Conquering new seas

A side note before I begin this blog. I have recognized and wish to improve upon the fact that my blogs have been less frequent lately and seriously lacking in the interesting details I wish to define this blog with, so I am going to attempt over the next couple of weeks to rectify that. Please hold me accountable!

Now about today!

The original plan for today really changed almost hourly as my anticipation for me free day increased throughout the week, which was being fed by my left over excitement from Cadiz and Cordoba the weekend before. Finally we all agreed to go to the little village of Rota, where the American Air Force base is located and see some American boys in the American bar.

Naturally I was not super thrilled about this idea, but I was anxious to meet the new au pair who lives across the garden from me.

When we arrived at the bus station we were, well they were, disappointed to find out that the afternoon bus to Rota on Sundays has been canceled. It had literally been whited out from the schedule.

I quickly and enthusiastically suggested we cross the road to the train station and check the time for the next train to Cadiz. We all agreed to create a new adventure today and wing it without a guide book or map.

We bought all seven tickets to El Puerto de Santa Maria together as the train was leaving two minutes after we decided to take it, and then ran onto the train just as it began to pull out of the station. Afterwards I became aware that the conductor was kindly waiting for us to buy our tickets and board the train before he left, truly demonstrating the relaxed Spanish mentality that I am coming to hate/love here.

I am starting to see how deeply the idea of siesta penetrates the Spanish culture and life in everything here in Spain.

From the train station in El Puerto we walked 10 minutes in the general direction of the dock where a ferry will take you across the Bay of Cadiz in just 40 minutes to the city for just 4 Euros round trip (Ida y Vuelta). We had to wait 50 minutes for the next ferry so we sat at a nearby cerveceria and had a coke lite while we waited.

Meanwhile I began to get to know the new au pair, who is really short, but so nice, she reminds me of one of my really good friends from school in Texas:). She is Austrian along with the majority of the other Au Pairs, the other two being German, but her English is surprisingly good and that surprised me as I spend much of my time with the other au pairs discussing what words to use in English, how to use them and oh so often how to pronounce the slang words in a Californian way. lol.

The man selling the tickets for the ferry warned me in Spanish that the water crossing the open part of the bay would be a little rough today for maybe 10-15 minutes, which I assumed would be true, as the clouds loomed in and the wind began to build.

I stood with one other brave au pair for the majority of the journey on the second level of the boat in the front as we rocked and bounced sideways from one giant swell to another for the most exciting and scary fifteen minutes of my time here in Spain so far.

As one particularly large swell hit our boat at the precise moment that we were recovering from the previous wave the splash that resulted from the collision was so enormous both the other au pair and I caught a face full of fresh ocean mist that put an enormous smile on my face and sent me screaming with laughter and pleasure for being at sea once again in my life.

When we finally approached the city harbor and the waves began to lessen a little, I had a wonderful sensation of feeling like I was another invading nation, just having bested the seas attempts to bar me from the ancient city, and ready to make my conquest upon Cadiz and its many treasures.

Just one other au pair and I, who we both had discovered Cadiz through an afternoon of wandering its cobblestone narrow streets while breathing the fresh ocean air the Sunday before, led the group through the beautiful city to my now favorite Cathedral in Spain and to our merienda (afternoon meal time) of cafe con leche in the plaza overlooking the bright and wonderful Cathedral.

I shall not write more about this Cathedral here, but save my love writing for its own blog that shall be coming soon. I therefore end this blog by declaring my raptures for the city of Cadiz and staking my claim on its ancient soil as my favorite city in Spain and one that shall be, in the coming months, thoroughly explored and captured with my weapons of the drawing pencil and camera lens!