Blog

The pub crawl continued to a second bar, even closer to the beach. This time, I’m too thirsty, and give up on getting the free shot, preferring to secure a beer.

After a rather short time, we headed to the club. That’s like the third or fourth time in my life I’m going to a club. But we had free entrance, so why not? Gotta make new experiences!

Well, I experienced the hefty price of a single drink, and even the Tequila didn’t managed to get me in the mood. Hundreds of (young, hate to say it) people packed like crazy, dancing to the new song of the summer. Definitely not my environment, and I felt very much out of place (and sober). I stumbled upon Gustavo the Brazilian, and after just an hour of being there, we both thought best to leave the party, and go for a walk on the beach. It was 2 AM by now, clubs were going strong, and a few people were swimming even.

We found some beach benches and talked for a while. That was a nice moment. I like way too much to talk about my anecdotes. I apologize in advance to whoever will meet me in person in the next 10 years.

At 3 AM I left Gustavo stranded (he can’t leave until 5!) and took the night bus. Instead of going straight to the hostel, I dropped off at the Sagrada Familìa. Well, half an hour won’t make much difference at this point. What a great feeling to be all alone around this masterpiece. It’s not lighted, except by the public street lights, making it a dark ominous spire to architectural greatness sticking out into the night sky.

Back in my bed at 3:45. Two hours later, the alarm ring. I jump out of bed and leave. One last Barcelona metro to the train station.

Now I’ve been warned before that taking high-speed train in Spain is not that straight-forward. Like for the Eurostar, you need to pass security checks, like in airports and international ferries. Although here it was much quicker, as there was no ID check, just putting luggage in the X-ray machine. I even didn’t think about emprying my pockets, and the metal detector portal didn’t ring, despite having a fork/spoon/knife/bottle opener and a survival blanket and tons of coins on me.

The train was super comfortable, with leagues of leg space, reclining seat… I spent the six hours giving in to sleep, then trying to check it off, falling again… When I was awake, the landscapes were spectacular, and getting more and more deserty as we went South.

Finally in Granada, I went straight to the hostel, and failed to find any open restaurant on the way. It was past 13:30.

Anyway, the hostel is great, and even moreso that it provides protection from the scorching heat. I spent the afternoon being as active as a cucumber and slept most of it.

It’s only near sunset time that I went out, hiked up to Sant Nicolas Mirador, a crowded viewpoint over the Alhambra. Oh! What a beauty! Perfect sunset on these red stones, what a splendid sight!