By stlake
This weekend was pretty quiet here in Alicante. The frat boys of Denison were off dominating Oktoberfest and Chloe, Al and Audrey took the opportunity to travel as well. So I used the weekend to mostly run errands and write postcards. Family, you’ll be getting them soon. Lovers and friends, you guys will be the next batch, not to worry. But, the weekend wasn’t really spent in solitude. By now, y’all know I love a good cultural reference/play on words. I really just wanted to give my boy Gabriel Garcia Marquez a shout-out because I brought the book “100 Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad)” today and I’m going try reading it in Spanish, wish me luck! So here are the two highlights of the weekend aka the hours not spent in solitude:
- Saturday night, the remainder of the crew, Kelly, Evan, Becky and I went to get some tapas. While the food wasn’t great and me and Kelly’s mojitos tasted like soap, there was live music! They played some good ol’ Spanish guitar and salsa, which was very cool. But the cherry on top was when the band started to play “Play that Funky Music”. Just hearing the man sing, “Play that funky music white boyyy” in a Spanish accent and watching all the Spaniards bust a move like it was 1985 was amazing. That song is definitely a staple for a Lake Family dance party and always reminds me of my dad and brother. #itsthelittlethings
- Sunday, Kelly, Evan and I headed to Tabarca, an island about an hour off the coast of Alicante. We were excited for a day of relaxation and snorkeling. The ferry seemed to be crawling rather than cruising across the Mediterranean but we got there as the clouds began to cover the bright sun. But the lack of sun did not take away from the beauty of the island at all. The coast was rocky, with underwater caves and the buildings were small, and quaint. As soon as we got there, we walked all the way down into the pueblo (town), in search of snorkel gear. We found the mask and the snorkel, but could not find the flippers. But, not to fear because we found water shoes…or so I thought. About 1 minute into my first venture snorkeling, I stepped on a sea urchin. The needles went through the water shoe and into my heel. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to pull the needles out of my foot. I don’t have a very high pain tolerance but I tried to be a big girl; I got most of the needles out except for one. And in a fit of rage, I threw the water shoes into the ocean…6 euros down the drain. I apologize to the environment for polluting the beautiful ocean blue, but I was bleeding and angry. While at home, I would have let an injury like this stop me, I decided to go back out into the water. And, I was so happy I did because it was like Finding Nemo down there; fish of every color, swimming past rock and coral. The goggles were pretty much junk too, seeing as they filled with salt water that burnt my eyes every 5 minutes, but don’t worry, I didn’t through those into the ocean. We ended the day with a very fishy paella and watching the sunset. It was great day and Tabarca is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life!
I’m sure you are all waiting with bated breath to hear what happened to the last sea urchin needle. Well, after we finished snorkeling, we met up with other CIEE Alicante students who tried to help my bloody foot. First, they burned my skin in order to sanitize it and then tried to scrape out the needle with a credit card. It sounds a lot worse than it was, as many of you know, I can be a bit dramatic. Thanks for the help Ryan and Ali!
But, later than night, after a failed attempt to pull it out with tweezers, the battle of the sea urchin needle continued. And while I was trying to be a big girl, I caved back into my old ways and whined to my mom on the phone that night. She suggested I tape a potato to my foot and leave it overnight because the enzymes in the potato can break down whatever is still in my skin. But, I didn’t want to have to tell Mama Dominga because she can be a bit over dramatic when it comes to my health. I probably would have ended up in the emergency room with her by my side in tears. So late that night, I crept into the kitchen on the hunt for a potato but to no avail. So the little needle is still stuck in my heel-I’ve decided to keep it there as a memory of the good times in Tabarca.
Also, apologies Ev for not using the genius title “A Taste of Tabarca”. I just needed a more encompassing title for the weekend, ja feel? Hopefully no hard feelings, it was still a stroke of genius.
Up next: My fall break extravaganza! Going to the South of France with my friend Madeline from GW and then off to Rome and Florence to visit my friends Carolyn and KC from high school! I will try to make a few posts that week about my travels so stay tuned!
Peace, love and Beyoncé. (I know this week’s post wasn’t about Queen B, but let’s face it, everyday is about Queen B.)