Vacation Part I: Well, F***

It usually takes me a while to realize that the things I plan on doing are actually going to happen, and this vacation was no different. Annie and Laura and I had been planning our trip to Barcelona/Amsterdam for more than a month but it wasn't until a few days before leaving that I realized I was actually going to get out of Lugo for a few days.

Last Monday (the 4th) I was chilling with my roommie Jonathan, discussing our plans for the week. He mentioned that there was going to be another student strike on Thursday, so I suggested that we walk around the wall or something, but then I realized that nope, I would actually be on my way to the land of futbal and sunshine and famous people pooping in nativity scenes. (it's a thing, and I should have mentioned it in the holiday post)

Thursday morning had me worried however, as the snow level dropped to 800 meters and the teachers caravanned up the mountain through this:

Between the snow and the strike, we had two students out of about 80, who showed up around noon, took a chemistry test and left.

We made it home safe though, and I packed my bag, met Annie and Laura at the bus station and caught the bus for Santiago de Compostela airport. 

This is where the post title will start to make sense. While checking in at the Ryanair (our airline company) desk I realized that I had made a terrible, stupid mistake. Instead of buying a 8:00pm flight, I had bought a 8:00am flight, for the same day. which had left some 10 hours previously. Well, damn. After wasting a good deal of time harassing the ladies at the Ryanair desk (why can you not buy a ticket at the desk for a flight that has seats available, I ask you? I have money,  you have a thing I want, let me give you the money in exchange for the thing I want. that is why money exists) 

I ended up bussing into Santiago, renting a room in a hostel and setting out to find a locutorio. A locutorio is basically an internet cafe, though many of the ones I've seen also sell everything you'd find at a gas station plus paperbacks and stationary supplies but minus gas.

I did find one after some searching, but it was closing for the evening just as I arrived. Shucks. Fortunately, I had Annie's smart phone, so I went to a bar with wifi and bought a ticket from Vueling (another airline) for the next morning.

Both Vueling and Ryanair do this sneaky thing where you have to "check in" online after you purchase your ticket so that you can verify that yes, you have actually bought the thing they just charged you for. You also need to need to have your boarding pass printed out ahead of time, or they'll charge you to print it out at the desk. So in the hopes that I could use the printer at the hostel I booked a ticket, enjoyed a clara de limon (beer + fanta) and watched part of a telenovela (soap opera. Also, how is this my life that I'm drinking fantabeer and watching terrible television with alcoholics in a Galician bar?) and waited for my confirmation email so I could "check in" online for my flight.

The email did come eventually, at about 3:00pm two days later. By which time I was already in Barcelona, having bought a ticket at the Vueling desk in the airport. So, one ticket for the price of three. Super. I've since gone online and read some of the reviews of both Vueling and Ryanair and I am not the only one to have had these kinds of problems. Which could have been avoided if I'd paid more attention and actually thought things through the first time around.

So all in all a fairly stressful start, but I've come to realize recently that stressed is my default mental state, so nothing new there really, just varying degrees of stress.

Stay posted for part II, featuring this place:

(it's Barcelona)