Yayy it’s the weekend!! You know what that means? Day trips!! This weekend we went to Ronda!! It’s about 2ish hours from Cádiz so get ready to sleep, listen to music, or read on the bus because you are going to want to get comfortable. Since we always leave pretty early in the mornings I’m so exhausted and sleep all the way on the buses (which are very nice btw you can even recline).
So, this is Ronda! Isn’t it so beautiful? My first impression upon arriving is that it reminds me very much of Italy. All of the old, historic buildings, the many bridges, and definitely all of the white. Make sure you have good, comfortable tennis shoes because you will be doing a lot of walking, uphills especially. Don’t forget about a bottle of water!! We received a tour of the small city (about 35 thousand people live here) from our tour guide. I was really glad about this because I not only got it to sightsee but also learn
more about how, and why everything came to be.
A group shot! May I just say, we look so good! Belén is on the left in a white blouse, Emily (another one of our amazing teachers) is right next to Belén with the pink reflective sunglasses and Doly (the leader of this program) is in the back row two people behind me wearing a blue shirt. The rest, well, that’s us! I love all of these crazy friends. I wouldn’t trade this for the world.
After coming back to Cádiz, we got changed and ready for our fancy Italian dinner… yummy!!! As usual, we went to our favorite restaurant Usodimare. This was the last dinner for a lot of people! Since it’s the end of the second week, some people will be done with the program and go back home!:/. I am staying for three weeks, so luckily I still have another week in Cádiz, but it was so sad to watch everyone leave! I can’t tell you enough how fast two weeks go by. It seems like just yesterday we are all meeting each other at the airport, and now it’s time to say goodbye.
Let’s just say no one, including myself, had a dry eye after dinner. I’m going to miss everyone so much, but I know we will always be in touch via social media. Even though it was (what felt like) a very short trip for them, the friends I have made will always stick with me and I will remember them forever.
Today was a pretty chill, do nothing, kind of day. I think this is exactly what everyone needed since yesterday we had so much going on, and a lot of people left. I mostly just hung out by the beach and got a really good tan. I really can’t say much about today because it was a free day. Since we are always busy running around during the week, it was nice to have a day to just relax and hang out with my friends that were still there.
We thought we looked cute with our matching stripes and backpack:) (this picture wasn’t taken today, but I thought it was a cute one to represent our friendship!)
(Get ready for some tissues) My best friend Talia leaves today!!! ://. Even writing this part of my blog makes me tear up again. Throughout my journey, we have gotten super close, and I would without a doubt call her one of my best friends, not just from Cádiz, but for life. I will always remember us hanging out by the beach, going on crazy shopping trips, making our own inside jokes, and having ice cream in the market. We did everything together. I love her so much, and I’m so beyond lucky to have met someone like her. I can easily say that she made my trip 100% better.
Having someone like her always by my side made everything worth it. I will miss her more than she can imagine! She left right before class, so as you can guess I was a mess with tears constantly running down my face. Nevertheless, we are still keeping in touch and I know someday in the future, we will see each other again!
On another note, today was a beautiful day for photography! Okay, so let me start by admitting I know I call everything “my favorite”. I know what you’re probably thinking, “you can’t have more than one favorite you have to pick”. Well, then this is my absolute favorite park we went to during our photo class. “Parque Alameda” is, as you can see, stunning and looks unreal.
I have never seen so many flowers and just utter beauty in a park before. I mean, just wow!! “¡Qué guay¡” (how cool!). I promise you there are no filters or color enhancements, this park was so stunning. I easily could’ve spent hours upon hours here. Each time you turn the corner, there are more flowers and more ocean views. If I lived in Cádiz, you would definitely find me here all the time sitting on one of the benches and enjoying a peaceful afternoon.
Today, overall, was pretty bittersweet. One of my best friends left, but I also went to an amazing park. Before I forget, the new group of kids comes tonight! It will be exciting to meet new people (again). We all went to the local “heladería” (gelato shop) at night next to my house and got to know everyone.
Woww was today an adventure! We went surfing in Spain!! I mean how cool does that sound? With all of the new kids in our group, I definitely made friends fast with all of us struggling together Jajaja. I sadly don’t have any pictures because I was honestly just trying “survive out there”. Just kidding, it was 100% safe and very very fun!! I must say having surfed before definitely helped in terms of practice and knowing what to do, but
no skill required at all. The instructors told us to lay down on our boards(in the sand) and just practice all of the motions first.
You lay stomach down and paddle, paddle, and paddle. The next step is doing a push-up but on your knees. Third, you needsi to get your dominant leg in front(bent) and then stand up with your legs bent, a little apart from each other and then balance!! It’s hard to describe perfectly, but once you do it you kind of get the hang of things. Not to mention that you have to do all of these things all (more or less) in one motion (or at least within in a couple of seconds)! Luckily the waves (Las Olas) weren’t too crazy and it was manageable to be out there.
I was very jealous because one of my friends, who had never surfed, was the first one up and made it look like she has done this her whole life! I mean, I’ve done this before and I still struggle, but she does this for her first time and seems perfect! However, surfing takes a TON of energy!! I was so wiped out when I was done because the tide kept pulling me in all directions and the number of times I threw myself on top of my board trying not to fall was crazy.
Haha overall, minus the major wipeouts, I had so much fun today! Besides, it’s not about whether I got up because I tried and had fun. Plus, now I have funny stories to tell about the hundreds of times I was such a mess! XD
Haha, of course, you know me and my ice cream!! Yummmm! We were (still) in new Cádiz when we got our snack after surfing. I swear this place put some kind of cream cheese frosting thing in my ice cream because it was heaven! I can’t even describe it, but as usual, the picture doesn’t even do it justice. Just trust me when I say this was by far the best ice cream place in Cádiz.
Woow, great adventure. I can’t wait to go to Spain.