"I can see Africa!"

After a fairly uneventful first week of classes (of which we are a quarter of the way through, if you can believe that), we wanted to have some fun on Friday afternoon.  Minn and I went to the beach for about an hour with a few others from our group.  It was the perfect amount of time during which to take a nap and a quick dip in the ocean.  We then returned to our casa, showered (look at me taking hot showers for granted once again), and embarked on a shopping trip with Rachel.  I am not exaggerating when I say that every single store in the city has rebajas (great sales) right now.  So why not take advantage?

 Why not?

After a successful shopping trip (as evidenced by the above photo), we found a nice restaurant right in the plaza where the Cathedral of Cadiz is located.  We sat in the outside eating area and enjoyed some light tapas while listening to the Cuban music that was being performed on the Cathedral steps.  It sure was the place to be that night.

         The view of the Cathedral from our restaurant table          

Cuban music celebration at the Cathedral

Following dinner, we met up with all of our fellow students on the beach after sunset.  It was a beautiful night to relax, have a drink (did I mention how great it is to be of age here?), and enjoy the serenity of the ocean together.

The next morning we arose early to leave for a mandatory excursion sponsored by the University of Cadiz.  We boarded our tour bus and headed for three different cities: Vejer de la Frontera, Baelo Claudia (Bolonia), and Tarifa.  All are located in Andalucía (southern Spain) and are fairly close to Cadiz.  The first stop was Vejer de la Frontera.  Located about half an hour from Cadiz, Vejer is an exquisite old city with tons of whitewashed buildings and winding cobbled streets.  The views were unbelievable; we could see the countryside, the mountains, and, in the distance, Africa.  That’s right; we could see Africa!  I could hardly believe my eyes.  

Minn and me in front of the whitewashed buildings of Vejer

After a short walking tour through the streets of Vejer and to the Cathedral (it couldn’t be a real tour without one), we returned to the bus and headed for Bolonia.  Bolonia is a small isolated fishing village located on the Atlantic coast of southern Spain.  We were able to walk through the Roman ruins and see the beautiful beach. 

Roman ruins on the Atlantic Ocean

After our quick stop at Bolonia, we stepped aboard the bus once again to go to Tarifa.  This leg of the trip offered beautiful scenic views of the Spanish countryside.  I’d like to share a few photos of sights that one will only ever see in Spain:

Just some windmills on the countryside

Yes, those are animals grazing in the fields

To the mountains we go 

The views were quite mesmerizing.  But then there was Tarifa.  Tarifa is about as far south as you can go in the country of Spain.  Which means that we were as close as we could possibly get to Africa.  Additionally, Tarifa is the intersection of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.  Therefore, we could stand on the beach and have our choice of swimming in either the Mediterranean or the Atlantic.  Any guesses on which one I chose?  I hope you said the Mediterranean.  I’ve been in the Atlantic more times than you would ever want to know, and above all, how many opportunities will I have to swim in the Mediterranean Sea?  Luckily, the tour guide had allotted several hours for us to spend at the beach, so we had some free time to use as we wished.  A group of us camped out on the beach and enjoyed the plentiful sunshine.  The best part of the day, though, was when we decided to try out some water toys: inflatable trampolines, rock climbing walls, and balance beams in the ocean.  It was an absolute blast (and quite a workout)!  We were actually jumping on trampolines in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the mountains of Africa.  Not too shabby.

The Intersection: Mediterranean Sea on the left and Atlantic Ocean on the right

African mountains in the distance

When the time came, we met everyone back on the bus and headed back to Cadiz for a night at the discoteca (no, it never ends).  We sure did sleep well last night after such a wonderful, event-filled day.

Some of Cadiz's ancient buildings

This morning found us at 10:00 mass at the same church that we attended last week.  It was very nice once again and even incorporated some singing this week, which made me feel even more at home.  After mass, Minn and I began working on a presentation that we will be giving tomorrow.  We started at 11 A.M. and are still going (it’s currently 8:45 here).  In other words, we've been trapped in the house for almost nine straight hours.  I think that a beach day is in order tomorrow.

Just another day at the beach in Cadiz

For your viewing pleasure, take a look at my extraordinarily high-tech cell phone:

 It's been two years since I've gotten a new phone, so I decided to splurge on this one