"Ocho-seis-siete-cinco-tres-zero-nueve..."

...I translate-sing in the car. "Lo tengo, lo tengo! Tengo su numero del baño! Lo tengo, lo tengo, para buen tiempo llama-aaaaaah!"

Sept 8, Friday, Day 4

My Buddy and Me say safety first when driving & taking pics

I spend my last night of my first leg of Barcelona splitting a bottle of wine, a tub of ice cream (1/2 passionfruit, 1/2 dulce de leche, ALL YUM), and an evening of kitchen conversation with Paula. In the midst of chewing through topics like toxic friendships and work ethics, Paula observes, "Look how we come from different places but we have the similar experiences." We're all the same, kids. All it takes is a little conversation to discover it. I love that. I also love Paula's empanadas she made for dinner. 

My Buddy and I hike to the metro station after goodbye breakfast, hugs and kisses from Paula. She's family now! I'm so happy. 

Jet lag sleep waves look like
they're flipping me off

My Buddy has grown the tiniest bit since I got here. It's just some groceries but still. He's heavy and he's crushing my spine with each step. How am I ever gonna pull off a 'Wild' on the Pacific Coast Trail?! Desperate, I yank every available strap as tight as I can... ohhhhh, better. That's how this is supposed to be... 

My Buddy started out as My Dad's Buddy when he lived in Peru 20ish years ago, and likely many trips before and since. On a whim almost exactly one year ago, I decided to keep My Buddy instead of retiring him just because my dad couldn't use him anymore. In the back of my mind, it was also a move to introduce adventures big enough that My Buddy could join me. 

Speaking of adventure, today I drive to Granada.

I've read and heard about muggings and thievery in touristy places and I honestly haven't worried too much about it. Until today. The Hertz rental place is at the train station and is plastered with signs warning about different assault possibilities and ways I will be robbed. When the rep hands me my keys she warns me, never exit my car in the city. Especially if a pedestrian is warning me about a flat tire. They will steal my car and my belongings and to call her of it happens. Now paranoid, I wait to pee until I'm over an hour outside of the city. 

Cochita and I need a drink

Driving feels amazing! Especially once I get out of Barcelona. I love driving! I feel so free! There's a USB port in the car that lets me blast my Spotify from the car speakers! All is right in the world. 

Some tidbits from the trip:

-My car is cute but has like .75 horsepower. It's a standard and I downshift like crazy, and I still can't work up any pep. Thank goodness I'm highway driving instead of hill driving. Remember this for a later story. 

-There are pit stop-like areas immediately off the highway where you can get gas, food, park your car of you need a break and occasionally find lodging. It's wonderfully convenient! I think all exits advertising gas and food are like this until I add half an hour to my trip in a village of dirt roads and roundabouts trying to get myself back onto the highway. 

-The tolls are reeeeediculous. I pay almost 50 Euros between three toll stops. I'm not kidding. 

-I decide to only speak Spanish in the car, including when I sing along with my Spotify. It's super fun, I'm shockingly decent at it, and I get a huge kick out of shouting "QUE!" every time a rapper shouts, "WHAT!"

-I don't plan ahead correctly food-wise and I eat Doritos for lunch. They give me a crippling stomachache that lasts a few hours. My throat is also killing me because of allergies. If I wasn't having so much fun, I'd be super bummed to feel as sick as I do. 

They seemed like a good idea

At long last, I get to Granada at 730p. My Air BnB hosts gave me an address for parking my car that is different from my house address. When I check my map, the parking address is a mile and a half drive away from the home address- that can't be right... I check walking directions. It's still half a mile. I can handle that but it seems weird. 

I arrive at the parking address to find no parking at all. In fact, I don't see any parking on any of the streets I drive on, semi-lost. I drive to my home address- or rather, I try. My address is in Albaicin Quarter in the shadow if the Alhambra. Only taxis seem to be allowed in the tiny, stacked, tangle of streets. Okay, parking and walking it is.

This begins the worst 90 minutes of my day. I drive and drive thin street spaghetti looking for parking. Just like everyone else. I use Waze to send me to a parking lot and it sends me to the University at the top of a hill. I don't want to haul all 31 pounds of My Buddy up and down hills. I leave- I try to. My car encounters a hill so steep, I can only crawl, stall or roll backward. My car honestly doesn't have the power to crest the hill. I ride the pedals to hard, I assume I burn out the engine because the car reeks. Thank God I'm able to coast down the rest of the way. The car hates my guts now.

Lost in Albaicin

The pay lot I find is full. Cars get into line behind me before I can reverse out uphill to find another parking lot- it's probably best, I no longer trust my car to handle any inclines. We wait in a tedious one-out-one-in situation. It takes about fifteen minutes which isn't nearly as bad as I could imagine.

Food in the new hood

I strap My Buddy to my back and enter the labyrinth of walkways to find my home for the next five days. I follow turn by turn directions on my phone. I get awesomely lost. I pass the same restaurant 4 times, I turn in circles, I reverse and reverse, lots of it uphill, and obviously all of it hauling My Buddy. Jesus. Creezus.

I find the place. I can't even appreciate how nice it is. I just turn on the fan and lay before it, exhausted. I almost eat a protein bar for dinner and sleep for the rest of the evening, but I've only had an apple and those damn Doritos since breakfast so I force myself up and out for a plate of paella at the closest cafe I can find. 

I'm excited to settle in and really make this place home for the next few days, but for now, fingers crossed, sleep.

Road trip!

I deserve this.