Nerja, Spain

Finals were two weeks away and, with a ten page art essay and a twenty minute presentation on Francisco Franco upcoming, I was focusing all my energy on getting ahead so that I could enjoy my weekend in London.  With plans to leave on Thursday afternoon and stay until Sunday evening, I went online to print my boarding pass last Tuesday.  Although I had vowed to never make a mistake on RyanAir’s tricky and deceptive website, I realized that I had only purchased a return flight and my hopes of traveling to a European country by myself were dashed.  After wiping away my flood of tears (not really), I cut my losses and figured that I better think of something fun to do on my second-to last weekend in Spain.  A few minutes of researching ultimately yielded a bus ticket, round-trip this time, to Nerja, a pretty beach town about an hour and a half away from Granada.  Aside from the less than ideal bus accommodations, we arrived in Nerja on Thursday ready to soak up some high-quality rays for two days.   

The small town was more than relaxing, and Friday turned out to be one of the best days spent with program friends in as long as I can remember!  Paddle ball on the shore, tanning, or better yet, burning in the sand, and chicken fights in the chilly sea waters were an ideal way to spend our limited time with fifteen friends.  Because I am such a food monger, I cannot express my enjoyment of Nerja without mentioning Little Italy, the Mom N’ Pop restaurant that stuffed me full of cheesy pasta and ham pizza for a mere five Euros, a true steal.  The touristy strolls through the beach shops reminded me of typical summer afternoons at home, and with only eight days left here, San Diego felt closer than ever.  Although it was not exactly London, my time spent with friends made me appreciate wherever I was and remember that where you are is not nearly as important as who you are with.  Eventually, our crispy friends got lathered up in after-sun lotion before painfully bouncing our way through the small towns and back to Granada.

Saturday morning, I rolled over at 8 am and quickly got dressed and ready for a day In Ronda with my school program.  From what I knew, Ronda was a small boring town where we would spend an afternoon before finally returning to our lively Granada.  To be honest, I was not extremely excited to stroll through rows of old white houses, but upon arrival, I could not have been more surprised.  The focal point was a massive bridge built centuries ago that separated the old and the new sections of the city.  After touring the most ancient Bull Fight Plaza in Spain and imagining my less than lanky body being mangled after not fitting behind the miniscule guard rails, our guide, who resembled a female Indiana Jones, led us to some of the most spectacular viewpoints that I have ever seen.  During my free time, I descended down a trail and climbed treacherous rocks in hopes of reaching the massive waterfall that epitomized the beautiful city.  I was not able to reach the huge waterfall, but the fact that I returned to the bus an hour later without having been swept away by the rapids was consolation enough.

It may not have been the weekend that I was expecting, but I could not have turned out any better.  With this weekend being my last in Spain, you can imagine that I will live it to the fullest.  Here’s to finishing off my study abroad experience with No Regrets!