Madrid. What a cool experience. I was so excited to see Carlos again and spend a few days with him and his friends relaxing and enjoying a little peace and quiet away from the hostels. There is something to be said for not having to lock up all our belongings every time you leave the room or having a full nights sleep without someone coming in drunk at 4am, leaving for an early plane at 5:30am or that one obnoxious snorer that everyone wants to punch.
Carlos doesn't actually live in Madrid but rather about 35km outside of it in a village called Colemenar. It is a small town that really embraces the Spanish lifestyle. The one thing I could not get used to. I can appreciate that the culture is very different there than anywhere else in the EU let along North America but I found myself constantly cursing those hours during the day that everything would be closed. Yes everyone in Spain takes a siesta and no matter what it says on the store fronts posted hours, that siesta will last however long they feel like it. I think if Spaniard really wanted to go crazy all they would have to do is move to Switzerland, a place where they are so punctual you can set your watch by the train arrivals and departures.
I spent the days hanging out with Carlos and his roommates and though I felt a bit isolated because they mostly spoke very limited English, it was still a good experience not to mention a joy to see my dear friend again. One day we went to the bottom of the hills and picked wild blackberries to make jam with another day we went into Madrid and they all played tour guide, pointing out the important places. People from Madrid are very patriotic about their city and country.
Our time was unfortunately cut short as I found out that the next bus I was planning to catch was full so I had to leave a couple days earlier than I originally planned. It was sad to say goodbye but promises were made for another visit in the future.
The bus to San Sebastian was packed full, everyone excited for a place that they had heard rumors about the entire trip. There is something special, nearly magical, about this place and everyone comes away from it singing praises about what a good time they had there. I was wary because I had heard reviews like this before about places I did not end up liking but I was excited at the same time, caught up in the energy on the bus. Admittedly it was probably one of the two bus rides that I felt the worst physically on though. The bus from Barcelona nearly killed me as I had slept almost nothing the night before having spent too much time chatting with friends that had been made there and then not being able to fall asleep when I tried. Similar story for the bus leaving Madrid, up to late catching up with someone from Barcelona and then finding myself unable to fall asleep until very early in the morning and even then only for an hour or two. It is always miserable on the bus when you have not slept as it is near impossible to sleep decently when you stop every two hours for a service break.
However, as soon as we entered into San Sebastian all was forgotten. I should mention my favorite bus driver, Vlad, was the driver that day and I was also excited to be able to catch up with some stories from the road and share what experiences I had been having since I had last seen him. San Sebastian feels like a little piece of paradise. It reminded me of my days in Croatia with it's narrow streets lined with brick and stone buildings, hills surrounding the outskirts and beautiful beaches covered in sand. It is understandable immediately why people fall in love with this place and end up staying for obscene amounts of time. As soon as we got to the hostel I extended my own booking for 2 more nights and at the end of that I even added one more. Out of all the places I stayed on my trip, I was in San Sebastian the longest and if I could have I would have stayed even longer. I wanted to press the pause button on life and just hang on to those moments spent there.
The first night we were there most everyone from the bus went to a BBQ that the hostel was hosting up on the Jesus hill. The Jesus hill has a proper name but I never learned it. This hill was directly across from the swimmers beach and at the top had a giant statue of Jesus pointing his finger at the town. It is a bit strange especially at night when it is dark and lit up. However, it is Spain and Spain is very catholic so I can only assume this is a part of that. The BBQ where I tried my first Calimocho, a rather terrible sounding Spanish invention that includes red wine mixed with coke. I cannot decide if these are tasty or just ridiculous but they are definitely interesting. It was also the last night that we would have with Michelle, one of the girls that I had been traveling with for a couple weeks. As always it is sad to say goodbye to someone that has become a friend along the way. A punishment in the world of travel.
The next day myself and Kyra wandered around the shops in San Seb avoiding the torrential showers that were coming off and on all morning. I was starting to think that the rain was following me as I moved along and was worried that things would not look better in the week to come. By the afternoon though, the sunshine was starting to show it's face and things were looking up. That night the hostel was putting on a Pinchos tour and we went from one bar to the next sampling the many different types of Pintxos (pronounced Pinchos) which most people would probably associate more with the more well known Tapas. Pintxos, though similar to Tapas in the fact that it is small servings of various foods, generally meats, sandwiches, seafood ect. Pintxos is much more elaborate I found than Tapas and much more exciting. They had so many types of meats and seafoods as well as croquets, potatoes and so much more. The food was amazing and everyone had their fill after we had been to 4 different places. I don't think we could have fit any more into us if we wanted to.
Wandering around the next day with no real goal in mind we found neat shops and markets, hidden streets and buildings all over. That night I would say goodbye to Kyra as she was heading on to Paris but would gain back Daniel who had been traveling a few days behind us on the loops ever since Barcelona. Daniel (kiwi), Jordan (aussie that we also met in Barcelona), Kyra (aussie) and I all went down to the beach that night to watch the lights dance on the water and listen to the soothing sound of the waves crashing onto the shore.
There is something intoxicating about listening to the water. It is nearly magical in it's rhythmic consistency. I can still hear the waves coming in now. We spent nearly every evening at the beach just taking in all we could of this place. It was a special thing to be able to spend my last days with many in San Sebastian. We all were able to leave with the same pictures in our mind, the same memories.
It is late and my train leaves early tomorrow. My stories are nearly finished for this trip. Tomorrow I will watch the hills of Norway float by as I head on one of the final legs of my journey from Oslo to Bergen and back. In between my window gazings I will continue with San Sebastian and the massive trip from there to where I am now.
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