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Hey, Hello, Hi, Kaixo, & Hola!
That fourth one is basque! Anyways, myself, my friends Katrina, Natalie, and Kacy went into the canary islands of Spain for a little 5 day getaway as our last hurrah together! Guess how much it was?
40 euros round trip. I couldn't say no. 20 flipping euros with Ryanair to get me to a beautiful tropical island? I'll take it!!!!! What are the canary islands? They are Spanish territory off of the western coast of Africa. Are they safe? Yes! Completely. The only coast that is unsafe would be the eastern coast of Africa, where you have Somalia and those much more dangerous waters. (If you've ever seen Captain Phillips). The flight is a bit longer because you are leaving the mainland and basically entering another continent way down south. (3 hour ten minute.)
We went to the island of Tenerife. The island holds the
highest point in Spain, Mount Teide. A volcano! There were english people EVERYWHERE!!! I heard more english accents than I did on my London trip. It completely makes sense though, it is like their Bahamas, or Dominican republic for them. Beautiful, always warm, and
easy access for english people. I heard more english accents than Spanish!!! However, the Spanish down there is a bit different, they have a bit of a dialect. They turn
every z into a s sound. For example, Corazon (heart) they would pronounce with a S sound at that Z. Whereas in the mainland you would hear the Z much more clearly. I love Dialects, I think they're so interesting.
What did we do? We got in super late Saturday night last week and we stayed in a hotel this time, since the flight was so ridiculously cheap! On a sandy island that feels so much like paradise, it was so much better to do a hotel. And for so cheap I must add. We stayed at Sunset Bay Club, on the Adeje Coast. The kind of place people have time shares at, and feels super resorty. And between 4 girls, this too was actually pretty cheap. (Taking advantage of the fact that this nice of a hotel back home would be triple the price.) Not worrying about your stuff, and spreading out is so much nicer than a Hostel!!! We also saved by cooking since we
had a kitchen. The room had a back porch with a table for 4 and some sun chairs. We had a few nice little dinners there. Our first day we woke up and went outside, and everything smelled so fresh!!! I loved this. Being miles away from big cities, manufacturing, you could smell the wilderness and the freshness in the air. I saw plants and flowers I'd never seen before. So beautiful. Cactus too!!
We went down to the beach and these waters (heart eyes) SO BLUE!!!!! These beaches were some of the most gorgeous I'd ever seen. Dark sand, and clear blue waters. We got some paddle boards and swam all day with them! We booked a few excursions also!!! The first one was a maxi cat Catamaran that was whale and dolphin watching (this far south you can see them all over the islands!!!) and a lunch, and swimming. 5 hour trip. 40 euros/person. In the north in San Sebastián you won't find whales this easy, so I was so excited to finally see some animals!!! We saw a colony of pilot whales. Pilot whales are quite small and related to dolphins. The whales I
have seen in Hawaii, Mexico, or other places have been the huge ones with the tales from a distance, but it was cool to see a different species where you see a whole colony together swimming!!! I have never seen more than one at the same time, and with this species, you could see a bunch, and their entire bodies because they are maybe only 12 feet each. Came so close to boat, even under catamaran nets!! So cute. We also saw dolphins jumping next to our boat 😊 Loved this!!! The boat went all across the southern coast of the island and we stopped by this gorgeous rock structure just to swim where they also served us lunch. Magical moments!!
The next day we did something that is something I may not have usually went out of my comfort zone to do back in the states. ATV's. We had four of us, and I got the short end of the stick and was driving! I am now glad it worked out that way though because It was amazing. We did a Quad safari that drives up the Volcano. How cool is that? My friend on the
back, I was nervous but I got the hang of it and I ended up being pretty good at driving in the end. Don't worry though, we weren't just out there alone, we were with a group, and 2 guides, one at the back and one in the front. I loved this experience! Driving off road, looking at some of the most beautiful views of the island by ATV truly gave me a awesome feeling of "Boy am I lucky." I drove an ATV for the first time, went out of my comfort zone and ended up having a blast in the end with not a scar on my body. Success!!!
2 excursions was plenty! The rest of the time we were relaxing the beaches, pools, and more. Gotta get as much relaxation as I can before I return home soon. I've actually worked up a great tan. But don't worry I have worn plenty of sunscreen! 😊 Another thing, we couldn't drink the water. We didn't even want to risk it ruining our trip, so we bought giant jugs and kept them in our hotel where we had a kitchen with a cold fridge! They say
to properly do the canary islands and see the most, you should rent a car which is what I really wish we did , but none of us know how to drive stick shift, and to get automatic would have been so much more $$$$. We had a great time. Its those little moments you have to really screenshot with your mind and capture. I was on top of a volcano driving an ATV with the most amazing view of water, plants, and everything. A beautiful night by a beach bar, playing John Mayer as the sun sets, its those moments you've gotta capture with your head and truly take in. I loved this island and would love to go back sometime and maybe with someone who can drive a stick shift car 😉
I can't believe my time in Spain is almost over. It's been the most amazing and eye opening experience I have ever had. I have two more finals, one on the 8th, and a take home one due the 10th. It is a bit rainy with not so great weather in San Sebastián this week, so I may just get the
take home one done while I'm stuck inside. I leave the 13th (cries). I head to Amsterdam for 2.5 days, and to Dublin for 2.5 days, and then to Chicago on the 17th to be home for the summer for my first Chicago loop job. I am so blessed!!! More to come in the next few weeks😊
Pics below,
xx Natalie
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hailey
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wahoo!! go noodle!! love the pics! <3