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To start off my Spain adventures it was a flight into Barcelona and then straight onto an overnight bus to Pamplona to kick it off with something i think they call the Running of the Bulls. I met up with the boys, Ben and Luke, from Turkey/Greece at the bus station however we were on different buses and they paid less than me, go figure!
When I arrived into Pamplona it was a fresh and early start of about 5am with the boys nowhere to be seen. I made some new friends and we all tried finding our way to the campsite only to have to wait a few hours until the public transport was running which was fine cause it took us a while to find the right stop we had to be at. By that stage we didnt have long to wait and we then bumped into the boys again. I thought i would relax at camp and wait for Ang as she wasnt meant to be too long and i figured she would want to do the tour of town and grab supplies and rather me do it twice i figured i would wait and we could do it together. Little did i know Ang would only arrive round 11pm and pissed off from her long trip to say the least! Me on the other hand, had a relaxing day by the pool, tanning and partying till she got there. I let Ang shower and head to bed to calm down from her travels whilst i kept partying and stayed out of her hair till the morning.
It was an early rise to get into town so we could grab a spot for the Opening Ceremony. Everyone was spraying Sangria, Champagne, Beer and Water over friends and strangers it was AWESOME! The best party you could ever imagine. It got so crazy and this was even before the actual start to the festival and its opening. Once it hit 12pm a few official moments took place and before you knew it everyone had dispersed into the city or headed back for some rest before more partying.
As Ang had got some glass in her foot from the opening ceremony we had to get her stiched up and sorted out first. In between looking after her i checked on another Aussie girl who was crying and getting her feet sorted out too. Whilst that was going on somehow i managed to cut myself and require a bandaid which i could only get once signing in with the ambulance ppl, ridiculous i know. However, Ang was still in good spirits and wanting spirits or any form of alcohol to keep on going which i advised against at least for a little given she had just been given anaesthetic for the stiches.
Ang and I were surprised to find the guys still waiting for us outside the ambulance area and so we decided to stay in town and wandered through the streets with our 3 new found English friends. After a while we soaked up some rays and fell asleep on the grass in the warm sun like a lot of other people. We partied through the night and past the last bus back to the campsite. We first tried catching a cab which was a waste of time so we then went with the boys to collect their tent and camp out in a park illegally. Needless to say it was cold especially given the tent never got erected or that we actually slept inside it, i guess 5 ppl in 1 tent was never going to happen now was it!
We woke after only a couple of hours of barely any sleep to get up and do it all over again. The guys were planning to run with the bulls at 8am so we had to be there early. As Ang was still not in the best of shape we watched the first run with the bulls on the big screen in the main square which gave us a good oportunity to see the whole run, which mind you is only 3mins or so in length. As it had been a long night we once again caught some sleep, this time on the benches with lots of ppl taking pics of us. We did start a trend so we werent the only ones on those benches and while it was strange for random ppl to be taking our pictures, admittidly it did look funny and i would have done the same thing.
After another long day of partying and more sleeping in public places, tonight Ang and I decided we would attempt to make it back to our campsite. As we didnt make it back yesterday we did not know the pick up location for the buses had changed and thanks to the crew from another company finding us we would not have known. We tried getting onto their bus to no avail so then we looked for ours and couldnt find them but eventually we got there and got home. Despite being inside the tent this time, it was still freezing.
Once again, we woke up early to go in for our last view of the running of the bulls. This time we went roadside and saw 3 seconds or so of it upclose. We went to wait for the English boys as they didnt get into running with the bulls yesterday and were going to try again today. We waited for them as long as we could but we had to leave to catch the bus back to the campsite and unfortunantely left without saying goodbye to them properly. Upon getting back to camp we packed up our things as we were both heading off, grabbed brekkie and then resided by the pool for the rest of the arvo. Eventually we said our goodbyes, Ang back to the UK and then Ireland and me to San Sebastian. I had no booking for San Sebastian and was planning to sleep at the bus station worst case scenario. I was lucky that Ben had spoken to some friends of Luke´s and i was able to take the bed of a fiancee who was no longer going to San Sebastian tonight as he was going to try and run with the bulls the next day. When i arrived i was so thankful i had the bed as there was no chance i would have got a bed nor was there an actual station so i would have been screwed!
San Sebastian was great, such a beautiful city filled with tapas bars. One day turned into about 3 there and slowly i was making my way to Bilbao. I started getting lonely when i was about to contact Ben and Luke when i heard from them saying they were in Mundaka camping. So i joined them there for a few days before we made our way to Santander and a place near Unquera. The 3 of us shared the tent which was squishy to say the least but a cheap way to travel so hey a girls got to do what a girsl got to do. Luke left us there before returning to Barcelona to meet up with Renee who had his ATM card he had lost and had sent over whilst Ben and I continued along the Nth Coast of Spain and down into Portugal.
As we were just leaving Porto in Portugal we met up with Luke and Renee and made plans to meet up in 2 days in Figueira da Foz. After a few nights there we headed off, what i thought would mean me alone and the others off together on their next adventure ended up turning out to be Renee and I travelling together and the boys off to Lagos. Renee and I seemed to have a lot in common and got along quite well so we took our time and saw more places along the way down through Portugal and back into Spain. There were a couple of times i thought we would split up early but then the timing worked out well or a place didnt have what i thought it would offer so we continued on all up for about a month together.
Renee´s friend Cindy who is now living in London came out to meet us for a week which resulted in us heading to La Tomatina. We hired a car from Madrid and drove to Bunol just outside of Valencia. It was interesting given i dont often drive manual, so now i was driving manual and on the wrong side of the road. We had also convinced a guy, Daniel, from our hostel to join us for the night and day so the 4 of us slept in the car which was pretty squishy, especially me in the drivers seat.
We got up early and ready into our commando gear but we lost each other once the actual tomato trucks started coming out and everyone was so tightly packed together that not that much fun was had in the middle of the actual height of it but rather it was more fun afterwards when we found each other once again and there was more room to muck around. We slowly made our way out and bumped into the Irish boys we had met in Valencia. Then back to the car to shower off the tomatoes and say goodbye to Daniel who was heading back to Madrid. Once we were de-tomatoed, we headed back to Valencia and thanks to a stuff up on their behalf with overcharging Cindy we were able to get them to say sorry by letting us have actual proper showers. So after dinner we showered, changed and hit the town for more clubbing in Valencia. After a few hours sleep in the car we were on our way back to Madrid and to say our goodbyes with Cindy heading back to London, Renee to San Sebastian and me a few more nights in Madrid to see more of Madrid and a day trip. I ended up having to rush round town buying a phone as La Tomatina claimed it and i wasnt feeling well the following day that i didnt end up doing anything what i planned in my last couple of days there.
I was then off to Barcelona where i spent a few days exploring the sights and sounds before it was goodbye to Spain and hello to Germany!!!
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