La Playa de Matalascañas

the beach when we got there ... empty

I had to be ready this morning at 7:10 in order to catch a taxi to the bus station where a bus would take me and five other girls in my program to the beach.  The taxi came on time and we went to meet the other girls.  Everything worked out fine but when we got to the train station I realized I left my bus pass that I bought yesterday in a pocket in my satchel and had not moved it to my beach bag.  I had to buy another one which was a waste of 12.88 euro but I guess it could have been worse.  It was extremely early and were all tired but figured out how the bus system worked and then spent some time sleeping on the bus.  When we got to Matalascañas it was around 9:30 and the beach was pretty empty.  We walked down the beach for awhile and found a spot to lay down.  It was kind of cold at first but as time passed it quickly becoming extremely hot and sunny.  Also as it got later, a lot of people started coming and the beach became much more crowded close to the main walkway.

we are sitting on the top!

After relaxing for a few hours in our more remote location we moved closer to the people and the rock of Matalascañas.  It is an old watchtower which the ocean caused to collapse that now appears upside down.  When the tide comes in people climb on the rock and some jump off so we decided to join in.  It took incredible effort for the four of us to get onto the rock but with some great teamwork we made it.  We climbed to the top but only one of the girls was daring enough to jump off from the top.  It was scary because it was not a straight jump so you had to jump out too.

the beach got crowded quickly

With more people around we started seeing more and more topless women.  They were everywhere and walk around like they are completely covered.  It was definitely interesting but none of us were daring enough to try out that custom.  There were also a lot of dogs on the beach which was cool.

After some of the girls got ice cream and we spent more time laying out on the beach, the sun had worn us out and we were ready to go back to Sevilla.  We went and waited for the bus which left a little before 6pm.  Once back at the train station in Sevilla a few of us had to use the restroom but when we got in there you had to pay to use it.  A spanish lady told us not to pay and just hold the door open for each other and she explained how there is no toilet paper and offered to give us some of her tissues.  It was a weird experience but not having toilet paper must be common in Spain because many of the bars we went to last night didn't have it either.

La Plaza de Toros

While the other girls decided to take a taxi back from the station I decided to walk because I didn't want to spend money on a taxi.  While walking I passed a lot of places I had passed before but also saw La Plaza de Toros.  On my walk I also realized that I have become pretty familiar with some of the area and am feeling a lot more comfortable walking around which is good.  Tomorrow we start classes and have a tour of the Cathedral which should be cool.  I'm not going out tonight since there is not as much going on Sunday nights and I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.  Thankfully my first class isn't until 12:30.