Almost Stuck In Salamanca

This past weekend I went to Salamanca with an auxiliar in a nearby town, Sara and we met up with another, Henry, our second day there. Sara and I decided literally, Thursday night that we were going to Salamanca the next day. This was by far the most spontaneous trip I’ve ever gone on. But it was kind of exhilarating…

Friday morning I got up at 8am so I could go to the bus station and see what time the bus left for Palencia, the town where I would meet up with Sara and we would get the 3.00pm bus to Salamanca. The guy told me the bus didn’t leave Navalmoral until 12.30pm, so I had some time to kill. Instead of going home and going back to sleep, I stopped by the Mercadillo, the outdoor market that sets up across the street from my piso every Friday morning. I walked around for a bit before buying a new (p)leather jacket and deciding I wanted some fruit. Buying fruit and vegetables here is not as simple as saying, “I want 5 apples” or putting the stuff you want in a bag by yourself. You have to tell the vendor how many kilos of fruit/veggies/whatever you want and they load up the bag for you. Being a stupid American, I had no idea how many tangerines I would get it I ordered one kilo. So, I went ahead and did just that. As the man started filling the bag with handfuls of tangerines, I quickly realized that one-kilo was going to be waaaaay more than I wanted. But, I was too embarrassed to say, “Oh, sorry, I actually meant a quarter kilo” or whatever. So I watched in pain as I thought of lugging all of those tangerines home. I counted later. He gave me 27. I also bought some dried figs, tomatoes, and a pomegranate. So if anyone wants a tangerine, you know where to find me…

I got on the bus to Plasencia later that afternoon, met up with Sara once I was there, and we set off for Salamanca. The bus ride was fine. We slept for most of it and were being seriously judged by the Spanish when we were awake. We got into the city and started walking in search of a hostel for the night. We found one actually pretty easily, checked in, explored the city, and did some shopping. There were some seriously fashionable people in Salamanca, so we were in search of some European outfits. Sara ended up buying “slouchy pants” and I got some green skinny jeans. I really want to come home in June and people think I’m super stuck-up because I dress like a European. That’s definitely the goal for the year.

We had been sitting in the beautiful Plaza Mayor, when a Spanish man and woman walked up to us and said, “Sara??” Who was it but Sara’s mentor from her school! In a city of thousands of people, he just happened to walk by us. Not only that, but we saw him, his wife, and two daughters (who go to the university there) two more times that evening. Very strange. But he had told us some good places that weren’t very touristy to go to for dinner. We headed that way around 9.30pm and ate/drink so well. I had the best patatas bravas of my life, tried tripe (not a fan), and we split a bottle of Lambrusco. It was a wonderful night.

In the morning, we met up with Henry, who had gotten in that day and grabbed some lunch. After lunch, the sightseeing started. Salamanca has an incredible cathedral, gorgeous university buildings, convents, and so many more old and amazing sights. We hit up all of the big places and were completely exhausted after the day. After drinking 2 liters of water by myself in one sitting (it was ridiculous) and taking a little siesta in the hostel, we were ready for the night. We went back to the patatas bravas place, then tried some new places on the same street. After eating, we went to some bars (found one really classy one that only charged us 2.40 Euros for Bombay Sapphire martinis…must have been someone’s mistake) and discos. We got home around 6.00am and I set my alarm for 8.00am so I could be on time for the 9.30am bus out of Salamanca.

I had to leave earlier than the others because there was only one bus from Plasencia to Navalmoral on Sunday and it was at 3pm and the 9.30am bus out of Salamanca was the only that would get me there in time. So I woke up in the morning, not to my alarm, but by myself. Looked at my phone….it was 9.40am!!! I had missed my bus and now I no way home. I tried to stay calm, but was freaking out a little bit. I could have caught a train to Madrid, then Madrid to Navalmoral, but that would have been like 6 hours of traveling (instead of 2) and 40 Euro (instead of 12)…so I didn’t want that. I ended up getting in touch with a teacher from my school who goes home to Salamanca every weekend and she said she could get me as far as Plasencia that evening. She thought there might be a train from Plasencia around 6pm to Navalmoral. That was good enough for me. I just needed to get at least in the same region as my home. From Plasencia, I knew I could get to Navalmoral. But, in the end, one of the teachers Sara works with got in touch with her and said he was driving back to her town from Salamanca that afternoon and she could ride with him. When he came to pick her up, I told him my sad story and he kindly offered to get me to Plasencia in time for the 3pm bus. So, after a more comfortable and shorter car ride than the bus, they dropped me at the Plasencia bus station at 2.40pm…just in time. I got back into Navalmoral about an hour later, came home, and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the night. I was so exhausted.

Overall, I think Salamanca is one of my favorite places I’ve visited in Spain. Not only is it beautiful and historic, but just the energy of the city is wonderful. I took over 200 photos in the 2 days there…look at Facebook to see a few of them.

In other news, school and tutoring is going well. Last week the dog of one family I teach had three puppies. I got to see them the next day and they were adorable. The mom offered to give me one, but I had to explain to her that I didn’t think my roommate would be too happy…or my landlord. If only though.

I got a box from my wonderful parents today! Filled with requests (make-up, Spanish books…) and surprises (Halloween candy, nail polish, socks…), I was so happy showing off all of the stuff to Mamen. I told two of my private lesson kids that I would bring them a piece of candy tomorrow and they freaked out. Thanks, Mom and Dad!!