Spain I've Lost Count

Well it's certainly been a long time since I've updated, and I can't quite remember where I left you last. I spent the week after London preparing for Alicante and Mallorca. I guess I should start at the beginning...

Alicante:
I left for Alicante with Dotty by train on Thursday afternoon almost immediately after class. I had time to come home and pick up my backpacker's bag, sleeping bag strapped underneath, and the packed lunch my host mom left out for me, before rushing to get a taxi to the train station and almost missing the train. We arrived in Alicante with several hours of daylight left. We found a map at a hotel and made our way to our hostel. The owner was apparently out for a while, so we sat down in a cafe for a while deciding what we wanted to see in Alicante the next day. That evening, after depositing our bags, we headed out for a walk and then tapas. We saw some pretty sweet buildings, the plaza de torros, and the Torro Museum, which had altogether too many bulls' heads for me to really appreciate the sport. We walked along the big streets of Alicante and did some shopping, mostly window shopping, until we found the tapas bar that my guidebook had recommended. We had delicious sangria and the best meat I've ever had as tapas.
Friday we got up and I showered, then we set out once again. We walked the streets towards the beach through the old, pretty part of town. At the market, which was pretty but not nearly as impressive as Valencia's, we got bread, chorizo, cheese, and fruit for lunch. We passed the cathedral, some old (I assume Roman) ruins, before reaching the coast. It was warm enough that plenty of people were out sunbathing on the beach and a few were even braving the chilly waters. We continued onwards to the tunnel under the mountain that took us to an elevator leading all the way up to the castle on the top. It was several hundred feet up and the view was amazing. We could see all of Alicante, the sea, and the surrounding mountains from the castle, which was also huge. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the warm sunlight. After killing some time there we headed back down to the beach for a picnic and a nap. In my case I spent the time writing an article for the UMBC Retriever, since I'd forgotten to send the one I'd written earlier that week when I was in Valencia, and had no way of retrieving it. It actually proved perfect since I had an article ready when I got back to Valencia the next week, when I was too busy to write anything.
After a couple hours worth of sunburn on my shoulders and face and a delicious picnic, we headed up to the archeological museum. It wasn't a really long walk, but it was uphill and it was fairly warm out, so I was very grateful when we arrived. The museum didn't seem that big but was actually very expansive inside. Mostly there were archeological remains found in and around the mountains in Alicante, like pots and arrowheads and tools and bones and whatnot. It was fairly interesting and I read a lot about the early peoples of Spain, then the first civilizations. I didn't catch all of it since it was all in Castellano, but oh well.
Anyway we left there when the sun was beginning to set, and on our way back down to the beach area stopped at the big shopping center nearby. I made my first self purchases since my boots there (a shirt and flats on sale at H&M and two pairs of 1 euro sunglasses at Claires). Dotty and I had fun shopping, it was actually the first time I'd done so since Barcelona. Anyway afterwards we made our way back to our hostel, stopping to get some food and cider in a convenience store. The cider was remarkably good for only two euros the bottle, and we drank and ate back in our hostel while watching Pasapalabra on TV. We went to bed early since I had to get up at four to get my flight to Mallorca. Since Dotty unfortunately had no alarm of her own, she, too, was waking up at four and would stay awake until her train left at 8 or so.

Malloca:
Saturday was by far the most exquisitely painful and frustrating and long day I've ever lived through. It started very early, around 4 in the morning, since I had a flight at 6, and needed to catch a taxi to the airport a half hour away. I arrived well, and was only slightly frustrated at having to pay an extra twenty euros to check my bag (apparently I didn't check that box when I bought my ticket online?). Anyway, the flight was only about forty minutes or less, which I slept through, and by 7 I was in Palma. I found the bus insanely quickly, and my hostel even faster, which happened to be about fifteen yards from the bus stop. By this time it was almost 8 am, and I had a good ten hours to wait before Max and Isaac would arrive. I think I checked my watch at least several times an hour counting down until I could finally catch the bus to the airport and go pick them up.
