That Friday morning, April 25th, 2014, we got up early to get to the bus pickup for our weekend-long trip. We thought we’d be late, but ended up making it in plenty of time. The first part of the trip was to a place called La Rábida in the Huelva province, and everyone in our program was supposed to go. Once there, each bus became a group. My group first went to see Las Tres Carabelas - replicas of the 3 Christopher Columbus ships, which were floating in an area of water that was separated from the rest of the sea. They were really cool, and Megan and I had a blast climbing down into the ships and taking pictures up on the platforms, hanging onto the ropes. I sat on a huge barrel in the bottom of one, and the biggest, the Santa Maria, featured Columbus’s personal office where there was a sculpture of him looking over his charts. There were also pig legs hanging from the walls in the holds. Should I have been surprised? The ships were a whole lot smaller than I had imagined them to be. It’s hard to think of all of the men on these ships for weeks on end with just the small cargo holds as shelter. Then we watched a film about the discovery of America. Columbus is made out to be a huge superhero in Spain, and rightfully so. It would be against human nature for his country to look down on someone who had made such a significant discovery, even if the jerk was responsible for the mass slaughter of the Native American culture. Next, we drove just up the road to a monastery, which happens to be the place where Columbus prayed before his quest. It was really cool. There were a ton of historical artifacts. I really enjoyed the old maps and flags of each country, and I felt like a bit of a traitor when I was excited about the Spanish flag and totally forgot to take a picture of the American one. Oops. We sat in the sanctuary and walked up into the room with the long table where Columbus and his comrades made their big plans. The courtyard was beautiful and full of flowers. I got frustrated with some of the kids in the program when, once again, they were talking over top of the guide, and I couldn’t hear. This is always what happens when a trip is mandatory. We used the restrooms and got back on the bus to head to the beach! It was an hour or so away, and we went to a beach called Mazagón. It was very secluded, and there were few others on the beach aside from our group. Megan, Caitlin, Rebecca and I set up our towels and ate our packed lunches. Carmen had packed Brittany and I each 2 bocadillos for the long trip, which means that she used a lot of olive oil, and all of my stuff somehow ended up covered in it. At least it’s supposed to be really healthy for your skin! After we finished eating, I went and put my feet in the water. I hadn’t bothered wearing my swimsuit under my clothes, because I knew that the water would be freezing, and also that there was more beach time yet to come! My friend Sam kept trying to splash me, and we all had fun running around in the freezing water. Next, Caitlin and I took a little jog up the beach. The sand was pretty shelly, and I thought my feet were probably bleeding, but the beautiful sun glistening on the water and the salty breeze told me to keep going. Eventually we came to a rocky inlet that we couldn’t get around, so we turned around and walked back. People probably thought we were crazy, but I’ve always loved a good run on the beach. Then the 4 of us took a walk in the opposite direction. We sang Disney songs, Megan and I danced Flamenco, and we took tons of goofy pictures. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the water, and we had a blast. I wrote “Sevilla 2014 -- No Me Ha Dejado ,” in the sand, and got a bunch of pictures with it. I knew that I would appreciate those pictures later on. After we could no longer see our group and our feet got a little tired, we turned to walk back. We were all feeling a little well-sunned, and retired to our sunscreen and laying on our towels for the last hour. It was extremely windy, and the sand whipping by stung quite a bit, but still, the sun felt good and there wasn’t anywhere else to go! It was a deserted area. While we were laying there, I was digging around in the sand with my fingers, and I grabbed ahold of something. I pulled it out, and it was this tiny little girl’s bracelet with letters. It spelled out, “Violeta.” I was shocked out of my mind. Violeta was my Spanish name in high school. How had this actually just happened? It was one of those moments when you know that you were in the right place at the right time. I hadn’t met a single person in Spain by that name, but here was this poor lost bracelet, right on the beach where I was laying and digging with my fingers. Wow. Soon, it was time to get going back to the buses. We all had sand all in our hair and stuck to our warm skin. It felt pretty gross, but hey, we couldn’t complain. Those who weren’t continuing on to Portugal went home in the first bus, and the rest of us waited with our bags for the other to show up. It soon did, and we got in. Company rules stated that the driver had to take a half hour break before we could get going, so we spent a half hour sitting on the chilly bus. I got a little bit of reading done for my lit class, but I spent a while looking at my pictures, and another while sleeping. I’m always so productive on trips. I sat with Megan for the 3 hour trip, which seemed to go by quickly. It was crazy to think that we were traveling to yet another country in such a short time! In the States, it takes forever to get abroad, but in Europe, it’s like traveling between PA and North Carolina. It was almost dark when we arrived at the hotel. I was assigned to room with Alexis, a girl I liked but hadn’t talked to much. The room was nice and spacious enough. The best part, though, was the balcony. We could walk out the sliding glass door and look to our left at