Quickest update ever.
No internet access near where I am staying, but other than that it is lovely.
Day trip into Italy yesterday.
Phone is completely dead and charger broken. Except for this quick note kind of nice not to have access to the outside world.
Sat in Manchester airport.
FOR 6 HOURS.
And it will be an hour yet till maybe, maybe, the plane will be fixed… Won’t say what was broken in it, so not sure how safe it is to fly either…
So I just booked a ticket to Austria for next week…
Things got very stressful for a while, but hopefully are sorted now, and maybe even with enough left to go to PA and OH in late August!
Back home unexpectedly letting my feet heal up a bit! Never again am I thinking walking boots half a size to small ‘will do’.
That last sounded really formal, just so tired that everything becomes that way!
Also, despite what I said, if you are a proper climber, not like me who has good balance but no stamina and does not deal with heights at all, the Camino is really straightforward I think, but still really fun to do!
Currently sitting in Denise’s flat in Barcelona with her and Steph in the living room while Janto and Kristina cook dinner in the kitchen - British, American, Venezuelan, and German today.
Arrived in Barcelona yesterday after getting the night bus from Madrid at 1, which would have been fine but the driver decided to stop every 2 hours so I didn’t end up with much sleep. Went straight to use internet to check CS and find the nearest Western Union, ended up chatting to two Americans and wandering around with them for a bit, friendly people. Lost them when I went to pick up money, but now don’t have to worry about not having my cards with me, just about getting mugged!
Took the Metro to Denise’s flat, it’s really well situated and easy to find, though I did initially knock on the wrong door and really confuse an African guy with dreads before I found her. She is really friendly, and it is like a hostel atmosphere as she is hosting all the people above, and a couple of other friends have passed through while I’ve been here.
Ended up getting a ticket to SONAR by night festival, a bunch of people I didn’t know but some I did, M.I.A. definitely put on the best show of the night. It didn’t even start until 1 so we didn’t get home till about 6.30, and that was with leaving early so not to get stuck in the line for the bus! So slept late today then wandered around, feet and toes in particular are pretty destroyed from walking on horrible blisters acquired when climbing. Messaged a guy about a lift to Lyon on Monday, so will just hope he messages back tomorrow…
Ahhhhh. Malaga with Albane, then a train to Madrid at a far cheaper price thanks to her and her Dad working for RENFE in France, day wandering Madrid, meeting Ben on the train, night bus to Barcelona, meeting some more americans using McD’s wifi, got very lost and ended up at the beach, about to run to meet my host for the weekend and buy SONAR night tickets!
Exhausted and in need of a shower!
Arrived back in Malaga yesterday, and was here all of 40 mins before my wallet got stolen by a man I thought was giving me directions… Lulled into feeling secure by meeting the same guy outside the train station as I did on sunday, so when someone offered to walk me to where I was going didn’t say no, now I know why he kept bumping into me…
So that sucks, spent most of the day cancelling my cards and working out what to do next, luckily most of my cash was safe in a thing attached to my belt, but lost my driving licence and student card, and a picture someone in Ohio had given me.
The night was far better though, couchsurfing with a french girl called Albane which has been really fun so far, went out to a place that grills fish on the beach and tried a dish I let her pick, and sort of wine mixed with lemonade that was really nice, surprising as I don’t normally like wine! Then on to chill at the bar where one of her flatmates works, a very international place. Impressive how easily she switches between french, english, spanish and some russian!
About to go meet her on her lunch break at a tapas place, much more civilized than waking up in a tent and eating whatever limited food I can find around. Pretty sure I’ve already lost wieght so going to have to keep an eye on how much I’m eating and drinking.
It’s much better couchsurfing so far though, much less lonely when there is someone who knows the city you are in.