Anyway, I tried to nap that morning, but I failed, so I read instead until around 9:15, when I knew the Tourist Information place would be open. They were unfortunately not very friendly there (surprisingly enough), but I did get two lists of buses in and around Palma, which proved to be less than ideal but sufficient for our purposes later on. I also got a map of Palma in order to not get too lost. Anyway, it was then around 9:30 or so, and I had many hours to kill, so I walked down the busiest looking street, pretty much aimlessly wandering. I found a bookstore and managed to kill a good half hour there browsing. I walked into a couple of clothing stores, but shopping is frustrating when you have no money and also don't really care about buying anything. I made my way down the street and marked a gelato place, a kebap place, and a cheap locutorio for later.
Eventually I made it down to the cathedral. I paid the four euro to go in, although in retrospect it was maybe not worth it. I sat down for a little while and watched all the tourists pouring in and out. Palma I think is solely inhabited by tourists, although I guess there are some people who much live there as well to run the stores where the tourists all go. The cathedral was certainly beautiful and huge, but more impressive from the outside. It was hot and gorgeous outside, and I was very grateful for the sunglasses I'd bought in Alicante. I saw a man playing alto sax outside for money, and thought of Max. Well, I'd pretty much been thinking about him and Isaac all week anyway, but now they wouldn't leave my mind. I realized very quickly traveling alone is not my thing, although I found an outdoor exposition of photographs that was amazing, and I definitely enjoyed that. I walked around to the Arab baths and a cute park where I sat down in the sun and relaxed for a while. I found a free museum and hung out there for a while. Max called there from the airport in Madrid, saying he'd arrived fine and he would see me in a few hours. That definitely cheered me up.
Later I went back to the hostel to try and take another nap, which also didn't work, but my mom did call. We talked for probably close to an hour, or a little longer, and then I went to the grocery store to get some bread, chorizo, cheese, and fruit, thinking Max and Isaac might be hungry when they arrived. I'd eaten nothing all day but could not even contemplate food, so wasn't tempted. I dropped the food off at my room and went to the locutorio then to do some facebook/e-mail things. I talked to my mom again on Skype, which was nice, and took care of some other things. Eventually it was 5:25 and I could go to the bus stop to get back to the airport. I arrived there just before 6, and luckily all the flights from Madrid had already landed ten minutes early, and the gate was open. I stood waiting, impatient, tears in my eyes as hard as I tried not to cry.
They finally came through, and I saw Max for the first time in two months, though it felt like an eternity. I hugged him for another eternity, and cried only a little on his sweater, and repeated with Isaac. I couldn't stop smiling, a feeling which didn't really fade at all for the week they were here. Anyway we finally managed to get ourselves together and get the bus back to the hostel. I told them the mixed news that we would probably not be able to camp, since camping is apparently not allowed anywhere on Mallorca except in the two designated campsites, neither of which were close or easily accessible. This did not bother me at all though, since I was just happy to be with them, and together nothing could really go wrong. Neither Isaac nor Max had really slept a ton recently (Max was somewhere on his 50th hour or so without any at all, give or take an hour or two in the plane), but I was determined to keep them up until at least 9 or 10 so they could get a full night's sleep.
In the meantime, Isaac ate the food I bought, we went to the grocery store to get breakfast and lunch for the following day, and walked around town a little. I made Max call his mom and tell her he'd arrived safely, and later we went down to the cafe below the hostel. We ate dinner and soon after retired to our respective rooms.

Sunday we slept in and it was beautiful. I woke up happier than I can remember, and did not feel the urge to get out of bed but rather lay there for a while. I got up and showered first, then Max, and we woke Isaac up sometime after that. We realized around 10:25 that the last bus until 1pm was leaving for Valldemossa at 10:30, so we hastily packed a bag with water and our picnic lunch and headed out, sprinting to the bus station next to the hostel. What a perfect location, really. Anyway we found a long line of people getting on and off the bus, which was already full, and realized they were getting tickets for the next bus, which was apparently on its way and would arrive some ten minutes later. So much for my schedule... We did the same and sat down to wait. I was super thrilled about a day of hiking, especially since it was warm enough out for shorts and a T-shirt, but more so because I was with Max and Isaac and out of a city and we could do whatever we wanted.
