Part 2 of the Weekend: Murcia and Cartagena

After spending the 1st part of our weekend in Toledo, Nicole and I took Saturday night and Sunday morning to rest and repack for the 2nd part of our weekend: a trip to Murcia, where we would meet up with our friend, Caleb. Sunday afternoon, we went to the huge metro/bus station Mendez Alvaro to catch our 4:15 bus. We got to the platform at 4:15, waited around a few minutes, bags in hand, then realized -- our bus had already left. (Dang, Spain, why are you on time now?) So, we parked ourselves in the station cafeteria and waited for the next bus, the 7:15. I spent the hours reading my Spain travel guide book, researching the region and city of Murcia. I was pretty pumped for our trip by boarding time.

Later on the bus, as we left Madrid and crossed into the region of Castilla-La Mancha, it occurred to me this was the furthest I had been from the city. We were traveling 5 hours away from what we had just come to know. I smiled, plugged my headphones into my iPod, and looked out the window. In the growing dark, I could see gigantic windmills, red lights at their centers, glowing eerily across the plain like robot eyes. I thought, Don Quixote didn't challenge these windmills.

When we arrived at midnight, Caleb and some friends met us at the station and led us back to his apartment. Caleb, being the definition of a gentleman, gave us his room (where we quickly crashed), and he slept on the couch. We didn't wake up until almost noon Monday. The weather was supposed to be cool for the usually arid Murcia, with a chance of rain. We decided, therefore, to take a 45 minute bus ride to Cartagena and sight-see there, hoping to miss the bad weather. In Cartagena, we rambled through the sunny, date palm-lined streets, never forgetting to crane our necks and check out the magnificent skyline. We visited a few Roman ruins, including a theater, and then walked to a park along the battery. (I swore I would dunk a toe in the Mediterranean when I first saw it, but there was no where to do it! :( Reason #1 to visit again.) Later in the afternoon, we needed a snack, so we raided a local supermarket for fruit and wine, and returned to the park for a picnic. When the sun got low and the air turned cool, we walked back to the Cartagena bus station and caught a bus back to Murcia.

That night, we had a homemade, Spanish dinner with plenty of wine to go around, blanco or tinto. I got to know Caleb's roommates a little better (a girl from the U.S. and a girl from Portugal), so that was fun. Later, we decided to explore the club scene near the university, but nowhere really appealed to us.

I woke up the next morning to a warm, sunny day, but I felt off. Within minutes, I was covered in hives, and I realized it wasn't my lack of sleep but a severe allergic reaction to something that had me feeling this way (and I still have no idea what caused this!). Nicole, thank goodness, had some Zyrtec. Soon, the three of us were out the door and exploring Murcia city. While walking, I felt the medicine starting to kick in and the fresh air reviving my spirits. Then I hit a sudden low. My vision narrowed to a pinpoint, my ears started to ring, and I felt like someone was covering my head with a bag. I slumped onto some stairs until the feeling went away. My friends decided we should grab something to eat, hoping that would help me feel better. We walked a couple of more blocks to the city cathedral and found a restaurant with tables out on the cathedral plaza.

Honestly, I felt like a party-pooper, slowing the group down. It was our last day and our only day to see Murcia! While sipping my Coke, though, I began to cheer up as I talked with my friends and sat in the cathedral's grand shadow. My hives disappeared, and I started to feel more like myself. We ordered paella and chatted for over an hour, watching some children play in the square and some little birds flying from table to table, searching for stray crumbs.

When we finished our meal, Nicole and I only had an hour until our bus back to Madrid, so we meandered around the outside of the cathedral and then strolled to a river-side park before saying our goodbyes. I really enjoyed my time in Murcia, especially because I love any place that has plenty of sun, vegetation and a slower pace. Sometimes, the brightly-colored buildings and waterfront reminded me of my favorite southern city, Charleston. I was sad that I didn't get to spend more time in some places, like the inside of Murcia Cathedral, but hey, Reason #2 to visit again!