Our host mom kept telling us before we went that we would just have no idea how crazy Carnival really was until we got there. And boy was she right. We took a long siesta Saturday afternoon so that we were roaring and ready at 8:30 Saturday night to hop on the bus to Cádiz. Ann and I dressed as nerds (not much of a stretch, I know!) and so did our friend Amanda, so we proudly called ourselves the "nerd herd" as we walked across Sevilla to the meeting point for the bus. I couldn't believe it but of all the people we saw in Sevilla only one man laughed at us. I guess everyone else knew we were heading to Carnival---or we just didn't look that out of the ordinary.
It turns out there were about 15 buses filled with college kids in crazy costumes heading to Cádiz---so I knew that this party was going to be fun. And crazy.
When we arrived in Cádiz, the bus dropped us off and we got a free shot and a free bocadillo (sandwich). I was a little surprised to see people down their shot and throw their cups straight on the ground---until I walked around the corner and saw that all the streets and sidewalks were covered in garbage of every sort: cups, plastic bags, beer bottles, and just about every other thing you can imagine. I'll leave it at that. We walked to the center of the city where there were thousands of people dressed in some outrageous costumes (I got some great ideas for next Halloween!) and started to mingle with some of the locals. The city was absolutely packed--we literally stood shoulder to shoulder with every person there.
We walked all around Cádiz--every street was filled with borrachos (drunks), booze, garbage, and things so disturbing I don't feel comfortable talking about them. I thought the people in Sevilla liked to party, but compared to Cádiz, they're like...well, I can't think of a good analogy. But let's just say that Sevilla doesn't hold a candle to Cádiz.
We partied until about 4:30, because we had to make our way back to the bus by 5:30. We got back a little early, but ended up waiting a couple of hours because no one could find our bus. And let me tell you, when there are a million drunk people walking through a city with about a billion buses, things can get chaotic. We were freezing and miserable and at that point just ready to be home. When all was said and done, we ended up crawling into bed at about 9:30 this morning. Talk about a long night.
Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but I can say with 100% certainty that I will NOT be returning to Cádiz any time soon.
But hey, you only live once, right?!?
Enjoy the pictures!
-Nat
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