Carnaval > Mardi Gras #HogsAbroad in Spain

Another weekend trip in the books and another trip that didn’t go exactly to plan! I’m starting to think that’s going to be the theme of my semester: not going to plan, but ultimately leading to great experiences.

A few weeks ago my friend Molly asked if I wanted to join her on a weekend trip down to Cádiz for Carnaval with a day trip to Gibraltar. Of course, I said yes without any hesitation! It sounded like an amazing opportunity and ironically, in my culture class we had just talked about how the best and largest Carnaval celebrations are held in Cádiz and Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands). Additionally, Molly attends LSU back in the States so obviously she needed her Mardi Gras fix haha. We booked our trip through a company called Be Madrid whose mission is to give study abroad students some of the best experiences Spain has to offer. Molly and Jess went to a Flamenco show hosted by Be Madrid and raved about how great (and affordable) it was. We trusted the company and were ready to get our Carnaval on!

I was really excited for the festivities and to get to spend more time getting to know Molly but unfortunately she fell extremely ill 48 hours before we were supposed to leave. Ultimately, Molly’s fever and symptoms hadn’t subsided enough to justify a weekend of nonstop partying and she had to back out of the trip. I was walking to class when she officially told me and it really tore me up. I didn’t know whether to make the best of it and still go or call Be Madrid and ask for a refund. Molly, being the lovely human she is, encouraged me to still go.

After class Jess and I met up to go to the Prado for homework (best homework ever right?!) and then went to El Tigre for tapas. It wasn’t until Jess left to go to the bathroom that I decided to go on the trip. I gave myself a little pep talk about how I’m abroad and this needs to be a semester of “yes” and not fear. I’ve already pushed myself outside of my comfort zone so many times already – what’s one more?

After returning home for a quick shower and last minute packing I headed to the Metro. Be Madrid asked us to meet at Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas at 1:45 a.m. Yup, you read that right, a.m., as in, an hour I should be sleeping. As Line 5 approached more and more stops I grew more and more anxious about the weekend. My mom says I’ve always been good at making friends and I’d like to believe she’s correct but it can just be so scary (especially at 2 am in the pitch black night). I ended up wandering over to the person holding the Be Madrid flag where some others were standing. When in doubt, follow the leader, right? Right.

Within seconds a sweet angel named Anyssa introduced herself. She is teaching English over here but is originally from California. With her were two more teachers and a student from Hungary. This group would turn out to be my new best friends for the weekend along with two boys from Auburn (SEC represent). Anyssa, I don’t know if you’ll ever read this but you are simply the greatest and impacted my life in ways you’ll never know.

We made out way to the bus and after seven hours of restless attempts of sleep and a few bathroom breaks we finally made it to Cádiz. We unloaded at the hostel before heading out on a walking tour. Cádiz is the epitome of a beach town. Sandy off white buildings with clear skies and charming cobblestone streets, just a dream. Oh, and mom – they have cool trees here! And on top of all of that – a Roman theater! (Got major H2Passport flashbacks here and I loved it). It was nice to get acquainted with the city right off the bat but dang we were hungry. The bus buddies and I headed to a place that Anyssa’s roommate recommended to us and it was fantastic. We just ordered tapa after tapa after tapa after tapa. The seafood was so fresh and flavorful.

After our late lunch we stopped to watch the sunset on the beach. That sunset made the whole trip worth it. I’ve seen some beautiful Texas sunsets in my life but I don’t think anything can top a beach sunset in Southern Spain. Sunset, beach, wine, friends, Spain, what could be better?

After getting back to the hostel (at God knows what time) I forced myself to take a shower. I had an early wake up call for the Gibraltar day trip and knew I’d thank myself in the morning. And I did! My alarm mysteriously never went off so I had approximately eight minutes to get ready. Dora (the Hungarian) and I were the only two from our little group who elected to go on the day trip so the rest were able to sleep until their heart’s desire.

Gibraltar is about a two-hour bus ride from Cádiz. I tried to catch up on some sleep but alas, I failed. The Adalucían country side is just to beautiful and the bus was just to uncomfortable. We stop for a beautiful photo-op right outside the country so that we could get pictures with the entire Rock of Gibraltar and get a glimpse of Africa! It was so close. I was so tempted to jump in the water and swim over. We got back on the bus and headed to the border. Since Gibraltar is a UK territory we had to show our passports (or EU citizen cards) to be granted entrance. A very odd rule but hey, I’ll oblige if it means seeing the country. We were actually stopped at the border for quite a while because to enter the country you have to drive or walk over the runway of the airport. It just so happened that a flight was landing just as we were getting our passports checked.

