Cadiz

After being at sea for 7 days,  (which seemed like a whole semester) the MV Explorer docked in Cadiz, Spain. I was ecstatic and did not sleep the night before, rather spent it watching movies, playing spades and planning trips once I arrived in port. It was such a beautiful site to see, that is, LAND! (I've been on cruises before however nothing this long and its not something you are prepared for. I've had many sleepless nights, partially due to seasickness, others caused by anxiety and just excitement, though I found myself often taking a nap after my classes because each night an hour was lost. My 8am classes have technically become 4am classes.

Cadiz was the first port and my was it an amazing city! Beautiful beaches, vibrant nightlife, delicious food and people, bullfighting, flamenco dancing and much more! My first day I left the ship and got lost in the city, seeing local markets, Cathedrals, and museums. Many of my friends decided to leave for either Barcelona, Madrid (northern Spain) or Ibiza, which is Europe's party island. Something about 30,000 drunk Europeans on an island solely for the purpose of being drunk and partying didn't appeal to me so I opted to stay in the southern region. After two days I felt like I had seen all Cadiz had to offer, so I would later venture to Seville, then Cordoba and Grenada.

 

Sunset over the Atlantic ocean

Every night around 18:00, (we now use military time), deck 6 and 7 of the MV Explorer fills up with chatty students discussing their plans for the upcoming ports as they chow down on a variety of options for dinner. To my surprise the food is usually always quite tasty as I routinely find myself making more trips to the buffet line to fulfill my hunger. 

I can always be found outside deck 7 at a table in the back corner of the ship.

 Something about eating under a sunset really makes me smile.