El Viaje

It is currently 5:00 in the morning here in Alicante. Which means in Arizona it is 8:00 Saturday night. I have had a restful 6 hours of sleep, but now that I have woken up I can’t seem to get back to it. So here comes my second post.



The 24 hour trip went off without a hitch… almost. After a few tears were shed I walked through security at sky harbor… then cried a little bit more. My plane from Phoenix to Dulles seems like a lifetime ago. I don’t think I slept very much, except at the end of our in-flight movie, Plan B. I was able to stay awake for the whole thing, just not the ending! Go figure. The flight time ended up being about 4 hours which did not seem too bad. I had about a 3 hour layover in D.C. At the airport in Dulles I ate some subway and got myself a caramel macchiato from Starbucks, which could be my last for quite a while. Then I got myself some Euro- which in my opinion is the prettiest paper currency I have ever seen. Of course I did not think to charge my phone before I left and I had packed my charger in my checked luggage. I was able to find a seat on the floor next to an outlet and I had found my charger that I could hook up into my computer. I proceeded to do that while making some calls and before I knew it was time to board my first international flight.


Dulles to Madrid was not too bad either. I had an aisle seat on the side of the window. The girl sitting next to me was very nice. Her name was Esther. She had been back and forth to Madrid, probably a dozen times, to visit her boyfriend in the service. She was a very helpful resource when it came to my questions about Madrid. Again I did not sleep very much during the flight, I could not get comfortable. It probably also had something to do with my Starbucks drink, but it was worth it. I did not see much of anything on the way to Madrid. We did not cross over the ocean until the sun was down. We went north into Canada and then over to Madrid. So after Esther had well versed me in getting through customs, how to use the metro and where to go, I was feeling pretty confident about Madrid. Our plane ride was only going to be 6 hours and 55 minutes, but we ended up arriving early. The airport was not super impressive but Esther snapped a few pictures of me once we were waiting in line in customs. She showed me where the baggage claim was and then she left to go to her boyfriend’s apartment. I waited for the luggage and snapped a few more pictures. After what seemed like forever, I had both mine and Jamie’s luggage. Then the hard part started.


Finding the metro was a little difficult. I asked the customer service desk and she pointed me in the right direction. Then I was able to locate the signs on the ceiling directions. I was a little confused at first because the first arrow that I saw was pointing down, so I thought I had to go down a level. Which I did and realized that was not right. So I went back up and followed the down arrows straight. I was walking for quite a while with my luggage cart before I found the metro. I paid for a ticket, somewhat difficultly- it would not accept my coin- then proceeded downstairs into the subway system. This is where it went wrong. I went downstairs on the wrong side, and ended up having to go to the last 2 airport stops rather than heading straight to my first transfer. While I was waiting for the subway I took some pictures, because it was my first time on a subway. I put my camera away when the metro pulled up and climbed in with my 3 rolling suitcases. After the first stop I snatched a seat. Of course we were headed in the wrong direction, but it only added about 10 minutes of travel. As soon as I sat down, the tired really kicked in. After making it to the first stop, I got off and proceeded to follow the signs for line 6. After a long, partly uphill, partly downhill I came to a stairwell. At this point I hadn’t figured out how to use an escalator with three bags of luggage. So I carried them down the stairs. When I got to the station, a girl came up and told me my backpack was open. Crap. I am 99% sure I closed it when I put my camera away. But I had a feeling this story was not going to have a happy ending. I quickly zipped up my bag, without looking if anything was missing, I did not want to lose it in the middle of the metro. After the first couple of stops on the metro I got up the courage to look inside my bag, my camera was gone. My brand new pink cannon camera that I had bought specifically for my trip to Spain was gone! Not to mention all the pictures I had on my memory cards from the summer. My blood was boiling, but on the outside I remained calm. I reached the bus station and found a place to sit. I had 2 hours before my bus left and I just sit there starring off into space and wondering what I should have done differently. I was being super careful and I don’t even know what happened. By this time I was exhausted and upset so I just sat in the bus station irritated. It is hard but I have to remind myself that at least my passport and phone, which was in the same pocket, was still there. I think someone at the first stop saw me put my camera in my bag and decided they wanted it!!!! UGGGHHH.


Finally it was 11:30 so I went and hunted down my 12:00 bus. I was looking forward to my window seat to prop my head and take a long nap. Of course by the time I got there, there was a man already sitting in my seat and I didn’t have the heart to tell him to move so I took the aisle seat. It turned out to be good because I stretched my legs out, had my backpack in my lap, and my neck pillow to keep me comfy. After seeing all the graffiti in Madrid I decided it would be best if I just slept, so that is what I did. I slept for about an hour at a time, making the trip go by super quick. Of the scenery I did see, it was not very impressive. It was like driving through the desert, but more rocky and little splashes of dull green shrubbery. The five hour bus ride quickly came to a close after arriving in Alicante, and seeing my first view of the bright blue ocean. Jamie was there when I pulled up and it is just what I needed to see! She carried her luggage and we went to our apartment, not far from the bus stop. My roommate, Natalie, had already arrived and unfortunately her luggage was delayed.


After unpacking a little bit Jamie and I went to the grocery store to get some necessities and food for dinner. After unpacking more, Jamie made dinner. Delicious. Then we were both passing out at the dinner table watching HOUSE, so she went to bed and I jumped in the shower and washed away 48 hours of gross. I was sleeping well until I woke up so I decided to write this. I will post it as soon as we have internet. I wish we did so I could let a lot of people know I was still alive! I am very sorry if any of you have been worried!!! Much love