the last rays of sun setting on the ocean. It was incredible. Everyone got settled into their rooms, and then a group of us went to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. Sam, Chantelle, Megan, Brittany, Katie Grace, Mike, Alexis, and I ended up sitting at a makeshift table outside, since the restaurant was full. We didn’t mind. The weather was pretty nice, albeit a bit cold. We all ordered personal pizzas, which were big, but very thin. I ordered one with mushrooms, onion, and bacon. It was fabulous. I remember being annoyed at myself for having expected American bacon, but the Portuguese version wasn’t bad. We talked and laughed and had a grand old time. Some of the girls were considering going out after dinner, but I was way too tired to even think about it. I went back to the hotel with the rest of the group, took a long hot shower, and spent some time sitting on our little deck before I got ready for bed. I was at the beach in Portugal. Wow. In the morning, I went with Megan, Katie Grace, and Mike into the ‘center.’ The place was pretty small so I don’t know if it can really be considered a city, but definitely a touristy little beach town. It was really cute. I bought a pair of flipflops and some sunscreen, and we went into some tourist shops where I bought a tiny little rooster keychain. There is a famous story in Portugal in which someone who was convicted of stealing said that if the cock crowed when he was on trial or something, that he was innocent. The rooster crowed and the felon went free. It’s pretty interesting. But the keychain is very cute! We decided to go to one of the beaches in the center, rather than going back to the hotel beach where all of the crazies from our program would be. We walked along one of the main roads, alongside the ocean. It was beautiful, crystal clear, and infinite. We took some pictures, and then were approached by a man with a sign advertising boat rides. We weren’t going to do it, but when he lowered the price, Megan decided that we should, and we all agreed! There were a ton of people doing these boat rides, and it didn’t seem too sketchy. We got down into the motor boat and put on our life jackets. We started out slowly, but quickly got moving through the water. We took lots and lots of pictures as we weaved in and out of the cliff sides. The walls of rock were beautifully colored yellows and greens, and they made really cool formations that the driver took us through. The sun was shining hot, so we put that sunscreen to work and enjoyed the ocean spray and smell of the sea. Megan and I talked and talked on the front bench, the wind whipping our hair in every direction. It was SO much fun. We waved to other groups, and eventually realized we were passing by the hotel beach, where we could see the tiny figures of our friends off in the distance. Eventually we turned back around for the return trip. I tried to take in every sight and smell. I knew this would be one of the moments I will never forget. After the ride, we continued down the road toward the beach. It was a really long walk, and we weren’t positive where we were going. At one point, we saw a poor lady on the sidewalk who was selling fresh strawberries. We bought 2 boxes to share for a snack as we walked. Man oh day were they sweet! Megan and I tried to make ours last, but we didn’t do a very good job. Soon, we were crossing the bridge over a waterway with tons of sailboats floating on it. We headed off the beaten track, up over some grassy dunes and down a sandy road. Eventually we crested the sand and saw the ocean opening up before us. The temperature was perfect and the sun was shining. We set up our towels a bit away from the water and re-applied sunscreen. We didn’t want to end up looking like lobsters for the rest of the trip. Megan came with me to put our feet in, but I was the only one brave enough to really get into the frigid water. I was in up to my shoulders for about 10 minutes until I couldn’t really feel my limbs anymore and decided to retreat to the shore. We laid out on our towels for a really long time. Megan got restless and joined a game of beach volleyball a little ways away. I was tempted to play, but opted to talk with Katie Grace and Mike instead. We chatted about education and Spanish and history and the future and all sorts of things and had a really great time. As the hand s on my watch spun, we decided to get moving. All of our bocadillos had been in pretty sad shape when we went to eat them, so we ended up going back into town to find lunch instead. We walked for a while until we saw a place with decent prices. We sat down on comfy, modern seats outside and ordered pizzas, again. I’m pretty sure I got mushroom, onion, and shrimp. I am ever so predictable. It was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had; that, or I was just really really hungry. As we were sitting there, I got on the wifi at an optimal moment, as I received a message from one of my SAI sisters that they were doing elections for the next year and wanted to know if I was okay with being nominated. I would eventually learn that I had been voted as the committee head for the annual Benefit Concert event! I was very excited to be thought of from so far away. This made my heart hurt and I longed to see my friends, but at the same time, I was having such a blast that I couldn’t stay sad for long. We talked to a native for about half an hour who was very surprised that we were as fit as we were, seeing as we are Americans. I got a little mad, but I couldn’t blame him. Stereotypes are a tricky thing when you study abroad, and it just opens your eyes to how ethnocentric and close-minded we all are about each other. Once we were done eating, we made the trek back to our hotel, exhausted. We set 30 minutes to drop off our things and freshen up before we met to head down to the hotel beach. By this time, most everyone had left the beach there, so it was very calm, and a little chilly. The sand was ridiculously thick and sharp. It hurt to walk on it, but the beautiful surroundings were so worth the pain. You could see through the water like it wasn’t there, and the colors of the ocean bottom were just incredible. I decided to be adventurous and waded my way out toward a big rock. I was fascinated by the tide pools that had formed on it, and I found a sea urchin – one of my favorite childhood obsessions. I did many a science project on sea urchins when I was little, and this made me feel like my parents were there with me. They would have loved to have seen it. