It’s been just over a week since I arrived in Barcelona, and I’ve just begun to feel somewhat settled. By settled I mean that I know where to find vegetables to supplement the seemingly vegetable free Spanish diet, and I can find my apartment, the school, some good coffee, and the climbing gym and only get horribly lost 50% of the time. So far so good!
Last week was more than hectic. A combination of jetlag, orientation activities, spanish classes, and extremely late nights has left me a bit exhausted, but also extremely excited about the coming months. After only a week I am already thankful that I will be staying for the whole year, and I think that even a year is barely enough time to really get to know Barcelona. While walking the streets it is difficult to grasp how huge the city is. Considering that every block is packed with cafes, museums, bars, and art that somehow capture a slice of Barcelona’s long and unique history it would take a lifetime to appreciate everything the city has to offer. Nevertheless I am determined to do what I can, and I have managed to see and do a good amount in the first week.
Sampling the night life with friends has been great. While I don’t think I’ll ever really adapt to coming home at 6am it’s been heaps of fun every night that I have. It can be difficult to have a shorter night because of metro logistics. Most nights the metro closes at midnight and opens at 6am, which means you either don’t go out or you go out really late. Of course taxis run all night, provided you have cash, and I learned this lesson the hard way. Early last week after a lecture on how to travel safely in Barcelona I thought I would heed the advice and only bring exactly what I needed for the night out: cash for the night, metro pass, identification. No pick-pocket was going to get me! After a bunch of hours of bar hopping we ended up at a club, and a little while later I ended up chatting with someone at the bar and got separated from the group. It wasn’t a problem, and I figured I’d get a taxi and head home to get barely enough sleep for a 10 am orientation session the next morning. Upon leaving I opened my wallet to see that I had spent the cash for the night, had no means of withdrawing cash, had no credit card, and the metro was still closed for another two hours. No choice but to walk. I figured it would take me about twenty or thirty minutes so I set off in the direction I thought was correct. After numerous stops to ask directions and over two and a half hours later I arrived at a metro stop in the opposite corner of the city and promptly found my way back to my apartment. Now I carry my ATM card.
I haven’t done a lot of intentional sightseeing, but our group did do a few tours to different locations around the city. The Barrio Gotico is one of the coolest places I have ever been. Narrow winding roads, beautiful courtyards, high walls, and incredible architecture define the Barrio Gotico and it’s impossible not to imagine what life was like centuries ago. Naturally, I pictured a Hollywood inspired knights in armor, blacksmith shops, kings and queens sort of scene. This picture was dashed when our teacher told us that in the pre-sewage days people who lived above the roads would heave buckets of their shit into the road after yelling “dirty water!” and the unfortunate souls below had but a few moments to avoid the incoming mess.
On my first free morning in Barcelona before my orientation began I checked out one of the local climbing gyms to start meeting some people and get oriented in the climbing community. I ended up joining a different gym called Freebloc, which is by far the best climbing gym I have ever been to. For those familiar with CATS in boulder, Freebloc is similar in style and about twice as big. The climbers who go there are damn good too, and my ego has taken a beating by repeatedly falling on routes graded the same as my casual warm-ups back in Colorado and California. All the climbers take training seriously and most climbers are following some sort of interval training plan. I’m trying to soak up as much as I can from my fellow climbers and the owner Salva, a well regarded trainer. After spending a couple afternoons running around Montjuic, an amazing old castle/museum and gigantic park, I finally came across someone walking around with a chalkbag dangling from his pack. I quickly caught up to him and asked if he was headed to Foixarda, a local tunnel turned public climbing gym. He said that he was and agreed to show me the way. I had been surprised my how few climbers climbed at Freebloc given how huge climbing is in Cataluña, but Foixarda quickly put my doubts to rest. I have never seen such a scene, literally a couple hundred people in harnesses and rock shoes climbing traverses and routes up and around the three hundred-foot tunnel. Amazing!! Since I was running I didn’t have my gear, but I can’t wait to go back.
Photo: Montjuic from the Plaza España (not my photo)
Otherwise, I’ve really been enjoying getting to know everyone in my group and residencia, and I’m excited to share the semester and year with all of them. Living in a foreign county makes all aspects of life a little more challenging, and some times a lot more challenging. Too often people confuse the path of fulfillment with the path of least resistance, and I think that the challenges I face abroad only further enrich my life. I find satisfaction in the small daily interactions. Introducing myself to the local cafe owner or trying to find the proper size of “pie de gato” (climbing shoes) after trying on numerous pairs are the type of little victories that outweigh the regular inconveniences. The adventure has just begun, and I hope to savor every moment.
That’s Barcelona Part 1!! Stay tuned, I’ll try to keep future posts shorter and more frequent. I’m heading up to the Dalí museum in Figueres on Saturday and hopefully climbing in Montserrat on Sunday.
All the best!
Chris
