Vamos a la Playa...

La playa

A mi me gusta bailar. (It's a song that is pretty fun to sing in Spanish).  It means we are going to the beach, and I like to dance.  So this past weekend I had my first beach experiences here in Spain.  The first was in Santander, on an excursion with the ISA group.  We walked through the town a little bit and then spent a little while on the beach.  I had not come prepared to go in the water so after taking a few pictures Tanisha and I went to a restaurant on the beach for lunch.  We had a wonderful lunch in a beautiful spot, but I have to say, while at the beach there were some "interesting" views. Well maybe this isn't an appropriate topic for a blog, but let's be real. Once you experience a beach in Spain, or maybe anywhere in Europe, you have to tell someone about it.  Santander was mild, we found out, when we went to a beach on Saturday near Bilbao.  It was a long hot walk from the metro to the beach, and I almost thought we would never get there (the humidity is a new thing for me).  We went to a beautiful beach, surrounded by cliffs, called Larrabasterra.  While walking to find a place to set up, we began a count of topless ladies/girls that we passed by.  The count quickly became pointless, because it was honestly tiring to count so high.  At Santander, we had about 5, but here, I gave up at 12.  The weird part about it was, that it wasn't weird to them.  Which is obviously a sign of our different cultures.  It was weird that the lady chatting to her friends, or playing with her kids, or walking with her boyfriend, just didn't have a problem with everyone else at the beach being there either.  However, seeing the ladies half naked wasn't near as weird when we saw the fully nude men walk by.  I actually was just sitting on a rock and they just go stroll right past you at eye level.  Apparently they don't mind being in your personal space, just "hangin out."  But anyways, besides the shock of being around many a naked people, the water was beautiful, the view was beautiful, and I didn't even get a sunburn.  It was a great day at the beach, even though I can't help that there are certain details about it that stick out in my mind.  I suppose, unfortunately, I will never be able to forget my first experience at the beach. 

Yes, there's a man without pants on behind me. No, I didn't notice that when we took the picture.

A day to relax....much needed!!