We began with another walking tour. Gibraltar is a perfect little mix of British town charm and Spanish vibrancy. While very small, Gibraltar is popping. Our guide explained that there are no taxes on luxury items in Gibraltar so many cross the border just to do some shopping. They accept both euros and pounds so no worries! He also encouraged us to buy cheap cigarettes, alcohol, and a Rolex, if we felt so inclined. I personally did not partake in the shopping but I think nearly everyone else left with cigarettes.

One of the most interesting things about Gibraltar is the large Jewish population. Since we were there on a Saturday we saw many a yarmulke (yes, I had to Google how to spell that). All Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 but once Britain gained control of Gibraltar in the early 1700s many Jewish people moved to the area. I had no idea and I was certainly not expecting it.

After the walking tour Dora and I made our way to a Fish and Chips place, as recommended by our guide. On our way we even saw the “changing of the guards” Gibraltar style. Lunch was delicious and the waiters were so friendly but Dora and I were on a mission: MONKEYS.

In the Rock of Gibraltar are the only free, wild living monkeys in Europe. We hiked up the rock for about thirty minutes until we got to the first pocket of monkeys. We could’ve gone higher and seen more but we were crunched for time and leg muscles. The monkeys were just chilling on the rock, living their best life. It was so cool to see. It’s probably the only time I’ll ever see a wild monkey so I had to soak it up! Unfortunately, other visitors began feeding the monkeys (big no no) and they started going wild. This definitely reminded me that they are, in fact, wild animals. After one got a little to aggressive for comfort we hiked back down and wandered over to the main square to meet with the rest of the group.

Upon returning to Cádiz, it was go time. One of the biggest parts of Carnaval is dressing up in costumes. It’s like Halloween on steroids. Me being the dumb American I am forgot about this and went without a costume. Luckily, every other street corner has masks, hats, face paint, and other costume fixings. For a whopping eight euro I got a unicorn headband and shiny neon green leggings. While last minute and thrown together with a black tank top, it worked.

Dora and I met up with the rest of our friends who spent a lovely day at the beach and exploring. Justin (one of the Auburn boys) and I decided to go get some food at this delicious little place we found the night before. It was a tiny little corner shop where they just sold fried food rolled in paper cones to take away. Best fried calamari I’ve ever had hands down. We also got chicken nuggets and I fell in love with nuggets all over again. There’s just something about the way the Spanish fry their food that makes it so delicious. I could’ve eaten ten pounds of it and not feel as horrible as I do after some meals in America. The batter is light and flavorful and it just hit the spot after a day of hiking.

After our food pit stop, we all headed to the main square. The streets were WILD. People everywhere just overjoyed with life (and alcohol), balloons being sold, children playing pranks, it was just magical. In Cádiz, the main component of Carnaval is the Chirigotas. These are groups who preform humorous songs on stage with elaborate costumes. The songs are so smart and the lyrics are just so incredible. I couldn’t understand all of what was being sung but it didn’t matter. The performance was captivating and the audience is silent lsitening. Well, not for all of us were silent. Here I will introduce Fede, or Federica, a crazy Italian who is roommates with Dora and Luke, one of the other English teachers. To say Fede is the life of the party is an understatement. She taught us “ánimo” which means “let’s go” “have fun” or, “turn up” in Italian and it became the mantra of the weekend. We chanted it every second. Fede was a little too loud for the crowd and we were being shushed. Yes, we were that group of tourists. We had watched a solid amount of performances so I’m not surprised Fede and others got restless.

We decided to move our talents to one of the giant tents set up for partying, chanting ánimo all the way. It was 12 euro to get in but worth it. Spanish music is the best music to dance to and I will stand by that until the day I die. We danced the night, and some of the morning, away. Walking back to the hostel I was met with the horrors of Carnaval, the trash. The streets and plazas were covered. You couldn’t even see the ground but magically by morning it was spotless. God bless the men and women who had to clean all of that up. Again, I forced myself to shower and love myself for it. The bus ride back the next day was painfully long and met standstill traffic. I finally arrived home around 11 and have never been happier to see a twin bed. Amelia, my lovely host mom, even made me dinner to eat.

Overall, I am extremely glad I went. Of course, I wish Molly could’ve been there with me but I’m happy to know I have a friend that encouraged me to still go without her. I had a great experience with Be Madrid and am for sure looking into future trips with them! (shout out to any of the staff reading this!! Y’all rock!!) Also, Mardi Gras 2020, you have a lot to live up to.

Carnaval, you will be missed!

--
Senior Darci Walton is spending the spring 2019 term in Spain with through our U of A Exchange program at Universidad Nebrija, Madrid.

Read more from Darci at https://worldwidewalton.home.blog/

Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

Interested in becoming a HogsAbroad Social Media Ambassador like Darci? Contact Katie at ksabo@uark.edu.