Today I left a town of beaches, discotecas, cathedrals, plazas, castles, tapas and flamenco. Leaving my new friends was a challenge, one that will only encourage me to visit other parts of Spain to reunite with those I have come to know so well. Although my blog entries have been minimal, I blame it on the fun and siestas that were forced upon me, I can give you a snapshot of the greatest memories from the past month.
In no particular order here are some of the adventures with my Cadiz homies:
1. Jumping off el puente(the bridge) next to the Castle San Sebastion. I tried to do a cool toe-touch twisty jump thing once, and then just a wedgie when I hit the water. It was so worth it though.
2. Dancing all night in Conil. A beach town with white buildings that creep up the hills right on the water. Don't forget to get chocolate croissants in the morning, they taste so much better when you've earned them. Also, when you find yourself at an outdoor concert, be prepared to be pulled on stage and asked to sing 60's rock songs, true story.
3. Nomming on tapas. It took me a while to master the art of tapeando, but once the skill was acquired, my gastronomic adventures began. Gazpacho is by far my favorite, a tomato based cold veggie soup, this refreshing treat is great on hot days and makes my belly feel oh so happy. Happy Belly, Happy Life.
4. Found a tower. Climbed the steps. Completely shocked. I never would have expected the top of Cadiz to look how it did. One would normally expect the skyline of a city to be fairly vacant, in Spain however, roofs are alive with gardens, patios and clotheslines.
5. Got tan. This is unavoidable, regardless of your SPF status. The beaches here are fantastic, in 20 years I will look at my wrinkles and remember the warm waters of the Atlantic, the sea glass I searched for, and the sand that somehow managed to get in all up in everywhere. La Caleta, Playa Victoria and Playa Santa Maria were fantastic.
6. Explored some ruins. Whether they are Roman, Catholic, or Moorish, these people new how to build some cool rock buildings. We checked out the Muslim Alcazar in Jerez, Roman ruins from an ancient city on the Beach of Baelo Claudia in Tarifa, and walked through the Castle in Zahara. How is it that hundreds of years ago, people had the ability to construct beautiful structures, including incredible details and beautiful architecture that are still standing today, while our generation with all of its technology has allowed cities to be constructed that topple over with the slightest disruption. Something does not seem right...
7. Played some Futbol. guess where, yep, next to a castle and on the beach. The first week in Cadiz, a bunch of us grabbed a futbol and headed to Playa Santa Maria. After my team won second place, shhh don't tell anyone there were only 2 teams, we jumped in the ocean to cool off. From then on I knew I was going to like Cadiz. A few guys on our trip made friends with some Cadiz locals who invited them to play a few pickup games throughout the program. Loyal fans that we are, a bunch of us went to go watch them ...um...try their best. Our boys did pretty good considering Spain happens to be Futbol World Champions. As we were walking away, a coed team needed an extra girl to play, "Por que no?" I said and jumped in for a few minutes. Yep, I played with some World Champions, no big deal.
