Andalucía & Almería (Part 2)

Once we finished our tour of La Alhambra, Ashley, Regi and I grabbed lunch and then went back to the hotel to get our bags and left for the bus to take us to the long-trip bus station. On our way to the bus, Brittani called Regi to tell us that she, Josh, Eric, Kendal, Fatema, & Bryce missed their train to Morocco because they had just sold the last ticket before Josh was about to buy his. :( So they decided to come with us to Almeria! Luckily, Hostal Mirabel had enough open rooms, and they were able to take the train to Almeria. The bus ride was only 2 hours long and I got to see pretty scenery! They were all very sad/disappointed because they had already paid for hotels, flights, etc. that are non-refunable, but we still had a great time all together in Almeria! We got to Almeria in the early evening, so we decided to stay in and plan our Saturday since that was the only full day we had there. We finally decided (after lots of research and questioning of Juan at the front desk) to take the hour long bus ride to the beautiful beach called Cabo de Gata. There were city beaches nearby our hostel, but we really wanted to see the most beautiful beaches that the area had to offer. Once we figured this out, Regi, Ash, Fati and I went to Dia--the grocery store located conveniently down the street from Hostel Mirabel--for dinner! Ha. We wanted to spend as little money as possible, and we also got food for lunch at the beach.

Cabo de Gata/aka Cabo:
So since it was a Saturday, there were only a few buses running at certain hours of the day. We left for the beach at 11am (got there around 12pm) and the only one back was at 8pm. So we were there for 8 hours, and planned accordingly. We stocked up on sandwiches, snacks, water, etc. We were set! The beach was amazing! The Mediterranean was so calm, blue and clear! It was a beach with pebbles instead of seashells, but that's OK. It was a perfect day out and there were very few people. We basically had the whole beach to ourselves! On the far side of the beach, there were a lot of wind-surfers, which I thought was pretty cool. Needless to say, we ate, tanned, got in the cold water and had a great time. Regi, Fati, and I stayed back and tanned/napped while the rest of the group (6 out of the 9 of us) went to eat lunch at the nearby seafood restaurant. Reg was basically passed out with her headphones on, and Fati and I weren't very hungry, so we didn't go. They ordered paella and literally stuffed themselves with paella de mariscos. They came back feeling sick, they were so full! Around 6pm it started getting cooler outside. It had been a little windy all day, but by this time, the sun was starting to set and we were a little chilly. We too pretty pictures of the sun setting on the water and by 7:20pm packed up so that we wouldn't miss our bus and have to sleep on the beach. When we finally got home, we all showered and re-grouped. We were hungry, so we ordered pizza from Telepizza across the street at 11pm. Then all 9 of us decided to cram on Bryce's bed (2 twin beds Our random American friend that we met at the hostel popped in for a bit, but then peaced out. We were all so cramped and squished that once the movie finally ended, we ALL jumped up immediately to go to bed. It was pretty funny, actually. On Sunday, we had to check out by 12pm, so we got up at 10am, packed up, and made everyone travel sandwiches (marmelade or nutella sandwiches were our options, haha). We didn't do much on Sunday, but after we checked out, we found a cafe-restaurant to grab a coffee. Luckily, the hostel said they'd hold our bags b/c our train didn't leave until 4:30. The train ride was 7 hours. Yes, 7 hours back to Madrid on the slow train. It was a looooooooonggggg ride, but the scenery was, again, beautiful, with mountains, valleys, etc. Loved it! and had such a great trip! Pictyas: