Holy hoguera, Batman.
So you know that beautiful beach I've shown you one hundred pictures of? Okay, well now imagine it at night, with a nearly black sky, dark water, and receded shoreline. Then, put thousands of people from all over Spain and in fact all over the world on the beach, gathering around bright yellow and orange bonfires of all sizes. The wind was chilly, but the endless waves of heat from the fires was warm. Finally, scatter colorful fireworks and floating lanterns all through the sky, and combine the smell of smoke and salt water. Welcome to the Fiesta de San Juan.
This celebration was unlike any I've ever experienced. I'm barely exaggerating when I say the entire city was on the beach. There were huge piles of the wood, actually provided by the city, for people to build their fires and keep them alive. There was one massive bonfire, which featured some significant figures from the past and present. The most notable to us was U.S. President Trump, riding a mechanical bull, with a Mexican and a half built wall to his side. It's safe to say Spaniards are not exactly fans of our current leader.
People began arriving at the beach Friday morning to mark their spots for the fiesta that night. Nicole and Soraida, our amazing program directors, snagged us a spot at around 11AM and held it with the help of some of Nicole's friends until we began to arrive around 5PM. Their dedication is incredible. Once there, we hung out on the beach for a while, talking, eating, and having fun in the sun. Then, as night began to fall around 10:30PM or so (it's crazy late), little fires began to pop up in the distance and the beat-heavy music from the nearby concert began to flood the beach. Finally, at the stroke of midnight, the coolest part of it all began. Unfortunately for me, I was in a porta potty when the first firework exploded, so I thought a bomb had gone off or something and when the ground vibrated I feared the porta potty was going to tip over while I was still inside. I've never hopped out of one of those things so quickly. We then ran back to our spot on the beach and watched the beauty unfold. As the fireworks continued to light up the sky, golden lanterns began to rise from the shore until they looked like stars up above. Then, with a dramatic bang, the stack with the Trump figurine burst into flames, letting off a stream of black smoke as the fire shredded the statue in a matter of minutes.When we looked back down the beach again, everyone had lit their own huge fires and were cheering in approval. It was in that moment that our dear, dear Soraida walked up behind me and whispered, "I made you something," which is no doubt one of the most exciting phrases that can ever be said. Then, she whips out a dairy-free, nut-free, completely La-safe chocolate cake and a box of fresh strawberries. I am so spoiled, both at home and here. If I seem teary eyed in the picture below, it was just the smoke, okay? Anyway, it was so delicious, and it's a good thing she cut it or I would've eaten the whole thing. No matter how many times you experience it, the effects of unexpected kindness never weaken. Some people are just remarkable because that's who they are, and I seem to have more of those people in my life than any one person could possibly deserve. I am so blessed.
 |
| And at last I see the light! |
 |
| It was the smoke. |
 |
| Our bonfire! |
After a little while, once the fires had died down a little bit, people began to run and jump over them, to fulfill the timeless ritual for good luck. By about 2:30 or so, we were all exhausted and headed home for the rest of the night, no doubt taking the smell of the bonfires home with us. Even now our backpacks still smell of that night, but all it does is remind us of how much fun it was and how special it was to be a part of it!
The next day was quite slow, we all met up on the beach in the afternoon after sleeping all morning and continued to sleep on the beach (with sunscreen this time). It was a good thing we got enough rest, too, because the next day we had another adventure ahead of us. On Sunday morning, around 11AM, we all met at the bus station to head to a nearby beach for surfing lessons!
We took a bus to a beach about 20 minutes outside of La Coruna. Before we got to the beach we stopped at a nearby castle (yeah, they just have those around here) and took some really beautiful photos of the water. Then, we got some lunch at the only restaurant nearby (literally just the one) and hung out on the beach for a bit. Afterward we set out for the nearby surf shop, where we struggled for a long time to wriggle into our wetsuits and pull on sopping wet matching red shirts. By the end of it, though, we looked ready to star in an upcoming
Baywatch spin-off. After making our way back to the water, we had a short technique lesson on the beach before heading out into the waves. At first we were all pretty terrible, but one by one we started getting the hang of it! Two hours really flew by, and when we finally emerged from the water we were all covered head to toe in a combination of kelp, sand, and seashells. Mine may have been a little worse than it probably should have been, which was entirely my own fault - I sort of caught the last wave, not all the way but more than my other attempts, and to celebrate I was sitting on the beach where I fell off my board with my hands in the air yelling with Victoria. Well, what I didn't think about was the riptide that soon started to pull me in just enough to get hit in the face with the next wave and my own personal bush of seaweed to get stuck in my hair. Nobody likes a bragger, the ocean included.
Once we got cleaned up and caught our bus home, we enjoyed some more late-night burritos from that one American restaurant in town. They were equally delicious the second time around. From there we parted ways for some well-deserved sleep. Week Three in La Coruna, here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment