Adventure Night - Part Two

As the evening went on, the barbecue at the Marina was going full swing with a nice band playing happy tunes and me feeling a heady buzz of the wine combined with the excitement of being on this beautiful island and a complete feeling of freedom. The sun was shining, the music was swaying everyone to its catchy rhythm and my mouth seemed to be stuck in a permanent smile. 

I was invited to come to dinner with the guys from New Zealand, from Bob's boat and with a few others from other boat crews to a nice steak restaurant in the old town in Palma. Met a few more interesting characters there, like a guy from Cornwall on a boat whose owner supposedly wrote one of the first checks to Google as a silent investor before it was called Google and he actually suggested the name Google. Sounds like a far out story but if you would have seen some of the boats there and the sheer magnitude of their size and luxury, you might think that stories like those could be absolutely true. 

After dinner we headed back to the marina and Romeo, the boat's chef made us all a refreshing yet strong concoction with fresh mint and blueberries. I was asking a million and one questions of Makayla, a stewardess on the boat about how it is to work there, what she hates and what she likes about it and overall, it sounds like a pretty sweet gig. If you find a good boat, with a decent captain, a good crew and an exciting itinerary, you could be in for an amazing experience. Of course, there are ups and downs, just like in any job but the benefits seem to outweigh the negatives. And you can save all the money you make, minus some minor expenses, since you don't spend anything on food and accommodation. Working on boats is definitely something that I've thought about before and something that has been on my list of options or the future. It's a long list but this option would be perfect since I have nothing holding me back, free as a bird. 

Well, we'll see what happens as time goes on! Back to the evening of the barbecue though. We ended up going out to a little bar in town with an Italian owner who more than accommodating and super nice. When we got the bill, he bought us all a shot of limoncello which was nice. Not really needed as I could've not had any more drinks hours ago, but very sweet. Oh and I forgot, I tried the local Mallorcan drink called Herbas dulce, which was given to us after dinner earlier that evening. It was very sweet and reminded me a bit of licorice and anise. I wouldn't say it was my favorite now, but it was fun to try the local specialty. 

We went to one more place that night and then called it a night as it was 4am already by then. After crashing on the boat that night, I went to the beach for the first time this season. We went to Los Illetes beach which was a beautiful little cove, surrounded by tall stone walls with house dotted all along them. It reminded me very much of southern France from the way it looked. As we were coming down the steps to the beach, the views in front of my eyes were absolutely breathtaking! The crystal blue water, the stone formations and the bay of Palma standing strong in the distance with the mountains outlining the sea sky. 

Although the water felt really cold, I braved it in a few times and did some swimming. It felt so good to be back by the sea again and I couldn't believe how I managed to live without the beach for so long. After living on Koh Rong island in Cambodia and having the beach at my doorstep, I was certainly a bit spoilt. Eventually I said bye to everyone and made a plan to meet up the next day to go hike a nice trail in the west coast of Mallorca. I took a bus towards Placa d'Espanya where the train station is but then decided to get off a bit before so I could have a nice walk since it was still quite early. I was thinking it would have been nice to go with the kiwis and sit down for a glass of wine but I said, come on, you had enough wine yesterday, you'll be alright. As I walked around the old part of Palma, I took in the views of the cute little houses and passed small cafés offering tapas and sangria. I took a few random turns, not really paying attention to where I was going and ended up on a beautiful tree lined street with flowers on people's windowsills and more little cafés. I was walking by a wine bar which caught my attention because of its stylish yet relaxed decor and soft Spanish guitar playing in the background. I looked inside and who did I see?! It was the New Zealand boat crew plus some more. That being too big of a coincidence in the town where I know nothing about where things are, I joined them once again for a glass of wine. There was a new guy in the group who had a story about everything and then a story about something related to that thing. Funny random dude, in his forties just bouncing around. Anyway, so after that place we all were heading towards the train station but on the way there, the story teller found a tapas and wine place which was super cool and had a tasting style setup. As you sat at the table, you could order your food from a waiter but then you would get up and pour your own wine from little taps set up of about forty different wines. You would choose your wine and then sample size or full glass. It was a really cute place, sort of medieval looking. 

