Day 6: Valencia

It is time to leave Madrid. Loved the city but I have overstayed my welcome and it is time to move on. I made the final checks in the morning; passport, money, valuables, etc before checking out of the hostel. Next stop, Valencia. Dad mentioned that it is a nice place to visit. It is on the way to Barcelona so I thought, why not? But what caught my attention is the fact that Valencia is the birthplace of paella, the saffron infused rise dish that Spain is so well known for. 

I headed for the beach right after checking into the hostel. This is what I have been aching to do all year, thanks to the brilliant Scottish weather. They call 16°C a heatwave! That day Valencia was soaring to a glorious 30°C. That my friends, is what I call heat. Not a heatwave. Just, heat. 

The beach is a fifteen minute bus ride from the city centre. You'll know it when you reach it. I stepped off the bus and saw the beach stretch along the coast. White sand, clear water, beautiful people; everything that makes for an amazing beach. I spent the rest of my afternoon lying in the sun and swimming on occasion. The heat was welcoming after having to cope with the cold Scottish weather. 

In the evening, I went out with a bunch of people from the hostel. Had dinner near the beach. I recall a funny moment when everyone ordered a bottle of wine each. The waiter was confused.

"You want.....one bottle.....each?"

The group nodded their heads, a resounding yes. Interesting bunch of people, all from the USA. Rachel, Jessica and Kristen are doing a summer programme in Madrid and decided to visit Valencia for the weekend. Tip and GC works in the US Navy. Bon, GC's younger brother is pre-Med. They are characters of a story that I will be telling for many years to come. 


We had a long night partying, which seem to be the general Spanish thing to do. The locals only start meeting up with friends at eleven in the evening, heading out at two in the morning and finishing at six in the morning. No wonder they need the siesta in the afternoon!

Well, it was five in the morning and one of the girls had this brilliant idea. I call it a wine-induced epiphany.

"Let's take off our clothes and jump into the ocean. YOLO!!!"  *paraphrasing

I don't know what compelled us to obey, but take off our clothes we did. Everyone shrieked in excitement, running towards the water like wandering souls without a care in the world. One of guys even managed to pull a smack down move on one of the girls. 

Long story short, after spending a good amount of time jumping in the waves we decided that it was time to head back home. I was tired, and dragged my feet towards what supposed to be where we left our stuff. We placed everything next to this bin less than ten metres away from the sea.

But something was wrong. There was nothing there.

Yes, the bunch of foreigners who took off their clothes to jump into the ocean got all their stuff stolen. It sounds incredibly clichéd now that I think back. We started panicking. The girls were in tears. Two of them had their passports and a lot of cash with them, all gone. I lost my wallet, a little cash, blackberry and pants. WHO STEALS PANTS???

Needless to say it was an awkward journey back to the hostel in nothing but our undies. Everyone quickly got to work, sorting out the important things like cancelling credit cards and making police reports. The sun was up by the time I went to bed. Crazy night. Ugh.