bye, Spain

Ahoy,

We've been docked al Puerto de Cadiz(accent on the 'a') for the past four days or so. We're going to leave at 2000 hours. It went by so quickly, as opposed to when we're at sea when it goes by at a snail's pace. I explored a lot on my own, just wandering around the streets, and I followed a walking guide for half a day. I know some people frown on that wandering on my own thing - especially when I'm traveling in a foreign country and so obviously a tourist. I'm fine. I'm in one piece. I haven't lost my sunglasses or my water bottle.

1. Whatever little Spanish I retained from high school was pretty helpful. And I'm glad I know some Spanish. I have no idea what I'll do in all the other countries. I guess I'll find out just how helpful knowing Spanish in Spain is when I can compare this experience to not knowing any other language in all the other countries.

2. Depending on the kindness of strangers was a strategy that worked out pretty well for me. Strangers are kind.

3. Spainiards stare at me. I look so obviously foreign. Sometimes it looked like they were curious, and sometimes they smiled and said 'Hola.' There were a few 'Ni hao's. Sometimes I can't tell if people say that to be nice and they want to seem worldly by speaking your language or if they're making fun of you. The latter is usually the case in the States, but I'm really not sure of the racial stigmas here.

4. There were about 4 shop-owners of Asian heritage I saw. They stared at me too. I wonder what their story is, and what it's like to be Asian-Spanish.

5. This city is so walkable. It's so easy to be on the other side of the city and not even realize it. Everything is so close together. What looks like a far walk on the map is so much closer than you think. I like that.

6. Sevilla is 1 hour and 45 minutes away from Cadiz by bus. I visited for a day. The architecture there is so much more impressive than in Cadiz. Buildings are so much more ornate and intricately carved. It is just as walkable, but it's streets were a little wider. There were lots of fabric stores and bead stores. They have a swanky library too.

7. So they're not all about the siesta, but it does exist. It's such a phenomenon to me. Shop-owners close down and people go home from work. It's like a ghost town. Streets start filling up again around 2000. And families are out strolling around midnight - including babies in carriages. This is such a phenomenon.

8. I don't have much to say about the food. It wasn't that impressive. I don't really like seafood, which was most of what it was, but if you do - then more power to you.

9. I like that the ship was so empty because everyone else was out partying.

10. I watched Transformers: la Venganza... in Spanish. The theatre was pretty empty, while I'm told it broke some record that Harry Potter once held in the states.

I had fun, and it turns out not everything in high school was useless.

exhaustively UV absorbent,
JT