So my departure time kept being pushed back as I was really enjoying the evening and didn't want to leave to go back to the finca too early. I knew the last train was at 23:15 so I was aiming for that one. After the medieval place we all finally made it to Place d'Espanya. I said goodnight to everyone again but this time really leaving as they went off to another tapas place to enjoy the nice evening and have some more delicious wine. I still had more than a half hour until the train but I figured I would get the ticket first and then go have a walk or something as I had a lot of time. When I went down the escalator I had a not so very nice surprise of finding out that the last train had left only ten minutes before I got there and it was at 22:30 and not 23:30. I made a time mistake again... I ran out of the station thinking I can catch up with everyone again and just join them for another evening out as I had no way to get back that night. When I got to the street level I looked around but didn't see them and realized that unfortunately I didn't look back when I walked away and I had no idea in which direction they walked off to. I walked around a bit thinking I'll run into them again like I did earlier but after walking a few minutes in the area, I realized there was no way for me to find them on a Saturday night in a bustling touristy area. 

I realized I had Pat and Bob's number in my bag and found a pay phone to call them. I told Pat to not wait for me as I missed my train and got one of the kiwis number from Pat. I called a few times with no luck and eventually the call was being automatically directed to voicemail since the phone was dead. At that time, just as 11pm rolled around, was when my night wander of Palma  began. 

I was already really tired from the night before and all I wanted to do was to go to sleep. Paying for a room somewhere was not an option as I only had five euros and some change in my wallet and I needed three euros and five cents to catch the train in the morning. I walked around Palma for hours, going through the old town, up and down, looking at buildings, people, lights and architecture. I was trying to not despair and pretend that I was walking around because I wanted to, not because I was stuck there, but by the time it was 2:30am, I was so tired, cold and sleepy that I couldn't help but keep closing my eyes. I found a bench somewhere which was a little away from the main road and laid down down on it, closing my eyes for a bit, nodding off slightly but as the wind picked up and the colder night air was taking over, I couldn't stay there. I walked again, I was close to the train station which was all locked up as was the park which was behind it. I wanted to get away from the cold so I walked down to an underground car park near the station. I walked into one earlier that evening, to also get away from the cold but it was full of cars and security cameras. This one luckily only had a few security cameras and no cars a few floors down. I walked quickly past the security cameras and to my excitement found a few undone cardboard boxes. Never thought I'd be so excited to see boxes, but they were my ticket to a possibility of some sleep. So I laid down the cardboard, wrapped my scarf around me as much as I could and I covered my eyes with a small corner of the scarf to shield from the bright artificial lights above me. Half listening to the noises and little creaks around me and to the cars occasionally passing by above, I managed to doze off for a bit. I got woken by a louder noise than the rest. I had to phone with me or anything to tell time by. Also I was inside and underground with no indication of real light. I wasn't sure how much time has passed since I've been there so I decided to wander out in order to not miss the first train out. To my sad and cold disappointment, I walked out in to the middle of the night still as it was not even 4am yet which I noticed on the bus stand clock. At that time, there were a couple odd people stumbling back from a night out and some mumbling bum kicking around. When I looked back to my only shield between me and the night, I saw a night guard walking out and looking this way. He must've noticed me walking out on the cameras. So I couldn't go back there again and I had two more hours before I could escape this cold night. So I just went back to the train station, walked down the set of stairs and sat myself down on the floor next to the gates. Half asleep, zombie-like, I sat there until luckily, the gates of the station were opened at 5:15am. I walked in, dusted myself off and bought a ticket home. I walked around and found a vending machine where I got myself a hot cup of hot chocolate which was the only thing I could really pay for after I had bought the ticket. I fell asleep a bit while waiting for the train ticket scanning machines to work and then finally, when the announcement about the trains was made, I dragged my tired self and got on the train. 

By that time, I was beyond tired and felt like I was floating in a dream, a cold, sad night dream... I passed out completely and only opened my eyes once as the sun was rising above the mountains and then drifted off until I had to switch trains. The walk home from the station was another 25 minutes, which at that point felt so long and hard but at the same time, so triumphant. 

When I finally came back, Abdul, the guy tiling a patio for Pat ad Bob, let me in and I went straight to bed. It felt so incredibly good to lay down in a cozy bed without a worry left in my mind I almost couldn't believe it! 

I'm sure people have been through worse situations of course, but all of it combined was just a really crappy situation. I'm alright now. Safe and sound in my bed, writing this story down so I don't forget. Pay more attention to timetables next time, mental note. Check! 

After having a trip back to Palma for the afternoon and evening today after working, I made it a priority to decide on which train I will take to not have to worry about it later. I also took an early one back. I took a bus to the seaside again and walked about along the rocks of the coastline, stopping for some view gazing and just general relaxation moments. 

I decided to work yesterday and take my day off another day as I still needed a full night of sleep yesterday. So I will take my Sunday day off Wednesday or Thursday depending on the weather. 

My adventures in Mallorca... Funnily enough, last week I slept on a bench and then on the floor twice! How strange life can be sometimes.