The bus to Valldemossa was only about a half hour's ride and less than two euros each, another blessing. We arrived and sadly realized that the tourist info place there was closed since it was Sunday, so we spent a little while wandering the shops and open market until I found a map and a kindly old store owner who gave me excellent directions to a good hike around the mountains above Valldemossa. We set off then and in no time found the proper trail, meandering its way through rock and dirt up and around the mountainside. We encountered several others on the trail on the way and thus figured out exactly where we were and where we wanted to go, since there were several forks in the path. I spoke Spanish with the Spanish tourists or English with all the rest. Those of you who think English is not the global language, think again, because between any and all people from Switzerland, Germany, and other middle European countries we communicated in English.
We ate lunch on some big rocks in the sun on the mountainside which yielded an impressive view of the valley below where Valldemossa was quaintly nestled. We saw good cliffs for climbing everywhere, but none of them seemed bolted, populated, or easily accessible, so we still had no idea where we would get our climbing in the next couple of days. In the meantime though, we were having an excellent hike. At the top of the mountain we got to see the other direction, North to the sea and along the coast eastwards to Deia and much further, Soller. The path followed the ridge for quite some time and we found a fork, the right path of which would take us back to Valldemossa and the left of which would take us to Deia. Since we'd just been in Valldemossa we decided to go left and set off down the rocky brush land, the path marked with cairns.
Lost in conversation and wandering through lots of rocks that could or could not have been a path, we ended up way off our actual route half following a man we saw descending. He later came to us and asked where the path was, and we realized he also obviously did not know, so we spent a good forty five minutes searching around the cliffs before we found it much higher up and over to the left. We set off back down the mountain, a little short on water by now, but still with several hours of daylight left, with the (I think German) guy in tow. I told Max and Isaac of life in Valencia, and they told me of classes and things back home, and I told them more about Spanish and things I've learned from studying abroad, and things I've realized.
Deia proved to be a fairly adorable little town, and after stopping at a cafe and sitting outside to have cold orange fantas, we found the bus stop. We had about forty five minutes or so until the next bus back to Palma so we looked around the town in the meantime. We found a large population of cats, which Max dutifully photographed, a cute silent church, a very aesthetically pleasing cemetery, and a hostel that was slightly too expensive for it to be worthwhile to come back here the next day. We were all a little sorry about not having a guidebook for climbing, and not having planned a little better, since we all kind of wanted to camp. I actually was probably the least concerned, since I was very excited just to be with Max and Isaac, and also didn't mind spending the little extra on staying in a hostel and having hot showers every morning.
The bus back to Palma was a little longer than the way in, passing through Valldemossa, and was unfortunately populated with very loud and perhaps drunken Germans, and really, German is one of my least favorite languages to listen to (sorry Jon and Sarah). I was only slightly worried about not having paid for that night at the hostel, since we were supposed to have done that before 2 pm, and we discussed what the chances were of them throwing all our stuff out and letting out our rooms to someone else. We got back probably around 7:30 or so, and realized that we were not only not kicked out, but we also had all our bags, and the guy at the desk cared not at all. W also realized we had some planning and things to do the next day if we wanted to find either camping or climbing. The grocery store was also closed, so I introduced Max and Isaac to kebaps and gelato, which then became our Mallorca evening routine. After trying and failing to find a bookstore that might have a guidebook, we walked to the park behind the hostel and played on the playground there for a while, since it was entirely deserted and somehow we had some energy left. We went back to the hostel and to bed sometime around 11, and got another good night's sleep.

Monday was another beautifully warm day, and I was excited about getting to wear shorts for the second day in a row, and actually the second day since my arrival in Spain. We went to the grocery store to get that day's worth of bread, cheese, chocolate croissants for breakfast (two each this time, though I saved my second for later), and sausage. Next we stopped at an internet cafe where we looked up and found the best spot for climbing close to Palma and the bus route we needed to get there. We had a little over a half hour to kill until the next bus, so we went back to the hostel, packed our picnic bag and climbing bag and took naps.
