The long anticipated ending to Carnaval Story, with PICTURES!!!

So, here's the climax. The part everybody's been waiting for. Get ready, for chaos.

After a grueling two hours or so of trapped body heat, sweat, warm drinks, and singing, we all finally disembarked at our location: Cadiz. So, here's what Cadiz is supposed to look like:

Aint that a pretty photo of Cadiz?

Here's what the streets of Cadiz usually look like...

And when we got there...

Good luck backing out! HAHAHA!

Oh Carnaval, we'll have to do this again sometime...

Utter chaos

So...let's try to piece some of the story together. Me, Alex, Max and Josue survived the train ride, and we met up with Mike and the two girls after getting off. Somehow, they had gotten on the same train. Well, the first thing I noticed was that everyone was peeing off to the side, then I heard the dull roar of debauchery in the distance. We had no idea what we were getting into. As it turns out, we have a blast, meet plenty of interesting people, and I get separted from the group. Failing to reunite with the group, I somehow manage to get jumped and robbed, then wander back to the train in a terrible mood.

Its about 7am. Our group is set to meet back in Sevilla at 11a or so to visit a Bullfighting ring. My phone battery is nearly dead, I am dead tired. I get on the train, and fall asleep standing up. I wake up some hours later in a train station, and suddenly realize its not the Sevilla train station. I had gotten off at the wrong station and slept! I found out that the next train wouldnt come for another 3 hours (it was actually four, but who is counting?) Its 12pm. I am in trouble. With four hours to kill, I basically wander around looking for a place to take a siesta in the sun, as I had managed to lose my cape, my hat, and my effects.

The program calls several times, and I have to explain to them my plan, again and again, that I am on my way, as soon as the train shows up, which it did, an hour late. When I finally get to Sevilla, I am running to the street to catch a taxi to the airport. I get there with an hour to spare, and nearly forget my coat. I tell everyone what happened, as several different people had devised various rumors surrounding my disappearance. My favorite was that I had supposedly murdered a hooker and fled the country.

In all, I guess I felt like a used towel, and empty pack of cigarettes, a chewed up pencil, whatever. I felt kinda like Cadiz must have felt like after we all threw ourselves about in ecstacy, sweating, drinking, kissing, fighting. Here's a few pictures of the carnage:

Incendiary devices and drunk people do not mix well

Ugh...imagine being the guy that cleans that mess up...

The next day, I am summoned to the API office and issued a written warning for the following:

- "Drinking to the point of making unwise decisions," we can all agree on that.

- "Failing to contact API to notify them of my situation," again, my fault, but here's my explanation:

I had failed to bring my phone charger, so my phone was half dead, and I did not want to use up all of the batteries. I had failed to put any API contact numbers in my phone, I only had a few numbers of the other participants in the excursion, which I used to establish contact. I had failed to get a police report...of what? I got robbed and beat on the head. I don't know where he is, but he probably won't be back, and hey! getting a police report was the first thing to cross my mind, after "make sure you're okay, get back to the train, and get some sleep!"

Well, in any case, I can honestly say I made mistakes that trip, the first of which was failing to reunite with the group in a new city. The second was wandering even further off. The third was not having the foresight to put the API numbers in my phone or bring my charger. Anyways, the deed was done, I got to have a fun chat with the program director, and got a written warning. Only I could manage to get myself in this much trouble.

So, that does it for the Sevilla story. Hopefully you learned a few lessons, and won't make quite as many mistakes as I had. Take care of yourself and have fun, but not that much fun. That's just not healthy.

Getting Carnaval Supplies and Getting on the Train

This picks up after the bike ride in Sevilla, when we got Tapas at an outdoor restaurant with crummy service.

After tapas, we decided to make our way to the Corte Ingles, the Spanish version of Wal-Mart, to buy costumes for Carnaval. After settling on a 15 E budget, I buy a Green and Black party hat, a lei set, a pirate sword, a pirate gun, and an Irish flag for my costume. There wasn't much reasoning behind this. I just decided to buy whatever looked the most ridiculous, and my friends said that I looked like the gay Irish pirate that didn't make the cut for the Village People.

I wasn't the only ridiculous one. Alex dressed like an Indian with a Spanish flag, Mike bought a pirate hat w/wig with a Bob Marley flag, Josue got a Batman mask, an Afro, and a Hendrix flag, and Maxsim, well Max just got a pirate hat and a pirate sword. Here's what we looked like (Me, Alex, and Josue)



The POINT was to LOOK RIDICULOUS...


Anyways, we got ready at the hotel and then waited for two other API girls to get ready to travel with us. When we finally left, it was around 5 and we were all excited about going to the world's largest costume party. The girls lamented that they had no costumes, so I gave them my leis and my pirate sword. Equipped with just a ridiculous green hat, an Irish cape, and a pistol, I decided to call myself Guinness O'Shea (the other option, Captain Blackbeard O'Shea, got thrown out).


We stopped by a store to pick up supplies, and Alex and I were both lucky to choose plastic over glass or aluminum, because as we would later find out, the transportation people would only allow plastic. Not many others in our group fared so well. Anyways, we finally got to the train station and discovered to our dismay that the "free train ride with costume" promotion ended last year, so we all bought tickets to and from Cadiz.


Let me take a minute to explain the train station. (Bear in mind: it is five o'clock)

Chaos is the key word. Hundreds of people are running helter skelter shouting and screaming and singing and laughing, most already drunk. I see flocks of Dalai Lamas, several sets of Mario Twins, Rock Stars, "Germans," Cows, ???s, and more. Some are shouting over their megaphones. Others are busy knocking back the rest of their drinks. The air is vibrating with energy. I cannot imagine what Carnaval will be like if this is just the train station in Sevilla.


Anyhow, the group got split up, but Alex, Josue, Max, and I were able to get in line together. Here's a picture of the line going to Carnaval.



These weren't even the wierd people.

We finally got on the train and luckily spotted enough space for the four of us to sit on the floor. The train kept filling up more and more, and we had to readjust our positions numerous times to accomodate. Within several minutes, the train doors closed, the air heated up from the lack of ventilation and all of the human bodies so close together, and crammed like sardines, we rolled off into the sunset headed for Carnaval.