Sean and I joke that we should be on the show Amazing Race, the show where couples compete against other couples racing around the world, getting clues, going through obstacles to get to some unknown destination. We say this because whenever we travel we are rushing to catch buses or trains, reading maps and trying to find particular points of interest, trying to unlock the mysteries of each city, finding random places to sleep when we arrive, and never knowing where we are going next until the moment we are in it.
We just got back from traveling to 6 incredible Spanish cities in a matter of 5 days, which felt like an amazing race in itself. We left Sunday evening by train, which passed smooth, green landscape and fields and fields of beautiful, enormous sunflowers and arrived to our first stop, Madrid. It was such a shocking contrast to San Sebastian, so big and full of a diverse mix of people and grand sights, almost like Rome. We found a super cheap pension (which is just a room in a big flat, converted to be a low-budget but nice hotel) in the center of the city with a friendly owner, who joked with us about the people from San Sebastian always having their noses in the air. We had to agree as the south of Spain immediately had a much friendlier feel to it than the north. We have gotten in this weird habit of eating Turkish falafel kabobs in almost every new city we go to, so that is what we did after checking in. Then we went for a long, late night walk exploring the lively city, full of loud music and tons of people partying. The next morning, we indulged in churros y chocolate, which was a first for me. You dip these super greasy churros in hot chocolate so dense it's almost like warm pudding. Yum. We walked to all the sights in the hot summer sun. The locals were so nice, in fact, when we stopped to consult the map at one point in the day, a nice old lady pointed us in the direction of a sight we would be interested in, but didn't even know about, and while sitting on a park bench a nice old man sat with us to chat.
We caught a late bus to Sevilla. I have to say, bus travel is a nice way to go. It takes longer than the trains, but is much cheaper and you have the same luxuries - reclining chairs, air conditioning, movies, nice scenery. The only problem is that I feel sick if I try to read, so Sean plus our new cell phone that plays the radio and video games kept me entertained when a movie wasn't on. We arrived in Sevilla around 1am. Sevilla is a special place, not only because it is where the tomb of Christofer Columbus lives, but it is also where Sean lived 10 years ago! It was his first time back in the city since, but he knew exactly how to get to the city center, which was nice. We found another super cheap pension right away and crashed. The next day was hot and full of more sightseeing and a little shopping around. I adored the Spanish feel of the city, with colorful ceramic tiles and Flamenco dancing tributes everywhere. The main attraction was Plaza de Espana, which was an enormous, beautiful plaza, colorfully decorated with tiles for every city in Spain. It also had a more modern feel mixed in with the old - I even went to Starbucks for the first time in forever!
We left Sevilla late night, and decided to catch the bus to Cadiz. Cadiz is a coastal city, and therefore full of much more tourism. We walked around literally the entire city at about 2am, walking into every pension or hotel asking for a room, all of which were completo. We had 2 options, either stay in a nice 4 star hotel, which of course had availability, or try to make a bed on the beach. A true backpacker would have tried roughing it, but instead I opted for the 4-star, mostly out of tiredness and wanting to just be done walking. It hurt to spend the money, but the bubble bath, cool clean sheets and air conditioning made it worth it. I realized that I really don't understand the star rating on hotels. We have stayed in a million 1-star hotels that are surprisingly nice and clean, always with friendly, accommodating owners and even some with air conditioning, and then stayed in a 4 star hotel, that was just kind of average (just really expensive). Either way, it was probably the safer alternative to sleeping outdoors. The next morning, while surrounded by about a million annoying British tourists, we had our cafe, which I ordered con hielo (with ice) because of the excruciating summer heat. I guess the month of August is the wrong time to travel in Europe if you want a true cultural experience because really, you end up spending your time around a lot of other tourists. We went to the beach and jumped in the surprisingly cool Mediterranean. The sun dried us within seconds. I really liked Cadiz a lot - a small beach city with lots of narrow streets, joined by big plazas, little shops, Spanish restaurants, and 1 big cathedral, which was the main attraction. Just like Rome, a lot of the appeal in Spain is the magnificent architecture. After seeing the whole small city in the day, we took off for Malaga.
The bus ride to Malaga took us along the southern most coast of Spain. We were so close to Africa we could almost touch it. Pretty amazing to think of where we were on the map. Never in my wildest dreams would I have foreseen this life and I count my blessings everyday. Because of our difficulty in finding a hotel in Cadiz, we decided to plan ahead and book a hostel online for Malaga. This was a mistake. The room was absolutely empty of furniture - literally the only thing in it was a bed, that had 1 sheet on it. I was accompanied in the communal bathroom by a lovely cockroach at one point too. We tried to stay out as late as possible to avoid being in this room. The city was lively all through the night, which was fun to walk around and see. I slept all of 1 hour maybe through the entire night, due to loud noises outside - trash collectors or drunk bums on the street, the heat was brutal, and around 6am loud construction began. The bright street light shining directly through the window didn't help matters through the night either. Needless to say, I woke up feeling drained, eyes puffy and barely open and head foggy, but we charged on. After sightseeing a bit in Malaga - which was a pretty big city with lots of shops and restaurants and big cathedral at the center of it all, we took off on a short bus ride to a little pueblo called Torremolinos. This small but busy city was up on a cliff, where a steep, winding road lined with street vendors lead to the tropical beach. Sean went for a dip in the water, while I struggled to stay awake and cool in the shade. Torremolinos reminded me of Mexico in some ways. It had a very old town feel to it, but also catered to the tourists. After a nice lunch, and a lot of walking around, we were off to Cordoba.
Cordoba was HOT. It was nowhere near the coast and the heat was so strong it was suffocating. there was no question that we were in the desert here. The temperature was about 35 celsius at 11pm (95 fahrenheit) when we arrived, and during the day got up to 43 degrees (110 degrees farenheit!). We found a fabulously air conditioned, super cheap hotel right in the main plaza and showered and slept immediately as our exhaustion was overwhelming. We got up bright and early, almost refreshed and ready to go. I think Cordoba, despite the heat, was my favorite. There was no tourism, so we could really feel the quaint Spanish lifestyle. The main attraction here was the grand mosque, which was in the center of the small city, with cobble stone streets and old buildings and homes. We ate the most amazing, authentic lunch of paella and gazpacho and I can honestly say for the first time, I loved the food here. The restaurant was so colorful and lovely with plants all over the colorful ceramic tiles. We really felt like we were in Spain here, and that was the best part. It felt very real and we could really be apart of the beautiful Spanish lifestyle.
Our bus back to San Sebastian didn't part until 11pm, so we were able to spend the whole day walking, or sitting in the shade people watching in the plazas. At one point, I joined all the little local kids in running through the water fountains to cool off.
The bus ride back lasted 13 hours. It was completely full and our seats were in the very back, so they didn't recline. We loved bus travel until this ride. Our seats weren't even together at first and when we asked to switch with these girls so we could sit together, they said no, which we thought was strange and kind of rude. Finally, after about 2 hours one girl changed her mind, mainly because I think she wanted my reclining seat. So, we sat together cramped in the back and tried to sleep as much as possible. We arrived to a much cooler San Sebastian at noon the next day, very very tired, but very satisfied from a fun adventure through Spain.
