We had to fly out of Madrid, so we left Thursday night after I had to skip a class to get to my flight on time. Oops. We stayed in a hotel next to the airport Thursday, so I still have yet to see anything of Madrid outside of the airport and airport hotel. The next morning we got up early and made our flight to Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria. We arrived in the morning, so our first priority was to get directly to Playa Inglés, where the rest of the group was staying for the weekend. It was about a 30-minute cab drive, but when we got there we found exactly what we were looking for – a real beach town with everyone in bathing suits and sandals walking around in the warm sunshine. After the ridiculously cold winter we’d been having in Valencia, it was so nice to actually walk around without a coat on.
The group checked into their hotel, which was directly on the beach with a really amazing view, and we went straight to the supermarket. We picked up some beach essentials – snacks, beer, and a real sweet beach towel with a map of Gran Canaria on it that I’m saving forever and ever – and headed straight to the beach. It was extremely windy so the sand was EVERYWHERE and there weren’t many people out, but that was not about to bring down our party feeling. Instead, we just started drinking, as do all college students on vacation at a beach, and having a good time despite the wind. We decided to go for a walk, and since we were on one end of the beach, we walked all the way to the other. I missed the sign that said we were entering the nude section of the beach, but I sure realized it a few minutes later when I actually looked at the people around me. Never been so glad that we don’t have nude beaches where I go to vacation. I developed a theory that it’s only the fat, ugly, old people that are actually comfortable enough to go completely nude on a beach, but I have yet to figure out why. I turned my blinders on, though, and we kept walking to the sand dunes at the end of the beach. It was literally the Sahara over there, and we were hiking up the dunes and playing around. The guys really loved them for some reason, so they wanted to stay there longer while Ellen and I decided we’d rather head back and get some daiquiris.
Of course we made friends with the bartenders and basically got three drinks for the price of two. Apparently there are NO Americans in the Canary Islands, so everyone we met was really surprised when we told them where we were from. It was probably the first place I’ve ever been where it was exciting to be American. Afterwards, we headed back to the beach to get some more sun. I took a little power nap and then woke up wanting some more draaanks. We went to the kiosk on the beach next to us, made friends with Johnny the bartender, and got some more free beverages. The sun was setting so we decided to go back to the hotel where I checked my phone for the first time to see that Ashley had called me 4 times already. I called her back to get directions on how to get back to Las Palmas where she lives. I’m not going to lie; I was pretty drunk by this point so it was quite an adventure to catch a bus. I thought I made best friends with the bus driver, but I realized the next morning I was probably just annoying the heck out of him.
Ashley picked me up from the bus station and we eventually headed back to her apartment and then when out to dinner. We went to this really good sushi place, which I loved. I didn’t realize sushi was my absolute favorite food until I got to Spain where I didn’t have it for so long. Now I’ve had it twice in two months, which is better than nothing. However, upon further investigation I realize that I probably eat it at least once a week at home. Then, we went out with her roommate Hannah and her friend Jesse and some other of Ashley’s friends from her work. It was a marathon of a night that made me long for UVa, but I realize my stamina is nothing like it was in my youth. I was literally falling asleep at the bar, so we called it a night.
The next day Ashley rented a car, which was a shift stick that neither of us could drive, so Jesse became our kind of chauffer for the weekend. We explored the city of Las Palmas, which is rather ugly in my opinion. You can tell the city shot up in the 80s, and the architecture hasn’t changed since. There wasn’t much to see, so we waited around until Brian and Marion’s plane came in and went to the airport to pick them up. Brian is Ashley’s brother who is also a third year at UVa and Marion is her cousin who is a first year and just joined Sigma Kappa, my sorority. We took them straight to the beach where we hung out and tomamos el sol.
That night, Ashley and Hannah hosted a dinner party in their apartment. Ashley’s birthday was a few days before, so it was a celebration of her 23rd year on earth. Some of their friends came over and we had come cultural exchanges. Some of her friends were from Italy, and they taught us how to do pertinis – where you put honey in your mouth and then a shot of vodka – and we showed them what 5-hour energies were. Then we went to an Italian house party, which was quite an experience. I learned that the later the night goes on, the more buttons the Italian guys unbutton. By the end of the night, the guys were walking around with one button closed on their shirts. After the party, we went to a club that was hoppin. A little bit too much in my opinion, because, frankly, I like to be able to stand without touching everyone around me, which was not an option. Also, I learned that the club scene is HUGE for weird guys on the creep. It was circa 4 in the madrugada, which is extremely early in Spanish time, but Brian and Marion were tired from their flight and I was about to fall over, too. We called it a night and rounded up the troops for the retreat. I really need to pick up the pace again if there’s any hopes of me surviving fourth year.
The next morning was a tough rally for all of us, but we made it to brunch before they dropped me off at the airport. It took FOREVER for me to get back to Valencia. Ryan air delayed our flight in Madrid for an hour. I was exhausted by the time I got back, but it was definitely a successful weekend.
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