Calpe Diem

I can´t believe that nobody told me that Calpe was going to be cool. The only reason I signed up to go to this place over two hours away from Valencia was because it was free, meaning that I had already paid for it in my tuition and fees. Imagine my surprise when Calpe turned out to be one of my favorite places in Spain.

Spain is the kind of country where you have to set an alarm if you have to be anywhere at 1:30 p.m. (either that or just be late), so I did just that and groggily made my way to where the bus was picking everyone up. After everyone traded stories about the night before and I learned what I had climbed, faces started landing against the glass and I cruised to the new Avett Brothers album until we got there. Upon arrival I immediately began to realize that Calpe was going to be a good time. All I had to do was look around and see the giant Peñon de Ifach to know that I was going to enjoy myself.

As soon as I saw that giant rock I knew I had to stand on top of it. It was a perfect day, it really was an awesome hike, and it really started to get fun once we got off the gravel path and started actually climbing up rocks. By far the best hike I've ever been on. After about ten minutes I decided it was the perfect time to pop my shirt off, and pop my shirt off I did. It took the most experienced climbers (me and a guy named Jake) about 40 minutes to reach the top. When we got there we took note of the beautiful views and felt as free as the spirits of those who left. Seriously though, it was a spectacular 360 degree view. You can see Ibiza from the top. We also took note of all the stray cats that lived on top of the Peñon. It´s amazing where some animals end up. I thought to myself, “I've seen this before. I know what I have to do.” and I did it. After a while the scrubs, peasants, what have you started to show up and we started doing fun things like eat sandwiches and take pictures. We stayed up there for who knows how long, but I know I was the last to leave. Me and this club of boys I have here stayed and explored some more, then I peed off the top, and then we made our way back down. We then walked along the beach as the sun set. The sky at this point was all kinds of beautiful. We walked past the Baños de la Reina (The Queen´s Baths), which is basically an ancient fish farm. Nothing special, but was kinda cool. Come on, I was just one top of the world and I´m supposed to get excited by an ancient fish farm? What did eventually get me excited though was the parade we entered at the end of our sunset beach-walk. Oh you didn't know? It´s ok, I didn´t know about the parade either, I thought this whole trip was going to be to some museum about how the Christians reconquered the Moors. Never mind that all of this information, including a picture of the Peñon de Ifach, was on the flyer. All the flyer had to say was “free” and I would've gone. Plus, I like it better that way, being pleasantly surprised all day long. I was so pleasantly surprised that I was building up the Christians vs. Moors festival so much, I was hoping it was going to be a Medieval Times/Dixie Stampede-type situation.

Unfortunately it wasn't like that, it was just a regular parade, but I still had a great time. I feel that parades are incredibly underrated in our society, and I believe that that is just plain wrong. So, get out and start talking up those parades until they get their due. I'll start. The parade in Calpe was about the Christians and the Moors, and it was so much fun. I spent about two hours in a row just sitting on a building waving and blowing kissing at queens, hoping that they would return the favor. After the parade we enjoyed some delicious tapas on the beach, then boarded the bus back to Valencia.

The parade in Calpe was like a mix of this parade and the parade found at 5:47 here. Weird, considering I participated in this parade earlier. Life really does move in circles.