We set off not too long later, and arrived in Palmanyola with absolutely no clue where the climbing was or how to get there. We walked in the general direction of the mountain for a little while, realized we were in a residential area and were not headed the direction we wanted, and ambled back to the town center, which is to say one tiny street with a post office and tobacco store. I went into the post office to inquire about a map, which they didn't have. There was a man there, however, who was either a climber or knew climbers, who knew exactly how to get to the climbing area, and drew me a little map. The only unfortunate thing was that we were some four kilometers away, so we decided we might as well get going immediately.
We barely got lost at all on the way, and discovered a truly amazing rocky path that seemed like a dried stream bed that would take us all the way to the beautiful tall rocky gorge. We stopped on the way for lunch, since it was already close to two o'clock. We finally arrived and Max and Isaac immediately decided we had to do the pitch up to the cave in the side of the cliff. While we settled our stuff down, Isaac also clambered around and found an excellent shelter with an old campfire where we decided we would spend the following night. I had my doubts, but it seemed like it had been used fairly recently and there were plenty of climbers about, so no problem there.
We managed to get one and a half pitches in before we had to head back. Max practiced some down-climbing and I realized I haven't forgotten how to climb in the two months I've been out of practice, which is a good thing. We also realized we really needed more quick draws, so we headed back to Palma with the intention of packing up and camping one night, finding a climbing store, and getting enough supplies for two days. We luckily found another bus stop much closer than that in Pamanyola, and only waited about twenty minutes until it arrived.
That night we had another set of kepabs and gelato, but only after going to the locutorio and finding out where we could find a climbing store. It was within ten minutes walk, although it took is a little over half an hour to find it, getting lost only a little bit. It was closed, unfortunately, but opened at 10 the next morning, so we decided to return after our grocery shopping and again make sure to catch the 11 o'clock bus to Bunyola, the proper stop for climbers going where we were headed. We packed up that night and informed the hostel we would be returning not the following night but wednesday, and they kindly let us store one bag in a locked closet until we got back.

I passed another good night's sleep, but this time woke to my alarm at 8:30 to get up and shower. We set off a little after nine that day (Tuesday) to get the groceries, then went back to the hostel to drop them off before going to find the climbing store. We found it alright and got enough quickdraws for sport climbing. Max and Isaac promised to remember the store's locale for their next trip to Mallorca, thanks in part to the myriad guidebooks they had, which apparently proved very difficult to find online and very expensive, which explains why we didn't already have one.
Anyway for some reason we decided to split up, since Max and I were going to stop by EMS to check for his coat in the lost and found (which he had misplaced in the bus on the way back from the airport Saturday night), and Isaac was going to head back to the hostel to pack up. We ended up arriving before he did, since he managed to get a little lost, and we waited with the bags only slightly worried, then finally walked out to search for him. We found him just close to the hostel, having gotten himself back alright, and finally got our bags together and set off after checking out of the hostel.
The bus to Bunyola was significantly less populated than that to Valldemossa, but we still had to put our large backpackers bags in the storage part underneath. Some hour or more later we found ourselves again at the foot of the cliffs. We deposited our things at our campsite like place and laid out the tent as a tarp to sleep on, since the overhang protected us in the unlikely chance of rain. We ate at some point, I'm not sure when or where, then found a likely place to climb.
I think we started on a slightly too difficult climb that Max and Isaac soon gave up on, again working on their down-climbing abilities, and we decided to do one I'd found. Isaac started leading, made it up to the first belay station, which was barely a ledge, and then I followed. Max came up next and Isaac belayed while I watched and tried not to think of the two slings that held me to the mountainside breaking. Max got up to our ledge and after getting all the quick draws from Isaac led the second pitch, which I think was the hardest, although I'm not sure. I followed after Max had set up at the next belay station, which was (oh what fun!) a hanging belay! I hung out up there, literally, with Max as Isaac cleaned (followed taking up the quick draws with him) until all three were hanging. It was starting to get very chilly by this point but we decided we should certainly press on, so we did.
