Espana. After 9 days at sea, it was well worth waking up at 6am to see the ship come into port. In the pitch black, the small flickering lights slowly turned into the harbor, cathedrals, four story buildings and the glorious city of Cadiz. We were anxious to get off- our sea legs kicked in immediately and for two days it felt like we were still rocking, swaying or in constant motion.
We helped ourselves to pitchers of sangria, took a tour of the city but decided we could be our own guides. After hours of walking on cobble stone, speaking mucho espanol (somehow I am the only one of my friends that can speak a word besides ‘si’ or ‘ole’) and eating churros con chocolate, we returned to the ship to meet for our flamenco/bullfight excursion. We headed an hour outside the city and were greeted with more sangria and authentic tapas. The bullfighting show was actually one of the saddest things I’ve seen. I just felt so bad for the baby cow and maybe it’s because I don’t understand or appreciate the art of bullfights. However, the flamenco dancers were phenomenal. There is so much passion, emotion and sensation involved with the dance. I wish I felt an ounce of that or had the skill to tap my feet so hard and feel every beat race through my body.
Thursday morning we took an early train ride to Sevilla- the most historically romantic, enriching city I have seen yet. We checked into the hostel- Samay- and it was actually nothing like what I imagined it to be. We were all in the same room and it had linins, free internet, towels and a shower with hot water. We locked up the passports and headed out to explore. We went straight to the futbol stadium and bought tickets to the Sevilla vs. Valencia futbol championship game for later that night. We even bought some Sevilla jerseys to add spirit. We met up with our friends from CU, Michelle and Megan, who are studying in Sevilla and started our evening off by watching the sunset from the rooftop of the hostel. The game was intense and so uplifting- the Spaniards were so full of spirit. When Sevilla scored, they hugged, kissed and the entire crowd was up in their seats. There was only one score board and no cameras on the field to see play backs or anything- you were forced to keep your eyes glued to the field and honestly that’s how it should be. It’s weird that I’ve gone to sporting games and actually watched part of it on the tv screen. Anyway Sevilla won with a field goal kick with 3 minutes left. The city raved and we headed out into the Sevillian night life to celebrate.
Friday we walked the entire day visiting endless cobblestone roads and taking any turns we felt. We went to the Cathedral of Sevilla- the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. I just stood with my head tilted up. The ceilings were so unbelievably high, the air was still and cold and the entire building was musky. We entered every room and I just wanted to know what they were all used for so long ago. Every wall, every pillar had artwork and sculptures. So much time, energy, thought and patience went into building the cathedral it was such an honor to step inside. We climbed the tower that overlooked the entire city and got to the top just in time as the bells rang (which was hands down the loudest thing I have ever experienced).
Later we did like the Spaniards do and took a little siesta before venturing out to a flamenco bar and another local discoteca. It began to rain but as we ran through the streets soaking and slipping we just laughed- we were running through the streets of Spain in the rain with our best friends. Nothing, not even pouring rain, could stop us. We danced the night away and well into the morning just like Spain notoriously is known for. With less than 2 hours of sleep, we headed to the train station and made our way back to Cadiz. We walked around the city a little more, got more churros and finally headed back to the ship to get there before deporting time at 1800.
It was the quickest 4 days of my life and with little to no sleep I actually feel fine. The adrenaline kept us going, the slow moving city kept us guessing the next adventure and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss anything by sleeping.
As I sit in my outside double cabin that is the last room on the port, bow side, I just felt the engine rev up. We are moments from beginning our next leg of the journey: Morocco. Until next time…
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