I can't believe it's been three weeks since Carnaval in Cádiz, or that it took me this long to post about it! (Las Fallas was in Valencia last weekend--but that will have to wait). Cádiz is one of the best beach cities in Spain. The beach was beautiful, even though it was way to cold to swim. Cádiz is also one of THE cities to go to for Carnaval. We went with an organization called "European Vibe". It was a planned trip and all we had to do was show up on time, which is always awesome! What was not awesome was that almost everyone else on this trip was young, loud, and American. It was horrible and great all at the same time. I think it must have been nearly every American student in Madrid with a few foreigners sprinkled in. To be honest, the one Spanish group on our bus was the loudest and most obnoxious, but it all added to the experience.
We stayed in a really nice resort outside of the city for three days and two nights. It was like living in luxury compared with our normal travel accommodations. We had a kitchen, a sitting room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a patio all to ourselves!
The night we went into Cádiz for carnaval was basically a giant mess. Carnaval consists of two main things: wearing a costume, and drinking in the streets. People go out in groups and each group has matching costumes. We were doctors because Agnieszka supplied us with the costumes for free!!! It turned out to be a great costume because it was comfortable and warm. The night consisted of us walking around Cádiz, talking to strangers, seeing the costumes, and watching the mess that is Carnaval. It was great!
The most frightening thing I remember though, was one particular street (just off of a plaza full of people) that was soaking wet, even though it had not been raining. It was the street that everyone was choosing to pee in. Also, typical to Spain and Spanish standards, we ran into some kids out and about and in costumes. We asked them how old they were and their ages ranged from 9-13. That's Spain for you--every event is a family event!