Isaac led the third pitch, and again I followed. It was much easier than the first two, but even still at the top of that pitch we were quite some ways from the top of the ridge. Max cleaned while Isaac and I hung, him belaying, me freezing and really needing to go pee. I've never wanted to be a boy so badly, although it probably wouldn't have helped that much, since we were at a hanging belay station and that still would have been awkward. When Max got up we realized it was getting too dark to do the next pitch, which looked a little sketchy anyway, so we rappelled down in three stages. Max collected my sunglasses from a tree they'd fallen into and almost missed the first belay station, but I was finally on the ground and could go pee.
By the time we had packed up the climbing gear, gotten back to our makeshift campsite, set up our sleeping bags, and eaten the trail mix, fruit, bread, and cheese we rationed for that night, it was dark. I changed in my sleeping bag and fell asleep fairly quickly, certainly before Isaac, but after Max. I was happy I was cuddled between them because we were all woken in the night by the sound of some very creepy ass birds and something that was definitely much larger. From the droppings all around our little shelter and the fact that it was covered in hay, we assumed it might be a spot for some goat herder to leave his goats for the night, and we slept slightly uneasily thinking that we would be woken any second by either a goat, an unhappy goat herder, a chupacabra, or very early morning climbers. Max and Isaac didn't help with their talk of scary movies and how this was exactly how a typical horror film would start, and which of us was most likely to die first if it were.
All in all, I probably slept much better than either Max or Isaac, Max since I kept apparently pushing him into the rock and he would wake up and bang his head on it, and Isaac because of the very creepy birds and his fear of goats (that second I just made up, but you wouldn't know it from the way the two of them went on about them). I only woke once or twice, and slept much longer than usual, from dark until sunrise (give or take from 9-7:30).

By ten AM or so (Wednesday) we were at the foot of the original climb we'd done below the cave in the cliff, determined this time to get past just the first pitch, since we had the whole day ahead of us. We would have arrived at the pitch much earlier, except first Max decided to take a "shortcut" which was not at all a path, which he later had to down climb. Isaac resumed his pack and decided to take a different "shortcut" and eventually made it up to where we had settled down some twenty minutes before. This was followed with announcements of having to go to the bathroom, so it was another little while before we actually got started, since secluded spots at the cliff bottom are slightly hard to come by (especially with suitable rocks for, you know, using as toilet paper, according to Max).
Anyway, we did get past the first pitch that day, though the second proved harder than High Exposure back in the Gunks and for me, close to as terrifying. For some reason my fear of heights kicked in that day, and hanging out with Max at the first belay ledge, which was just barely that, was more terrifying than usual. I also was unpleasantly warm in the sun and could actually feel my legs and arms burning, although later I realized I didn't get too red at all except on my face.
Anyway after Max led the first pitch and Isaac and I had followed, Isaac went ahead to the second. It proved about a 5.9 in terms of difficulty, and a 5.bazillion in terms of terror. Isaac did spectacularly though and I got some excellent photos in the meantime (check them out on facebook). I especially liked when he heel-hooked and then bellyflopped onto the second ledge, which was actually inside the cave, and I could see only his ankles and feet sticking off the side. I followed with great difficulty, at one point wrapping all four limbs determinedly around a hanging pillar and frantically calling up to Isaac, "TAKE TAKE TAKE!" He took, and all was well as I slowly followed up the climb, partially cheating and resting a great deal. One of these days I should really do that thing where I get in shape.
Max had the hard task of following. This was only problematic because at the hardest part of the climb he couldn't fall because he would swing away from the rock and be left hanging with no way to get back on the rock and a very difficult time getting lowered to the last belay station, which wasn't directly below us. I unfortunately could not get any pictures of his climb up but rather coiled the spare rope and gazed about the cave. I was in the shade there and realized that I now missed the sun, being rather chilly without it.
