Early yesterday morning, you would've found me in the police station. Why? Let me explain. Many of us from the nearby hostels went out on a pub crawl - organized by the same company that puts together the free walking tours - then to a night club and danced until they closed at 5am. We were having a great time - despite nasty shots of whatever and mojitos. At the club, the dj was great - lot's of reggeaton, hits from the US, even some Bob Marley - easy music to dance to. We were feeling good, until my dance partner and friend from Chile, realized his wallet was missing! Barcelona has notorious pick pocketers; it doens't matter how careful you are, anyone can become a victim to those sneaky hands. It felt wrong to leave my new friend hanging, so I walked with him to the police station and stayed with him while he called to cancel his credit cards etc. Beyond that, there wasn't much more I could do but he was very thankful for the moral support and walked me back to my hostel. It was about 6h30. I can only hope he managed to get into his hostel because I did not see him today and I believe his plans were to leave on Friday.
This morning, I woke up at 9h30 - without an alarm or anything. After a little breakfast which is provided by the hostel until 10h, I went on another walking tour. I know, I know, I'm being so touristy. It's not like how I've travelled in the past, but I like being with people.
After the tour, I visited Sagrada Familia. <- Click on the link to learn more about it + pictures! It is a very impressive building and it isn't even finished yet - and get this, construction began in 1882! But it was bittersweet because it is so beautiful, I would prefer to share that with someone. So today, I regretted travelling alone. Take also that I was on about 3 hours of sleep and the heat - easily mid 90 degrees. I somehow made it back to the hostel and slept for a couple of hours. Then I got my luggage together and hopped back on the metro to meet my host for tonight.
I'm staying with Marco, a man of 36 years, on a narrow street just outside the center of Barcelona. He had class until 21h so I waited outside for about an hour. Although I like staying at the hostels because they offer lots to do and it's a great place to meet fellow travellers, it is really nice to stay in a local's home. I don't have to worry about locking up my things and waking up at a certain time to check out of the room, etc.
Beacause of the heat, I haven't had much of an appetite, and don't want to eat a big, hot, heavy meal at 22h or 23 at night - the time most Spaniards eat dinner. We had sangria and a green salad with a garlic sauce and tuna at his place. Tomorrow, Marco will be waking up early - he is already alseep. Since I don't have a cell phone I'm not sure how - or if - we will meet up again. Tomorrow morning, I will look up bus schedules, connect with other couch surfers and take addresses of more hostels. Within a day or two I will make my way south, down the coast. I hear it's about 4 hours to Valencia but there is still the possibility of going straight to Granada. Only time will tell! It is now past 2h - not sure how the time got away from me. Hasta pronto!
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