and I have taken over 12 years of Spanish, not only am I not fluent in Spanish but I have forgotten all of the Spanish culture that I have learned. Spain was always a far off distant land and I never paid any mind to, and now it is here. I am just really upset at this moment that I just don't know more. I wish I was more prepared, but for the next 11 days I am going to be in very unfamiliar places and I just do not know how I am going to react.

I do not plan on sleeping much in Spain, since I have early morning trains and parties don't stop until 8 in the morning. And I am doing a three day trek in Morocco so that should be interesting too. Thankfully I finally get to relax from reading hundreds of pages about how we are destroying our world. Basically as some dude said, we are conducting an uncontrolled experiment with the only home we know, so treat your world better.

And talking about the world, I have no idea if I am ready, but ready or not HERE I COME WORLD!!!

The Before of Me

So APON came up with the great idea that I should go through some simple questions and ask myself some before I go and ask them again when I get back and have the answers be one form measurement of growth or change.

Questions:
1.Favorite Color
2.Favorite Song
3.Favorite Book
4.The place I am most excited about
5.What I will miss the most
6.Biggest World Problems
7.Favorite Quote
8.Life Goals
9.Religious Beliefs

Answers:
1.      My favorite color is purple, because it is not found naturally often, but when it is, it is absolutely beautiful

2.      My favorite music  at this moment is the new Black Eyed Peas album. Most of the songs don’t really make sense but they just make me feel good.

3.      My favorite book is Anthem by Ayn Rand mainly because it helped me get into college

4.      There is not a single place that I am more excited than others, but  I am looking forward to South Africa, India, Cambodia/Vietnam, and China

5.      I think that I have done without almost everything at a given time in my life. But I will probably miss free internet and everything that comes with: Pandora, YouTube, internet TV and so on.

6.      The biggest problem the world has is compassion and care for the fellow man. If we cared for others more, there would be less war, less hunger, more collaboration, more advancement

7.      My favorite quote is: “ I I grow up, I want to be a Bus Driver.” – Lafayette. I like this quote because it keeps me grounded. It makes me realize that I am blessed enough not to have a life of uncertainty. It’s the fact that this 10 year old boy knows that might not live to see his 20’s, but he wants o be a bus driver- a person who helps people get from place to place and move people forward.  But even though he wants to propel others he also Is aspiring to a low paying, low satisfaction, not as respected position.

8.      As of now, I want to be a teacher for a few year after college and traveling during the summer. Then go to some graduate school (maybe business?) then hopefully make a lot of money, retire early and teach some more while travelling during the summers and live out my years volunteering for non-profits and doing whatever I want. Nonetheless I looks forward to a happy life with two kids and one wife; in a place where I can live, sleep and be happy, dying with a smile on my face, knowing I have made a difference and the world a better place

9.      My religious beliefs are pretty simple. I believe that there is a higher power, but I am uncertain of how much control they have over us but what I know for sure is that I am here, so I should make the most of it. But also it can’t hurt to pray, just in case that higher being is the father of Jesus.