Max made it up considerably faster than I had and after a quick rest continued up the next pitch, which required him to use both sides of the cave and the crack it turned into at it's peak. Unfortunately the climb became much more difficult up past the cave where all the handholds decided not to exist anymore, so Max had to (even more terrifying) down climb back to our belay ledge. He tried to get Isaac to take over for him, but it was almost 2pm by now and we were starving, so we decided to rappel back down for lunch. We found some other climbers and eventually asked to see their guide in order to see what we'd just climbed. It was a 6c+, which in the european grading scale means DIFFICULT AS ALL HELL, at least the top pitch. I think the bottom one was slightly easier.
Anyway we had a nice lunch in the sun, and we devoured almost all the remains of our food, since we were going back to Palma that night and didn't need to keep any of it. We still had some hours of daylight before we had to head back, so we went to the other side of the valley as yet unexplored and Isaac found a climb he was willing to attempt. I was totally done for the day so I belayed first him, then Max up to retrieve his quick draws when the climb proved much more difficult that it appeared. I was very impressed they both made it as far as they did, and I was glad I had not attempted it. It was cold-ish again in the shade, since the sun was setting over the ridge behind us, and around 5:15 we packed up. We retrieved all our stuff from our campsite, took a last couple of photos, and headed back down the trail, our bags considerably lighter without the water and food.
We again waited about twenty minutes for the bus, and got back to our hostel hungry and exhausted and content. We again got kepabs and gelato, then unpacked and repacked everything into the appropriate bags. I made sure the bus for the airport would leave as early as 5:30, and we set our alarms, reluctantly, for 4:50. I took a shower that night in order to sleep in a little more the next morning, but the alarm still went off too early.

Thursday morning passed in a vague blur. We caught the bus to the airport, checked our bags, made our way to the gate, waited for some ten minutes or so before boarding, then settled in our seats. I realized it was the first time I was taking a place with people I knew (not counting Leigh and Megan, other ISA girls I barely know, on our way to Morocco) in as long as I can remember. My last flights have been alone, at least since high school. I think we all slept some in the plane and arrived in Valencia around 7am. We caught the metro into the center of the city and walked back to my place from there, since Isaac and Max were staying with me.
The streets were dirty and there were Fallas on every other corner. We passed a marching band walking up and down the streets and many people throwing petardos, or firecrackers, everywhere. I was a little sad about the dirtiness since Valencia is usually a very clean city and I didn't want Max and Isaac to have a bad impression. I was also excited that it was Fallas though, and was eager to see what the fuss was all about for the giant festival, which was culminating that day.
Back at my place no one was home so we threw our bags down and took naps. I got up before Max and Isaac and had some breakfast, then my host parents returned and I told them a little about the trip. I let Isaac and Max sleep until around 10:30, since they seemed so exhausted, though Isaac woke up a little earlier and I introduced him to my host parents. We all had breakfast and soon later my brother showed up. He had arrived with his friend JT to Valencia late the night before around midnight and was staying at my host parents' son Alberto's place, a couple of streets away. Noelia, Alberto's wife, accompanied the two of them to our place, and we hugged lots. I was very excited to see them again. Alba offered them some coffee which Jon gladly accepted and soon later we headed out for lunch and to walk around town. We realized we wouldn't find anything open for lunch until around 1:30, so we walked around taking pictures of the Fallas and getting increasingly irritated with the constant petardos (firecrackers) going off everywhere. They really are bothersome when thrown right close to your feet, and are very loud even if thrown in the street one or two down from you.
The streets close to the center of town were ridiculously crowded and we decided to go down some side streets to find a good place to relax and eat. I realized that none of the people I was with would greatly enjoy La Mascleta, and so we sat down to eat around 1:30 for some paella with no intention of catching it. We were maybe four or five blocks from the center of town, and the ground still shook from La Mascleta when it happened at noon. Max retreated to the restaurant bathroom to avoid the tremendous noise, while the rest of us took a break from conversation, since it wasn't very audible anyway.
