We docked in Cadiz about 0700. Rosario and I got up about 0630 and got really excited when we looked out the window and saw land. We ran upstairs to get breakfast and made it up on the deck to watch the sunrise. When we were eventually able to disembark, I set off with Becky, Sam, and Alyse. We headed first to the ATM, which was swarmed with SAS students. After we got through the line, we set off wondering Cadiz with particular destination in mind. We wandered by Plazo de Juan de Dios, which is their town hall. After that I really have no idea where we were. We stumbled upon a market, but really wasn’t all the exciting. We also found the Spanish equivalent to the Dollar Store. There was some pretty sweet stuff in there. Of course we hit up the really touristy shops to get postcards. I had one encounter with a Spaniard and I felt really stupid. I wanted to buy a thimble, but for some reason I could not think of “to buy” in Spanish. It is comprar by the way. At first the guy thought I wanted to know how much, but I knew how much they were. The only thing I could think of to say you quiero (I want). So here is am just say I want to this guy. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he knew what I was talking about.
We spent the rest of the morning walking about little stores and trying to get our bearings in Cadiz. The best part of the day was seeing these people dressed in turn of the century clothing. We decided to investigate. They were taking photos of people dressed up in the costumes. We asked how much it was. It was free so of course we got a picture. I got to hold a pretty sweet fan, while the other girls got hats. One of the costume guys got in out picture because Becky was wearing shorts and women couldn’t show their legs in that time period so he covered them in the picture. It turns out they were promoting a traveling exhibit about the progress in technology that has been made in the past 125 years and where we are going in the next 125. It was pretty interesting and there were some awesome exhibits. By the time we walked out, out picture was printed and it turned out so cute!
We all had to get back to the ship because we had FDPs at 1300. We grabbed a quick lunch on the ship and we set on our way. I went on a City Orientation with Becky, Rosario, Jennifer, and Mackenzie. It was all pretty interesting. We went to a couple museums and stopped by a really pretty beach. It was really tiring though. We did stop and get gelato, which helped the energy level. We had to help Mackenzie with her Spanish. She was wondering around yelling “Yo quiero a Espana.” (I want Spain) She thought that she was saying “I love Spain.” That was pretty funny. Also on the tour, we saw 4 different weddings. Our tour guide, Carmen, got really excited because apparently that is really good luck.
We came back to the ship to get a little rest before Flamenco night. We stayed a little bit longer then we wanted to so we ended up having to eat on the ship. The food is much better while we are in port.
We met the buses and headed out to the middle of nowhere. Rosario and I fell asleep on the bus, so I have no idea how long the drive was, but I think it was about 45 minutes. When we got off the buses, we were greeted by glasses of wine. We stood outside the arena and took pictures with the dancers and the horses. We got into the arena and the show was awesome. They started out with this flamenco where the female dancers danced with the horse or something. I didn’t really get it, but it was neat to watch. The male flamenco dance either was riding the horse or leading it. The whole thing was pretty bizarre. After that show, there was an amateur bullfight. The kid looked like he was about 12 and the bull was really small. It was really entertaining despite the fact that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. The kid took a couple of hits, but he was ok.
We then were led into a house looking area with a stage. We were seated at tables filled with appetizers and Sangria. It was a fantastic setup. Before we knew it, the show was starting. It was probably one of the most passionate things I have ever seen. The way the move and dance is mesmerizing. One of the dancers was so focused it looked like she wasn’t even blinking, but she was loving every minute. Plus, the music they were dancing to was live and the guy playing the guitar was amazing. There is no way I could describe it and do it justice. You all will just have to see all the video that I took. It makes me want to learn how to flamenco. Once the real show was over, they called Dani up to the front because it was her birthday. So we all serenaded her and then she danced with one of the performers. She did so good! Then it was time for the audience to dance. We all got up there and did out best, but somehow we all ended up doing the Macarena. For the next couple of dances, we tried to follow the dancers, but it didn’t end up that well. I could have stayed there all night and danced, but we had to leave.
Once we got back to the ship, we ran to the cabin and put our bags away. I changed shoes, put money in part of my bra and my id in the other was good to go. Charis, Olivia, Rosario and I set off to find a club. We had talked to the Spanish student who said we needed to go to Barabass so that’s where we went. It was really dead, but it was only midnight. A note on the Spanish – their dinner time is 2100-2230 and then they don’t go out until about 0130-0200 and stay out until 0700. None of the clubs close until 0730. We thought there might be a private party because there was a woman in her wedding dress and what looked like a wedding party there, but it wasn’t so we were good. At Barabass, we befriended a muy guapo bartender named Tito (real name Alberto, but goes by Tito, which according to Rosario is a very common nickname). He is a professor, but has to go to school to learn English so that he will be allowed to teach. Apparently that is a new requirement in Spain or something. About 0030 a bunch of SAS kids showed up there. These kids aren’t my favorite hence us leaving. We asked Tito where to go and he said to head to Poco Loco so we did. Turns out they were having a Heaven and Hell party. There were not that many people when we first got there, but in about 30 minutes the place was crawling with SAS kids. It was ok this time because they were actually fun. We were just glad we finally found a place that we could dance. We couldn’t understand most of the music, but they did play some Black Eyed Peas. I am pretty sure the Spaniards thought we were crazy because they don’t really start dancing that early in the night. There was one guy that came up to Olivia and said “I love America!” That was pretty funny, but other then that the locals didn’t really acknowledge we where there. We danced the night away until about 0230 and then we caught a taxi back to the ship. We had to head back early because we both have early FDPs tomorrow. After tomorrow I have no more trips planned so Rosario and I are just going to wing it. It should be really fun!