Well folks..
I have returned. San Jose was a literal paradise. It's a super relaxed/chill town full of mountains, desert, sweet beach houses, beautiful beaches, and 8.64 euro sun screen (I figure it's cheaper than the medical bills for skin cancer... so I found it a good investment). When we arrived in San Jose we checked into our hotel and Maria (our "chaperone") told us to put on comfortable shoes (which is usually the cue for us to get ready to do some serious walking) because she was going to take us to the beach. Now usually, Maria tells us to put on comfortable shoes and girls and guys alike all slip on their flippy floppies and call it good... what do I strap on? none other than my trusty Chacos. Ugly as Sin, but Heavenly on the feet ( I strongly believe that should be their slogan) So as we embark on our great journey to the Mediterranean Sea, we all notice that Maria is taking us towards this barren wasteland I'll refer to as the desert. As soon as the terrain changed up a bit the group started to space out (poor shoe selection), and naturally, I was up at the front of the pack plowing through whatever that desert threw at us. Why? my Chacos. I was running, jumping, power walking, and I would have gone Hardcore Parcore on the place, but it was a desert and as you can probably assume, there was nothing to Hardcore Parcore. Maybe for a later date.
So when we had all made it to the beach we all thought didn't exist... it looked like a lucious little oasis. We walked further onto the beach and as soon as we got all our stuff down and settled in... BAM! Naked McGee walks by and kills the whole "aw"factor. We all start to take a look around the place and quickly notice other semi-nakeds/nakeds. After the inital shock of the scenery, most of the group pretty much chalks it up to "Eh, they're European"... and move on with their life. Me however, got to thinking W.W.E.D. (What would Erie do)?...I mean the girl took off her shirt to catch a frog... you KNOW she would hop into her birthday suit join in with the best of them.. and I also remembered telling a lot of you that I was going to take on the attitude of "When in Spain..." so I really would have hated to disappoint. :) With that said, I, Courtney Richardson, did NOT participate in the nude festivities that occured Oct. 2, 2010 in San Jose. Mom, Dad, you can both breathe now. Ja. After about an hour, Maria said adios and headed back into the city to go about her day... and left us in the remote desert to find our way back. That's pretty much how they do it here... give us a map with 2 street names on it and then feed us to the wilderness.
After we had soaked up a vast amount of UV rays, we attempted to find our way back to civilization. While the others grumbled, I jumped up and rose to the occasion. With my Chacos on my feet, I was ready to take this desert and show it who's boss. The whole way I was crunching vegetation, bounding over rocks, jumping down small cliffs,.. I. was. dominating.. I was dominating all the way until I got about 1/4 from our hotel (we were on pavement by now) when it happened. My Chacos failed me. A bee (avispa) somehow, flew through my Chaco strap and stung the arch of my foot. At first, I thought a hot pavement rock got caught up under my foot, but it wasn't long until I knew that bolt of fire was none other than, a bee. I was mad. So mad. School starts Monday. I'm stung on the BOTTOM of my foot. I walk a mile to class. I'm mildly allegergic so I'm probably going to have somewhat of a kankle.... blah blah blah. We pass Maria on our way back to the hotel, tell her what happens, and she takes me into a restaurant and tells the waiter/owner the situation. He then goes back into the kitchen and grabs vinegar, alcohol (the rubbing kind... unfortunately), and iodine. While I was very thankful for his willingness to help, all I could do what think to myself "What the crap do I do with all these?" "Which one is first?" "Do I really need vinegar?" "Why isn't Brittany or Heather here to better advise me?"... since I had no professional advice, I decided to use all three (I live life on the edge remember?) First the vinegar (I figured if it was bad for me then the alcohol and iodine would over power it), then the alcohol, and finally the iodine... as I was cleaning it, the two men who worked in the restaurant kept looking at me and I thought they were looking/staring because they wanted to see the sting. So natually, I very unlady-like lifted my foot into the air and showed him. He didn't seem the least bit interested... only confused. (Good one Court) Now that I'm thinking about it, I probably should have used the iodine first... I didn't think to reference a real-life medical show like Grey's Anatomy, where the always prep with an unecessary amount of iodine. Whatevs. I'm still alive.
After that nightmare had happened, my girls (Sarah, Evelyn, and Sam) decided to have "tapas" (wiki if need be) We went and raided the local supermercado and each picked out one thing each to share. We ended up with chocolate brownies, an assortment of sweets, Jamon (ham) Ruffles (really REALLY good) and this "Spain only" flavor of Lay's potato chips.. it was heavenly. Sometime after "tapas" we went and decided to go to a local pizza joint we were told was real good. Ends up we went to the place with the Bee Sting Cure trifecta... the men from earlier that day were still there and did not hesitate to ask how my foot was doing. I was flattered of course (the Spanish men don't have to try real hard)(psh.) and went on to trying to open the bottle of water we had just been served with my knife. Upon seeing me just about injure myself again the nice waiter quickly headed over to our table, took the knife out of my hand, and opened our water for us. Embarrassing moment #2. (In San Jose)
In case you are wondering, I have arrived back safely in Granada and I am anxiously awaiting an 11pm (Spain time... 7 hrs ahead) Skype date with my family.
XX (dos besos),
Courtney
No comments:
Post a Comment