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Megan and Katie Grace came to join me on the rock. We all almost fell in a time or two, and I think I did when the big crab came scurrying across the rock, scaring us all. Of course, everyone had to keep making shark jokes, since I’m terrified of them. Though I knew there weren’t sharks in the water, the mere thought of them kept me from going back in. We walked around the small cove for a while, collecting shells and rocks, as it seemed like each piece of gravely sand was an extraordinary different color. I collected a bunch for my sister, seeing as she loves to make jewelry. Unfortunately, when the stones dried, they weren’t nearly as breath taking. But that’s okay. When our feet could no longer take the beating of the sand, we went back up the cliff to the hotel to change. I showered and made myself somewhat presentable before we took a bus trip out to the Cabo de San Vicente in Sagres to watch the sunset. I road with Carrie and we had a wonderful life chats on the bus. When we got there, the weather chose not to cooperate. We were on extremely high cliffs that dropped straight off into the ocean. It was an incredible view, but the wind was threatening to blow us away, and a cold drizzle fell on us as we walked around the mountain. We didn’t last long, and everyone was back on the bus in under twenty minutes. Some people were bummed that the trip had been a bust, but personally, I really enjoyed feeling all Lord of the Rings on top of the blustery mountain. The bus took us back to the hotel, and a big group of us walked to a fancier restaurant. We sat at a big table where everyone could fit and ordered. I got a big piece of salmon covered in caramelized onions and a sweet sauce with baked potatoes on the side. A bunch of us ordered that same thing, which turned out to be a good decision. This was one of the most memorable meals of my entire semester. We were rowdy and having a great time, fitting in with the noisy locals at the other tables. It was Rachel’s birthday, so while she was in the bathroom, we secretly ordered her a desert and sang happy birthday to her when her cream pie came out. It was adorable, and I think it made her birthday quite special. There was talk of everyone hanging out back at the hotel, but when we got there, everyone was so tired that we all just went to bed. I packed my things in the morning and met Megan and a few others for breakfast in the hotel. It was a half decent buffet, but nothing to write home about. We loaded our bags under the bus and took off for Albufeira, another beach town a few hours away. This town was very bright and alive. We all walked as a group the half hour in to the beach, so that we knew where to go, looking at all of the tourist stands on our way. The beach was beautiful, and the water was perfect, as it was really warm out today. Almost everyone on the trip went to the beach first. I stood and chatted with Theresa while we splashed around in the tide for about an hour. Then we joined everyone on towels to tan. I find it funny. Everyone was so paranoid about burning, yet we spent the vast majority of the trip trying to get sun. It makes no sense. The sun did feel splendid on my face and I laid there listening to everyone’s conversations. It was a great time to be alive. The heat of the day arrived, and about 8 of us went to find lunch. We found a nice little place off one of the main streets and went in. I ordered garlic bread and a plate of cooked vegetables, (see, my demise had obviously already started). It was great, and we all sat around and talked for a long time. It’s amazing how much energy the sun takes away from you. After that, we went souvenir shopping for a bit, which I got bored with quickly. Soon, Carrie and I took off on our own. We watched some street performers in the big town square and then went in search of a grocery store. It took asking a few locals until we found it. Once there, we bought strawberries and dark chocolate, running back to join the group before the bus left. I was very happy with our decision to get these instead of ice cream. They were so fresh and sweet, and I wasn’t angry at myself for eating them. Albufeira was one of my favorite places we visited, and it was a wonderful day spent with friends. There was nothing that actually spectacular about the town itself, I don’t think. It was just the right place at the right time, and that day I didn’t feel lonely or foreign. We just did our thing and had a great time. I think it was thanks in part to doing everything with a bigger group. As much as I had avoided groups through most of the semester, they definitely have their perks, and I had a fabulous trip to Portugal with them. From Albufeira, the bus took us home to Seville. Thankfully, the bus driver did that beautifully gracious and kind and perfect thing where he stopped by the Triana Bridge on his way to the normal stop, saving us 45 minutes of walking time. Sandy and tired, we arrived home to Carmen. This place felt more like home every time we came back to it. She commented on my tan, fed us a good supper, and sent us to bed to rest up for school in the morning. |
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