Alicante

       This weekend I took a trip to Alicante, Spain. It is on the eastern coast of Spain and approximately 6 hours away from Salamanca. It was absolutely beautiful. The main beaches were crowded, but for good reason. The atmosphere was just something I could not put into words. While my trip was short, I did get to see a few cool things. It would have been nice to be traveling with someone, I still enjoy travelling alone. This whole weekend was just a bunch of awkward moments and bad situations, but nonetheless, it was an experience.

Day 1

     I traveled to Alicante via BlaBlaCar and the people I rode with spoke very fast and it was hard to understand. Dani (the driver) had me meet him at the bridge at 5:50 AM to start the journey. When he stepped out of the car, he acted like he was going to do the Spanish greeting of two kisses on the cheek, but then stopped midway and turned around. I was so embarrassed. I could not understand hardly anything that they were saying so I basically just slept the whole way there and did not talk. Then I could not find the code for the car when we had to leave so that was all sorts of awfulness. Eventually I found it. Luckily it was pretty easy to find the hostel and get settled.



     After all of that I decided to do some exploring. I visited the ever-popular Castilla de Santa Barbara. It sits in the center of the city and you can see for MILES. The water looks breathtaking from there. I decided not to go to the beach that day since I was going to spend all day at the beach the following day. I walked around and ended up finding places I wanted to go, on accident. I made a pit stop to get some dinner and had this really good garbanzo bean salad. I did not do much else that day. I walked on the beach after dark and took the scenery in while eating some fro-yo. It had been a long day, and I just wanted to sleep.














Day 2

     I got up early to watch the sunset and it was absolutely humbling to be able to watch such an often undervalued experience that happens daily. To be able to watch the sun break the horizon puts some extra pep-in-your-step. I was just sitting on the rocks trying to enjoy my sunset when some Portuguese guy in a speedo came up to me and started to talk to me. I felt really uncomfortable, especially since one of his testicles was hanging out. Luckily he got the hint and went away. I went back to the hostel and got prepared for my beach-hopping adventure. I took the TRAM to Playa de San Juan, the longest beach in the area, and sun-bathed for a couple hours. I had some lunch meat that I bought at the market to have as food for the day and it did not settle well. I had to try to run to the bathroom, barefoot across blistering hot (LITERALLY, I have a blister on my toe) sand before defecating in my pants. Mission NOT Accomplished. I should have know this was how my day was going to turn out. Little did I know.

     After I got myself cleaned up, I decided to try out the next beach. I could not find the one I was looking for so I gave up and took the TRAM to a smaller, more secluded beach. Since it was a small beach and it is common in Spain, I went topless. It was so freeing!!! AND I got to work on my tan lines ( well, removing them.) This time, I went into the water about waist deep, but there was a lot of plants floating in the water and it freaked me out so I got out. Once again, after a couple hours, I hopped on the TRAM to head back to the main beach. When I got off, this man followed me up the escalator to try to get me to get a beer or coffee with him after he told me my eyes were beautiful. While I was flattered, I bluntly told him I did not want to. Eventually he gave up and went on his way, and I went topless at another beach. This time I just swam, and I got all the way in. The water was so refreshing. Much needed after a long day of sunbathing ;).

     I went back to the hostel, showered, and then went on my way to search for some food. I went to this place called Rosa's and ate some Pulpo a la Gallega (Galician Octopus) with some tinto de verano. The waiter kept calling me cute and touching my shoulder. It was weirding me out.  After dinner, IT hit me. I started to feel nauseated and blurry. I was nauseated for a couple hours before anything really started to happen. Then, all hell broke lose; from both ends...It was awful. At one point, I got so hot and light headed that I passed out on the bathroom floor, hanging out of the door, pant-less... Some people walked by and asked  if I was okay. Multiple trips to the bathroom and a pair of pants later, and I still feel like crap. Talk about a shitty situation.. I was kind of upset because one, I was exhausted, and two I wanted to enjoy my vacation not spend it on the toilet.

     Today, I still feel like crap and  nothing is normal. I had to make sure I stayed close to a bathroom just in case. Just my luck though, there was no toilet paper in either of them. Both of my blablacar experiences home were a lot better than on the way there. Miguel Angel and Javi were both super nice and I was able to practice my spanish speaking skills. Javi made everyone in the car feel welcome and interacted with all of us. At least I got to end my adventure on a positive note.
     I came home a little earlier than expected and my host mom was trying to worry about finding me something to eat. I told her I was not feeling good and she is worried that it is gastroenteritis. I told her not to worry about making me anything. She gave me some chamomile tea and took good care of me. Bless her soul.

So there is my weekend in a nutshell. Obviously, it was not how I wanted it to go, but it was good nonetheless. Even if I shit my pants a couple times...