(no subject)
I wish I had ben updating this journal more from my trip, because when I get back to the States on Tuesday, I am going to have SO many stories to tell...I hope I can remember all the good ones!
So I'll just outline my last couple of days here...because they have been awesome.
I was hanging out with two really chill girls from Southern California on the way from Seville to Granada, in Spain. As we got off the train, this kid (he's cute--he looks like Doogie Howser) was like staring at me. I gave him this "what the hell are you staring at me for, weirdo?" awkward smile thing, and he said, "We have the exact same pack!". So okay, much less weird that he was staring if it was really at my pack...sort of. Anyway, we traded numbers and basically hung out in Granada together. The best part is, although Ihink he's super-cute, and he says he thinks I am, it's basically like traveling with a cousin. we get along super well, but have NO interest in each other...
ANYWAY I basically moved into his hostel in Granada because there were lots of other backpackers there, and they had free internet. My hostel was cheaper but no kids and no internet and it was farther away. So that ruled...The next day we went walking around the city and stumbled across these really mysterious GYPSY CAVES. Like, ones that gypsies actually live in. It was awesome, and then we found, after a half hour of hiking on this like arid mountainside, this really remote museum about gypsy caves--we were the ONLY people there, and it was basically this outdoor thing where you get to go into the caves. Sweet. So that night we went to the Alhambra, which is this glowering, imposing 13th-century (?) castle/palace thing that is left over from the Moorish history of Spain. Sweet.
The next day David (Doogie Howser) and I walked like FOREVER far with our packs on to get to the bus station because we had decided to go to Portugal. Because...people just decide to go to Portugal? Anyway, we take this six hour bus ride to the town of Lagos which (blame it on the school system) I had never heard of. Turns out it is probably my favorite place on this trip. I can't describe it, but this place is like a black hole. People come here, just passing through, and end up spending their entire vacations here. Some people even just get an under-the-table job at one of the five hostels, and live here. And honestly...I thought about it.
We're staying in the Rising Cock Hostel, which is like the coolest fraternity house ever. Everything is sexual, and everybody loves everybody. They even have a "rave room" where people just...go and have sex. The floor is covered with mattresses. It's amazing. I'm obsessed.
So David and I went and had some BEEF (not pork--actual cow beef!) at the only steakhouse I have seen in either Spain or Portugal. It was amazing. But we had a little too much red wine (which I ordinarily detest) and went back to the hostel to watch a movie. We both ended up going to bed pretty early, like two. People basically don't come home until the sun comes up here. I didn't last long and climbed into my bunk at like 2:30, sleeping in only my undies and a tee shirt. David got to bed a little later and I assume he just passed out in his bed. So I didn't have a sheet over me or anything, but who cares? It's just sleeping. Well at around five in the morning, I wake up to find two men STARING at me! Apparently they had poked me to wake me up simply because "There's a GIRL in this room!" It was a little awkward because I had apparently pushed my shirt up while I was sleeping so my stomach was bare, and was like spread-eagle on my back...very modest. Anyway, turns out that Craig, the Canadian, and Tim, the Aussie, are actually cool guys. I finally convinced them to let me sleep and all was well.
Day two in Lagos consisted of going to the beach. We had tried to get signed up to go to surfing school but cant do that until Saturday (I was going to leave today, Friday, but now I'm going to kill the rest of my trip in this place instead of going to Toledo and having more time in Madrid). So, the beach with David and Craig. Had a good time just drinking and playing Never Have I Ever (which I always lose at:)). Then Craig and I decided to go cliff diving, but we had to wait until high tide. When it was time, we climbed up this mountain--who knew freehand rock climbing was such a good idea when still slightly intoxicated?. Other people saw us and got the same idea--looks like it's a pretty popular spot for diving. The highest cliff was about thirty five, maybe forty feet, and the water below was deep enough, provided you cleared the rocks by getting a running start. Craig jumped almost right away and I was supposed to go right after him, but totally chickened out. David was waiting below with the camera, because if I'm going to kill myself doing something dumb, there had at least better be pictures to prove it. But so anyway, Craig climbed back up to encourage me, and David was still sitting on the beach with the camera trained on me. Well, I keep trying and psyching myself out. This goes on for like thirty to forty minutes of me running almost to the edge and stopping just short. By this time probably ten other people have jumped--safely. David and Craig are both getting a little fed up with my stalling...And the entire beach was, apparently, watching to see if I would ever just do the damn thing. I decided I could do it if someone went at the same time, so this guy (a cute American--lucky!) volunteers to hold my hand and go with. After about five minutes of my copping out even MORE, we finally just DO the damn thing. The entire beach applauded from the time my feet left the cliff until after I had swam to the surface. It was amazing, and there are some seriously amazing pictures (to be put on facebook later!). Hoo.
