We spent two days in the Canary Islands, instead of going to Morocco.
A group of us went canyoning on the first day, and the sheer magnificence of the ravine literally blew my mind. Since canyoning, when there's no waterfall (because wet season hasn't started) essentially means abseiling down rock, it was just a day of pure fun. My favorite part, however, was the last part, where we had to trek quite a bit and do some actual rock climbing to get ourselves out, and it just made me want to take up climbing when I'm back at Reed.
At night, the people we usually hang out with, who had gone trekking in the day, had hooked up with some taxi drivers who promised to bring them and alcohol to clubs an hour away and back, for 20 euro. It was honestly a pretty good deal, but it just felt a little too extreme, for a night of partying that probably would be similar to any other. We did not want to go to the one heavily-populated SAS area in town either, so Steph, Dillon and I decided to chill and bask in each other's glorious company. if there is one thing I've learnt this port, its that a measure of a true friend may be someone you never need 'alone time' from… and this came after spending every waking hour with Steph, and still finding things to be surprised at, like we may essentially be the same person despite our very different backgrounds.
So Santa Cruz is cruising along fine so far, until the next (and our last) day, when we realize we really couldn't go potholing as we had planned, neither could we climb the volcano, because the park is closed on Monday. It's okay - we decide to stay and explore the city (another thing I've learnt since Cadiz… the definition of city is loose - some really feel more like towns, and it's confusing), but we don't realize that EVERYTHING is closed on Monday too, until it's too late to go anywhere further. We essentially spend our day wandering around mediocre parks, going to the supermarkets, and eating. Thankfully the food was really good.
As we were walking around though, the change in itinerary properly hit me. I remembered how Morocco literally was the port I looked forward to most, as I spent way too much time on the application and scholarship essays, how I got excited each time I read LegalNomads, because i could feel her genuine affection for that place, and I knew I would to, how this was supposed to be the first port to truly bring us away from everything we really knew or were comfortable with, and how Joyce and I had decided we would get there and figure how to make the best out of our 4 days, and Serene was going to help us with that. The Canary Islands are, objectively, a charming little place, but I don't understand how the SAS administration could tell us 'not to treat it like a Spring Break destination' (aka boozing and partying, for those in Singapore), when the two days they choose to dock there happen to be a Sunday and Monday, when there literally is nothing to do. I didn't see the point in getting drunk, but I don't blame the majority of the people on the ship who enjoy it and that did on the second day, because the alternative really wasn't much. It was the first time i had felt actual disappointment on SAS, but i guess that is part and parcel of realizing that you are simply a subject to larger, overarching world affairs people can't really control.
Well, I'm excited for Ghana!! I have a 3 day 2 night trip involving a home stay and visit to a monkey village planned out, and I really do love monkeys :p 4 days will again be too short, as always, but I'm really hoping to be met with experiences that will leave me uncomfortable, or reflective. It's been too long since I've been pushed out of my comfort zone.
Ship work is piling up. Need to get in touch with the inner Rafflesian again, although I fear that this time it's been lying dormant so deep, for so long, that it may just almost have disappeared…...
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