Espana

---

Port 1: España

Saturday: After having the best night sleep of my life, I woke up to my alarm at 7:00. I looked at out my window and see land for the second time in 5 days! SPAIN! Super excited, I get showered, get dressed and go eat breakfast. My friend Mimi and I are ready to go. We are first in line to get our passports, then first in line at the train station. Destination, MADRID! We took 2 two hour trains and finally arrived. On the first train I sat by Colt, a new friend who was already enjoying a beer. Way jealous he decided to give me one. Talking the whole way we were super excited for this whole trip to actually begin. By the time we got to Madrid we were ready to go. Mimi and the other three we went with walked to our hostel. On the way however, Mimi and I traded groups to be with other friends we knew we would have more fun with. We got a hostel with them and then went exploring. We saw the palace and soon had lunch; tapas and beer and sangrias. It was the best way to start the day. We went then had ice-cream too. We explored parts of the town then decided to get stuff ready to go out. We were headed to club Kapital. It was a 7 story dance floor. First six floors were techno music and the last was rap. It was crazy fun. We all had a good time drinking absinth and whiskey. By 3 a.m. Mimi and I were ready to leave, and were walking away when two guys told us the party was just beginning. We just laughed. However we were tired and went back to the hostel. By the time we got water and arrived at the hostel the second group was there too. We all went up and made a lot of noise. Sadly, we got yelled at then went to bed.

Sunday: Mimi, Alex and I woke up at 9 o’clock. We were in Madrid and we weren’t going to spend it sleeping no matter how bad we were hurting. After showering we all went down to grab a bite to eat. We got Paninis for breakfast. They were amazing, ham and cheese. After that we went shopping around the town. Went to some local stores and some chain ones, the only thing I end up buying was some perfume. Smells amazing. After that we went to a different part of Madrid. We went to the biggest flea market there was then walked to the REALmadrid stadium. It was so big, but unfortunately with our timing we couldn’t have a tour. Mimi, Jamie and I had to get back to Cadiz by the night because we all had trips that semester at sea put on. I was excited by the time I got back on the ship. I was already missing people and was ready to hear their stories of what they have been up to. I was excited to see Colin and my other friends. However, they were already asleep and not everyone was back yet. So then, Mimi stayed in but Jamie and I ended up going out to the bars in Cadiz too. It was very low key because it was a Sunday. Lots of stores were closed and not many people out. Around 3 am again, Jamie and I walked home having a wonderful adventure. We saw many monuments and noticed how pretty everything was.

Monday: Today was the day I signed up for a semester at sea hike. I started with a healthy breakfast of fruit loops then waited for Jamie so we could head to the bus. Once on the bust it was a three hour drive but we eventually hiked all around Grazalema. It was a 3.5kilometer to the lunch spot, and then we backtracked back to the bus. It took us about 4 hours because our tour guide would stop and explain how some trees were special and indigenous to only that area. We also learned about certain flowers. It was very interesting. On the way back from the hike we got ice-cream then before we knew it we were back on the ship. We had the best dinner yet, Mac & Cheese! It was awesome. After that I saw some friends that I was super excited to hang out with. We went to the cathedral and I for once had a chance to face book and Skype. I talked to my parents, man how I miss them! Love you guys  a few of my friends grabbed tapas and talked then we headed back to the ship. When we got in it was around eleven so everyone was tired. I grabbed a movie, the hurt locker, and watched it on the computer. I also colored a few pages from my coloring book. It was a great way to end the day.

Tuesday: Today I got up and had breakfast. Right after that I went right back to bed till about ten oclock. I got up and showered. Rachael and I eventually decided to get ready to go out and find the street fair. After walking the wrong direction we finally turned around then found it. It had rows and rows of fish and fruit. Of course things like this are bad for me to go into because I just want to poke everything! I am like a kid in a candy store. After that we sat down and enjoyed a big pizza….each. We both ate it all. After that we came back to the boat. We ran into Jamie and Kirsten. We all decided to go to the beach. We ended up with a huge group at the beach. It was really fun; a few of us even swam out to bowie. I was freaking out and was really scared of sharks. I was wearing a black bathing suit and had a bright orange flashing camera, how much attention could I give. After that we walked out to this castle type thing. It actually reminded me of Alcatraz, but had a bridge to get there. Well a certain spot in the bridge you could jump off at so we did. Jamie did a front flip and almost ruptured his ear drum. He isn’t the brightest, however I can’t talk. I got sun burnt because I forgot to reapply sunscreen. After that we had dinner back on the ship. Having it is the last night in Spain a bunch of us decided to go out. We went to some beach bars and on the way there, there were massive beach sculptures of dolphins and airplanes. These were cooler than sand castles! Me, Jamie and my friend Kristen also decided to grab a bite to eat and it was amazing. A chicken sandwich with egg tomatoes lettuce and bacon, it was a great sandwich to keep me full!

Wednesday: Last day in Spain! Everyone is getting back on the ship and I am so excited to hear all the new stories. So many people did random things. It was nice because today was a very low key day. Spent the morning eating and going grocery shopping. Breakfast/lunch was ham and cheese sandwich and dessert was churros with chocolate. I have never tasted anything so good. I want them all the time now. After that I came back to the ship to put my stuff away and organize my room. Then my friend Rachel told me to go with her so I did. We enjoyed looking around Cadiz for one last time. By 4 o’clock we both began to freak out about getting on the ship. If we mess up getting on we get screwed over at the next port. We totally didn’t want that so we got back on by 5. We weren’t hungry so we passed on the dinner…. New theme is Moroccan type foods, very flavorful. By 8 o’clock we were leaving port and everyone was super excited. It was a cold evening and very windy but a bunch of us went to the bow of the boat to watch the sunset. After that we had our reflection group meetings where we talked about the experiences we had. Everyone had something different to experience… Everyone is super excited for the fact that TOMORROW we will be in Morocco!!! And even better, we gain 2 hours back!! Yay sleep in, a little to catch up on sleep!!

---