La Aventura Loca en España (Pt. 2)

There I was stranded in a section of a city that I did not know, alone, with a limited amount of cash in hand and no credit card, my friends gone, no metro access and, at the time, very little confidence in my ability to speak and understand the Spanish language. Not to mention that it was around 1 o’clock in the morning and cold. The textbook definition for this phenomena would be L-O-S-T, in the very worst way I might add. I tried to maintain my composure and thought to use my cell phones GPS to figure out my location and plan out the rest from there but my heart sank when my phone notified me that not only was I extremely far from my destination but that it was running on 2% battery life. This was a very scary moment for me to be in. I had never traveled outside of my home country before traveling to Spain and after 2 days I was lost and stranded in a completely new one. My next idea came when I thought to get a taxi but I was not sure how far it could take me with the little amount of cash that I was carrying. I flagged down a taxi and greeted the driver in Spanish. He asked me where to and I told him the name of the district that my hotel resided. As if my previous streak of terrible luck was not enough the driver had no idea where the location that I was telling him was at all so, I remembered the name of the train station that I took the first metro and told him that name instead. We were off! The driver was kind and tried to make small talk in Spanish about various things but soon realized that I was a foreigner and that my knowledge of the language was not enough to maintain one so, it fell dead silent and I could hear my heart jumping in my chest with fear of not knowing where I was. Suddenly, the cab screeches to a halt and the driver brings his hand back to collect his fare. I looked around and did not recognize this neighborhood that I was now in but t was clear that he did not understand where I needed to go. I paid him most of the money I had and exited the taxi into more unfamiliar territory. I reached into my pocket and pulled out its contents. A few euros, coins and my cell phone which had died on the cab. I had no idea where I was and began to doubt my ability to make it back to my hotel to reunite with my group.

I began to panic and my breathing became erratic as I scoured my surroundings for something familiar. Nothing! Suddenly, like a rush of adrenaline, my mind went into overdrive with possible solutions and ideas on how to make it back in one piece. I realized at that moment that although the situation was indeed a scary one, I was strangely filled with…..excitement! I looked around and smiled as I began walking down the sideway in the direction of where the cab was going. I was absorbing everything around me. Sights, sounds, and smells I had found my adrenaline rush! My confidence with the language suddenly seemed to increase and I found myself asking surrounding natives for directions. There were not many people out at this time of night and I didn’t want to bump into the wrong ones if too many people figured out that I was lost so I found another cabby that was parked on break sitting in his car eating his lunch. I asked him for directions and while he too did not know where I wanted to go I remembered the route to my hotel based on landmarks that I had viewed on my group tours and student-centered exploration trips from the past few days and one in particular stuck out. Sagrada Familia! Sagrada Familia is a religious tourist destination and architecturally beautiful structure that I was sure he would know and he did. He pointed me in the direction of the building and told me how far away from it that I was which, was still very far away from my current location. I thanked him after a brief friendly conversation about my fear of being lost and American culture I turned with confidence and walked in the direction of Sagrada Familia. I had been walking for some time and remained determined to make it back to the hotel. I walked and walked and somehow still found time to admire Barcelona in the nighttime. It is an exceptionally beautiful place at night! After some time of walking, I heard a honk behind me but I disregarded it because I wasn’t expecting anyone, no one knew my current situation but, it kept on honking. I still paid no mind to it until a voice rang out. Senor! I turned around and it was the cab driver from before. I walked to the cab and remained cautious. He asked me how much money I had left and I told him. He told me that he was willing to take me as far in the cab as the amount that I had left could. I took the offer and handed him the money as we drove off. I was completely shocked but, tremendously appreciated his kindness. We drove for a bit more time as I stared at the meter as it began to arrive at the amount that I had left. However, when it reached past the cab driver did not stop. He went about 2 miles further than my money was supposed to take me and parked the car on the sidewalk. I told him that I only had what I gave him and he told me not to worry about it as he directed me to Sagrada Familia from there. I was only 10 blocks away from the building and I smiled an thanked the cab driver as he tipped his cap and we parted ways once again. I walked further and further until my surroundings became completely familiar! I had reached Sagrada Familia! From there I knew how to get back to my hotel and it was only a few more blocks. As my heart rate slowed and I walked down the street with my hotel in view I was overcome with a new sense of joy! As I opened the door to my hotel and plopped down on my comfortable bed I looked up at the ceiling and couldn’t help but feel a real connection to the city.

That was my scary travel story but the saving grace to it is that it’s what sparked the travel bug within me and inspired me to really engulf myself in the places that I traveled. However, it was indeed a tough experience and one I don’t plan to put myself back into anytime soon.