Dear Loved Ones,
My European adventure has officially come to an end. I’m sitting in the Chicago airport and the flight attendant has informed us that the lavatory on the plane is not “accessible” and that it would be “wise to use the facilities before boarding”. How sweet :))
I want to take a few moments to reflect on my last week in Spain because I know I’m about to hit the ground running as soon as I land.
So my program ended on June 25, and since then I’ve been doing a bit more traveling (surprise surprise) around Spain. The first stop was Alicante with Gabby and Evelyn. We went to this beach town about 2 hours south of Valencia for a nice weekend getaway. We didn’t do much but eat and hang out on the beach while we were down there, but that was just what I needed because after hitting 3 of the 4 most visited European cities 3 weekends in a row I was a tad bit exhausted.
I stayed in Valencia on Sunday night and hopped on a bus on Monday morning to a place that was completely different than everywhere else I had visited during my time abroad: San Sebastian. It is located in the northeastern corner of Spain in Basque Country. As soon as I saw the mountains, I was sold. I didn’t realize how much I loved them but then again, living in Northwest Arkansas and my family being from a mountainous region in Mexico, it felt a little like home to me.
Our approach to San Sebastian was to stay away from the tourist attractions and get in touch with our outdoorsy sides- and that we did.
The first night there Ali and I hiked up to see the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue- about 30 mins of straight incline LOL and watched the sunset.
The next morning we went paddle boarding- one of my new favorite water activities and laid out on the beach for a bit. Then after lunch we went for a surfing lesson- something that I NEVER thought I would do but we were staying in a surfing hostel with nothing better to do and honestly when was the next time that I was going to get this kind of opportunity???
So we did it. And failed miserably. I probably swallowed about a gallon of salt water and felt like I was going to die by the end of it but looking back on it, with some more instruction I would love to try again.
To stick with the outdoors theme, the next day we decided to go for 6 mile hike through the mountains near a city nearby. I can’t remember the last time I hiked but luckily this one wasn’t incredibly strenuous. We did struggle a bit but the views were sooo worth every step.
The rest of the evening was spent at the port people-watching and reminiscing over the past few days. San Sebastian really was an excellent way to end my time there.
If theres anything I learned in my 5 and a half weeks abroad is that there is nothing wrong with straying from the beaten path. Don’t get me wrong- I adored all of the cities that I visited and I could not pick a favorite if I tried. All I’m saying is when you’re traveling, don’t ever hesitate to get out of the city and see some of the real beauty that whatever country you’re in has to offer. It will always be worth it.
It took me 5 days to get this post up because like I said- I hit the ground running the second that I landed.
This will be the last post I make about my journey abroad- until my next adventure.
So, until next time loved ones.
Thanks for exploring with me!
Xoxo-
Kassandra
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Read more from Kassandra at https://salazarinspain.wordpress.com/
Take a look at http://studiesabroad.com/programs/country/spain/city/valencia/duration/17 for more information about the ISA Valencia, Spain: Hispanic Studies Honors Program.
