Day at the Beach!!

Because I arrived in Sevilla early and without any sort of itinerary for the next two weeks, I have been constantly on the lookout for opportunities to do something fun. I was in the ISA office the other day and when they suggested that I go to the beach, I thought – what a great idea! They suggested Cádiz because it has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and I was told that the train drops you right off on the beach. So last time I wrote I had just gone to the train station and bought my ticket…and yesterday was my day at the beach!

I woke up around 9am and, prepared with a towel, sunscreen, music and my bocadillo, I set off for the train station. I left kind of late and had to walk fast to get there, but as long as you arrive more than 2 minutes before departure you can still make it. I was kind of surprised when no one checked my ticket (and wondered how easy it would be to catch a free ride – until the ticket checker came around 45 minutes later at some random stop. The station there looked pretty shady…I would hate to have been kicked off there!) 

The train station in Cádiz is pretty tiny and the only service booth that was open (other than one for food) was a car rental station. I saw the lady giving maps to people renting cars so I went up and asked her if I could have one. She smiled at me and said no. I asked if there was anywhere around there that I could find a map. She said no. Very helpful. Defeated and hopeless, I walked out of the station with the mass of people, expecting to easily find the beach (since the train was supposed to drop me off "right on the beach"). Not the case – there was a port and some water but no beach anywhere to be seen. I walked for a little ways until the sidewalk ended, stopped, slowly turned around and then stood there for a minute wondering what on earth I was going to do.

I found a couple at a bus stop that looked pretty touristy and had a bus map in one hand and a city map in the other and they were speaking English. Perfect. I asked if they knew where the beach was and they said they were trying to find it too so we hopped on a bus and headed for Playa de la Victoria. The couple didn’t know what stop to get off on so I asked the lady to my left if she knew where it was. She said two more stops, and then the man to my right began arguing with her that it was three or four more stops. We just waited until we saw the beach and then got off the bus. Scott and Mimi were the couple with the map – they were from California and on vacation hopping through cities in Spain. I thanked them for letting me tag along and we parted at the bus stop.

The beach was beautiful! I got there pretty early so I found a great spot and wasn’t bothered the whole time I was there. The water was cold and there were tons of topless women walking, swimming, bouncing and sunbathing. I couldn’t believe how normal it seemed to everyone. I saw a couple men in some decorative Speedo’s too. After a few hours I left the beach and decided to walk around the city to see if anything was open (again, stuff usually closes between 2 and 6 and then opens back up for the evening). 

Except on Saturdays. 

On Saturday, I discovered, if a store is open it is only open in the morning (until 2) and doesn’t reopen for the evening. So I figured I'd walk around the city and see if, by following the bus stop maps scattered throughout the city, I could find my way back to the train station. It wasn’t too hot outside and there was a lovely breeze and the city was very quiet so I thoroughly enjoyed my walk. The buildings in the certain areas of the city look very, very old, a big contrast to some of the newer buildings that I found in other parts. I looked it up later and found that Cádiz is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in possibly all of southwestern Europe. I stopped at the Plaza de España, which was different than most other plazas in Spain that I’ve been in but it had some beautiful architecture (it’s dominated by a monument to the Constitution of 1812 - effectively Spain's first constitution). I also explored around the commercial center. At the edge of the city I saw this beautiful opening of blue water so I walked up to it and discovered one of the most peaceful and enchanting views I have ever witnessed in my life. To my left was an antique building with borders of ancient design, to my right was a little rocky cove where you could hear the sound of the water sweeping through the boulders, and far in the distance was the shady outline of the entire edge of the opposite side of Cadiz. Straight ahead was blue water as far as I could see. There was no one around and I sat in a little corner and just enjoyed the peace and the breeze and the sound of the water. 

I found my way back to the train station and was kind of early so I read a little bit of a book that I had come across in my room (the only thing in English). By then I was STARVING and when the train arrived back in Sevilla I quickly walked back to my house where I found a delicious dinner waiting for me. What a perfect day!

Tomorrow and Tuesday I have to do a little research for my honors thesis that I’m working on for graduation. And then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday = more beach time! Richard is a firefighter and works at the airport so one of these days (soon) I get to go with him to see what he does. He said I get to have VIP status for a day. How fun!

Hasta Luego Todos!