The paella was delicious (not as good as my host mom's I think), and we shared three plates of it between the five of us, with salads and pasta as starters and flan as a dessert. After the huge crowd from La Mascleta had passed and thinned down, we all decided to head to the center of town and I could show everyone Valencia. We saw lots more Fallas and almost lost each other in the crowds. We saw a giant statue of La Virgen made entirely of flowers, the entire Plaza de la Virgen being bedecked in flowers in honor of her as well. We saw the Torres de Serrano and were assaulted by another Mascleta (apparently they happen on just about every street at various times of day during Fallas). We checked out a temporary market and then descended into the park, which was marginally less crowded and noisy.
We walked through the park stopping at a sweet rope jungle gym that Max, Isaac, and I played on while JT watched and Jon napped. We continued a little farther to La Palau de la Musica and the fountain behind it, then cut back across little streets to our place. Back at home we all napped and relaxed, since we were still exhausted from the travel, the climbing, and the walking. We decided to meet up around 7 or 8 at the locutorio across the street (since Jon was back at Alberto's place with JT). My host mom kindly and unexpectedly made us all dinner, a giant plate of pasta and ham each, which we devoured, excited for not having to go out for dinner. We found Jon and he and JT came up for some food as well, and we all hung around chatting with each other and my host family.
We went back out that night to walk around for a bit and see the Fallas lit up. We found a bar and sat outside for a while, then hung around looking at our Falla (the one on our street) and talking. We watched the Falla Infantil burn and I got to talk a lot with my brother and catch up, which was nice, and I was super excited about how well everyone was getting along. I had previously been fairly nervous about having Max, Isaac, my brother, and JT all together and having to make them all happy and do what everyone wanted to, but it proved much easier than I had thought. We then met up with Alberto and Noelia, who told us of another bar across the street that was nice, so we went there to sit and wait for the fires to start. The TV in the bar was showing air and ground views of the best Fallas all around the city and the Falleras as they set fire to the Infantiles Fallas. It was nice to watch from inside and be away a little from the crowd and noise of the streets. I bought chocolate con churros for us all to share, and soon later walked Max back to our place. He was exhausted and very not keen on the noise, so he headed to sleep early, and Jon, Isaac, and I went back towards the center of town to see some of the Fallas burn. We found the one on Calle Cadiz, one of the biggest and coolest that we'd seen earlier, and since it was almost midnight decided to wait until it was burned.
It was a much longer wait than any of us had predicted; the fireworks started around 1:30, as did the burning. It was very impressive to watch a giant wooden and styrofoam structure doused in lighter fluid go down in flames, and the sky filled with smoke and still burning embers. The firefighters all around kept the nearby buildings and trees from catching fire, and very soon all of us close to the fence were forced to retreat as the large burning embers, some as large as my head, started drifting towards us and falling on the crowd. We were greatly amused by the antics of one Japanese girl after she got hit with one, and subsequently realized it once it had fallen to the ground.
We stayed until the structure collapsed, some fifteen minutes later, and cheered with the crowd, then, exhausted, walked back home. I feel asleep almost immediately back in my bed, and slept very well.

Friday proved blissfully quiet in comparison to the day before. We all slept in until around 10:30, and after showering and breakfasting, were about ready to head out close to noon. We met Jon once again at the locutorio across the street and the four of us headed out (Isaac, Max, Jon, and I). I decided to take everyone to the market so we could get supplies for lunch, but only after we spent some time doing e-mail things. The market was luckily still open when we arrived, and we split up to get bread, cheese, meat, fruit, nuts, and more.
We walked back to the cathedral and we had a picnic on the grass below a couple of trees right in front of the cathedral. It was delicious, and we talked and listened to the alto sax player on the street in front of the cafe close to us. Max gave him some money, but I don't think he told the guy "For lessons" as he'd asked me how to say in Spanish.
