Saturday, July 17, 2010

A New Adventure

The sound of ladies chattering. In Spanish. The sound of waves lapping the shore. I open my eyes and yes, I am on the beach. And now surrounded by holidaymakers catching the early morning sun before it gets unbearably hot. Slowly I piece together events leading to this moment. My new friend Adrian said he would meet me here in an hour or two. That was just after sunrise, when I arrived and the beach was empty. Judging by the height of the sun, it's been about 2 hours. I sit up and look around. Is he coming back? Paranoia seeps through my body. ALL of my shit is at his apartment except the clothes I wear and my tobacco. I think I could find it. It's bang in the middle of the Born area of Barcelona. He seemed like a nice guy...

Not much later I'm cruising down the Avenidas on the back of Adrian's moped for the 5 minute journey back to his place. I met him last night in The Born Bar. I'd just had a cuttlefish & cockle spaghetti and a bottle of wine to myself, and went out to find a bed/sofa for the night. I met him and his friends, we chatted for a while, I bought a round of tequilas and hit them with the crunch. It was an ambiguous response, but it was out there anyway. The rest is a bit hazy, but involved several more bars. Turns out he has this pimp almost top floor apartment right in the heart of a beautiful old bustling neighbourhood 5 minutes from the beach. Score.

The next day, after a killer burger, I stop to watch a guy playing a hang drum in the street. The magical harmonies filling the square pour into my ears and softly massage my body from the inside. Now back to the beach to catch the late afternoon sun. I think I'll find a hostel for tonight first.