So the boys and I leave to see if we can find a jetski rental place. We fail and instead stop at the grocery store to get some pasta and stuff for dinner. We make that and eat it and take like a three hour nap. Then we get up and get ready to go out...Which was amazing. We drank with everybody at the hostel for a while, and that Alex kid, the one I jumped with, came back to drop off my camera bag that he had borrowed, and to say goodbye. He ended up coming out with us, dancing and carrying on. Hung out with him for a while, then he had to go catch the 1:30am train to Lisbon. Craig and I decided to commemorate his departure by bonging a beer at the bar--well...I can't bong beers. So I sprayed a little. I could have finished it, but the bartender holding the bong for me got so mad he threw the bong down. At least we didn't pay for those beers...
We went to a dance club and David tried to pretend he had game by picking up some Portuguese women. No luck, but I had fun dancing with Craig. Then we decided to all go to another more hip club...but we never made it. We all ended up passing out in the street, right there on the cobblestones, in the middle of the road, sprawled out...Good thing no cars came. We slept there for, I don't know, ten minutes? And hour? Then we got up to go to the club but we were pretty wasted. These girls asked what I was doing and I said I wanted to go home, but I guess David didn't hear me. So they sort of half-carried/half-dragged me down the street. David looked up and saw me being accosted and like dashed to my rescue, then the girls ended up sort of corralling both of us, and Craig, down to our hostel. The frat house one. We got in and I climbed into my bed. The boys were absent for a while, I guess getting water, so I got down to go find them and then they came in. I ended up in Craig's bed because his was a bottom and mine was a top, but I sprawled out so much that he got into bed with David. We were all confused this morning...It was a pretty funny picture. So we went to breakfast--there is free breakfast for guests of the hostel at this restaurant across the street--and realised that David and I were wearing clothes from last night and Craig had on only his really short, Rick Mick and Nate Stopps length, running shorts. No shirt, no shoes, nothing. Pretty funny that we ate most of our breakfast before we realised.
And today I have done absolutely nothing. I haven't even left the hostel except for breakfast. We're even too lazt to hook a computer up to the TV to watch a movie. I love this place.
I have to go to the beach now or I will die. And tomorrow is SURFING!
So I'll just outline my last couple of days here...because they have been awesome.
I was hanging out with two really chill girls from Southern California on the way from Seville to Granada, in Spain. As we got off the train, this kid (he's cute--he looks like Doogie Howser) was like staring at me. I gave him this "what the hell are you staring at me for, weirdo?" awkward smile thing, and he said, "We have the exact same pack!". So okay, much less weird that he was staring if it was really at my pack...sort of. Anyway, we traded numbers and basically hung out in Granada together. The best part is, although Ihink he's super-cute, and he says he thinks I am, it's basically like traveling with a cousin. we get along super well, but have NO interest in each other...
ANYWAY I basically moved into his hostel in Granada because there were lots of other backpackers there, and they had free internet. My hostel was cheaper but no kids and no internet and it was farther away. So that ruled...The next day we went walking around the city and stumbled across these really mysterious GYPSY CAVES. Like, ones that gypsies actually live in. It was awesome, and then we found, after a half hour of hiking on this like arid mountainside, this really remote museum about gypsy caves--we were the ONLY people there, and it was basically this outdoor thing where you get to go into the caves. Sweet. So that night we went to the Alhambra, which is this glowering, imposing 13th-century (?) castle/palace thing that is left over from the Moorish history of Spain. Sweet.
The next day David (Doogie Howser) and I walked like FOREVER far with our packs on to get to the bus station because we had decided to go to Portugal. Because...people just decide to go to Portugal? Anyway, we take this six hour bus ride to the town of Lagos which (blame it on the school system) I had never heard of. Turns out it is probably my favorite place on this trip. I can't describe it, but this place is like a black hole. People come here, just passing through, and end up spending their entire vacations here. Some people even just get an under-the-table job at one of the five hostels, and live here. And honestly...I thought about it.
We're staying in the Rising Cock Hostel, which is like the coolest fraternity house ever. Everything is sexual, and everybody loves everybody. They even have a "rave room" where people just...go and have sex. The floor is covered with mattresses. It's amazing. I'm obsessed.