Afterwards we went into the cathedral, just for a while, and looked around. The streets were all cleaned up after Fallas and there was barely any sign of the giant festival that had taken place the day before, except for the crowds all in the center of the city. Since it was nice out we decided to head to the beach, and caught a bus there from the center of town. Isaac slept in the bus but I told Max and Jon about the buildings we passed and where in the city we were, where my house was in comparison and where the university was, etc...
We arrived and soon found a place to lay out. Max and I immediately fell asleep to a very cozy and warm nap. We woke to find Isaac captivated by some trick kite flyers right behind us, and Jon reading. We watched the kite flyers for a while, since they were all pretty badass. One was doing all sorts of amazing tricks and sideways somersaults, and the other three were flying synchronized. We caught the bus back to the center of town and I tried to get us all horchata but the city was too crowded. We went by the Plaza Redonda instead and Max got some postcards and Jon some Fallas scarves and a different scarf for Becky (which I helped choose).
On the way back to our place we did find an horchata stand and we got four large cups, one each. I was glad everyone liked it. Back at our respective temporary homes, we napped and relaxed for a while. Max, Isaac, and I put pictures up on facebook at the internet place and were served paella by my host mom. Jon and JT came over and joined and soon later we set back out, this time to play some pool. Jon and JT were leaving that night around 11, so we didn't stay out late, but got a good couple of pool games in. I played on Jon's team first and Max and Isaac creamed us, so we switched. I again lost on Isaac's team, although the second game was much closer.
We walked Jon and JT back to their place to pick up their bags and then find them a taxi. We didn't wait too long, and after hugging and saying goodbye they piled everything into the taxi and headed out for the train station and Granada. Max, Isaac, and I went back to our place and went to sleep fairly early. It was our last night together, but it was long enough.

We slept in on Saturday, Max and Isaac's last day in Spain, and then headed out after showers and breakfast. We went first to the locutorio to get their flight information then back to the Market. I split up to try and change their train tickets to a later time, but all the trains were booked, not surprisingly for the weekend after Fallas, while the two of them went ahead to the market and to practice their Spanish while getting us all lunch.
We ate at the same place we had the day before with Jon after stopping by La Lonja, just to show them the old marketplace. We took a different route to the park, passing by a small square in town with some amazing trees they insisted on climbing. I took pictures.
At the park we bouldered for a very short time, then continued on towards the CAC and Gulliver. Gulliver is a giant playground in the shape of a man, which proved very fun to clamber around and play on. We stopped for fanta and water afterwards, then continued on to the CAC. We merely walked around the outside, since I wanted to show the buildings to Max and Isaac. They were duly impressed with the modern white huge structures.
We caught a bus outside the CAC that took us fairly close to home, and walked the rest of the way. Back there Max and Isaac packed and then said goodbye to my host family. We stopped one last time at the locutorio to put up the last round of pictures on facebook together, then I walked them back to the train station. The line to get on board seemed interminably long but went very quickly, too quickly, and I had to say goodbye since I couldn't cross the barrier. It was a rushed and hasty goodbye, and hard to think about, but it had been a perfect week. I couldn't have been happier to see Max and Isaac, to get some climbing in, to get out of the city and camp for a night, to hike in the mountains and see the beauty of Mallorca, to watch a Falla burn with my brother and catch up with him, and to play pool with some of my favorite people. I already miss them all so much, and it's been just a day since Max and Isaac left, and two since Jon left. *sigh* I guess that's just one of those things about studying abroad. At least I have my parents' visit to look forward to, and even earlier, hopefully another day trip with Anna this coming weekend.

Anyway, today, Sunday, I didn't do a whole lot but sew up my pants, talk to my mom on Skype, do some homework, read, and write this blog. I still have a story to write for homework, and should probably start thinking about some of my final projects soon. I only have five more weeks of class, which only amounts to 22 days of class since I have four day weeks and at least a couple random holidays not counting the two weeks off for Semana Santa when my parents will be here. In between I plan to try and climb some, go to the beach, read some more books, plan summer travel, and relax.
Sorry for the super long post, hope you enjoyed, I certainly did, and take care all! Enjoy the pictures on facebook too!