I Swam in the Ocean!!

El Mediterraneo!

   It was so much fun! And salty... But first:

El castillo
   Instead of classes today, we went to Sagunto and explored the old Roman castle and the amphitheaters. ¡Que interesante! The castle is from the 5th century BC and has both Roman and Moorish sections. It stretches for two kilometers above the city. We climbed up high above the Moorish arch and then descended into the depths of the dungeon. That was actually very creepy. The dungeon was long hallways in the cliff and a few cells with rock ledges for beds. The only redeeming factor were the tiny windows that allowed in a tantalizing taste of light and wind. When we first went down the steps, one of the guys casually remarked that maybe he was hearing a rat squeaking.  I almost freaked out before he realized that it was just me flicking my water bottle nervously. We had fun taking timer pictures and discussing how skinny you would have to be to get out the windows. Conclusion: maybe if you were really desperate, had been on a prison diet for 20 years, and didn't mind the cliff on the other side.

Market
   Every Wednesday, there's a street market in Sagunto. They sell clothes, shoes, fruits, vegetables, even jewelry and makeup. My friend and I wandered around and tried to remember the words in Spanish. It was very full of people, and I kept my arm over my bag, but it was a lot of fun! We have to turn in a homework sheet about the castle and market, but this is definitely the way to do homework.

The Mediterraneo!
   There's a man from La Sierra whose job is to travel to all the different ACA schools and take pictures. I repeat; that's his job. Excuse me, sir, can you stop tantalizing me with my dream job? Anyway, several of us went out with him into the orange trees to take pictures. We strolled towards him and his camera, laughing and talking about what we ate that morning. Second time, a couple of guys on bikes joined us. Yup; this is an accurate representation of how we spend our time.
   After we finished with that, we ran back, changed, and then walked 20 minutes to the bus station. When the bus finally came, half of us decided to wait for a couple people that went to find change. But even as we stood up and stepped towards the bus, the driver closed the doors shut and sped off. We stood there for a second, looking like idiots, wondering what had just happened. Bus drivers aren't very nice here. Later that evening, we were just closing our doors when a Spanish guy ran up and banged on the bus. The driver didn't pay any attention to the poor guy's bangs or the other riders who called for him to stop. He just merged into traffic and ignored the guy racing after him.
   But we finally caught another bus and got to the beach. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous. There weren't many people, so I didn't have to worry about navigating past them in the water. But there were waves. Everyone else stayed on the beach, but one of my awesome friends and I went out into the waves. It's so much fun! When I don't see a wave coming, I get salt in my eyes, but I really like the ocean. And the Mediterranean is warm, about as warm as our pool. I was also surprised with how shallow it is. We walked out a long ways, and could still stand on the bottom when the waves were really low. It's also quite clear, which is comforting.
   After we swam, the nine of us wandered up the street, hunting for something to eat. Since Spain doesn't start dinner until 9 o'clock, we couldn't find any open places at 7:00.  Finally, we went into a gelato store staffed by a quiet guy and a very friendly girl. And there, I discovered the most delicious flavor ever! It is a mix of chocolate and hazelnut; it tastes like Nutella. ¡Delicioso!

Pictures! Check out more fotos in my Facebook album. 

This is one of my favorite pictures ever.
Somebody turned a bunch of ugly cords snaking up a wall into a beautiful, artistic tree.

In the dungeons!

Street Market; they had clothes, fruits, vegetables,  and jewelry.