So David and I went and had some BEEF (not pork--actual cow beef!) at the only steakhouse I have seen in either Spain or Portugal. It was amazing. But we had a little too much red wine (which I ordinarily detest) and went back to the hostel to watch a movie. We both ended up going to bed pretty early, like two. People basically don't come home until the sun comes up here. I didn't last long and climbed into my bunk at like 2:30, sleeping in only my undies and a tee shirt. David got to bed a little later and I assume he just passed out in his bed. So I didn't have a sheet over me or anything, but who cares? It's just sleeping. Well at around five in the morning, I wake up to find two men STARING at me! Apparently they had poked me to wake me up simply because "There's a GIRL in this room!" It was a little awkward because I had apparently pushed my shirt up while I was sleeping so my stomach was bare, and was like spread-eagle on my back...very modest. Anyway, turns out that Craig, the Canadian, and Tim, the Aussie, are actually cool guys. I finally convinced them to let me sleep and all was well.
Day two in Lagos consisted of going to the beach. We had tried to get signed up to go to surfing school but cant do that until Saturday (I was going to leave today, Friday, but now I'm going to kill the rest of my trip in this place instead of going to Toledo and having more time in Madrid). So, the beach with David and Craig. Had a good time just drinking and playing Never Have I Ever (which I always lose at:)). Then Craig and I decided to go cliff diving, but we had to wait until high tide. When it was time, we climbed up this mountain--who knew freehand rock climbing was such a good idea when still slightly intoxicated?. Other people saw us and got the same idea--looks like it's a pretty popular spot for diving. The highest cliff was about thirty five, maybe forty feet, and the water below was deep enough, provided you cleared the rocks by getting a running start. Craig jumped almost right away and I was supposed to go right after him, but totally chickened out. David was waiting below with the camera, because if I'm going to kill myself doing something dumb, there had at least better be pictures to prove it. But so anyway, Craig climbed back up to encourage me, and David was still sitting on the beach with the camera trained on me. Well, I keep trying and psyching myself out. This goes on for like thirty to forty minutes of me running almost to the edge and stopping just short. By this time probably ten other people have jumped--safely. David and Craig are both getting a little fed up with my stalling...And the entire beach was, apparently, watching to see if I would ever just do the damn thing. I decided I could do it if someone went at the same time, so this guy (a cute American--lucky!) volunteers to hold my hand and go with. After about five minutes of my copping out even MORE, we finally just DO the damn thing. The entire beach applauded from the time my feet left the cliff until after I had swam to the surface. It was amazing, and there are some seriously amazing pictures (to be put on facebook later!). Hoo.
So the boys and I leave to see if we can find a jetski rental place. We fail and instead stop at the grocery store to get some pasta and stuff for dinner. We make that and eat it and take like a three hour nap. Then we get up and get ready to go out...Which was amazing. We drank with everybody at the hostel for a while, and that Alex kid, the one I jumped with, came back to drop off my camera bag that he had borrowed, and to say goodbye. He ended up coming out with us, dancing and carrying on. Hung out with him for a while, then he had to go catch the 1:30am train to Lisbon. Craig and I decided to commemorate his departure by bonging a beer at the bar--well...I can't bong beers. So I sprayed a little. I could have finished it, but the bartender holding the bong for me got so mad he threw the bong down. At least we didn't pay for those beers...
We went to a dance club and David tried to pretend he had game by picking up some Portuguese women. No luck, but I had fun dancing with Craig. Then we decided to all go to another more hip club...but we never made it. We all ended up passing out in the street, right there on the cobblestones, in the middle of the road, sprawled out...Good thing no cars came. We slept there for, I don't know, ten minutes? And hour? Then we got up to go to the club but we were pretty wasted. These girls asked what I was doing and I said I wanted to go home, but I guess David didn't hear me. So they sort of half-carried/half-dragged me down the street. David looked up and saw me being accosted and like dashed to my rescue, then the girls ended up sort of corralling both of us, and Craig, down to our hostel. The frat house one. We got in and I climbed into my bed. The boys were absent for a while, I guess getting water, so I got down to go find them and then they came in. I ended up in Craig's bed because his was a bottom and mine was a top, but I sprawled out so much that he got into bed with David. We were all confused this morning...It was a pretty funny picture. So we went to breakfast--there is free breakfast for guests of the hostel at this restaurant across the street--and realised that David and I were wearing clothes from last night and Craig had on only his really short, Rick Mick and Nate Stopps length, running shorts. No shirt, no shoes, nothing. Pretty funny that we ate most of our breakfast before we realised.
And today I have done absolutely nothing. I haven't even left the hostel except for breakfast. We're even too lazt to hook a computer up to the TV to watch a movie. I love this place.
I have to go to the beach now or I will die. And tomorrow is SURFING!