our next stop on this little adventure was huelva. this city, like most on our itinerary, was decided on randomly. basically outside of sevilla we chose cities where we either found an affordable hostel or a couchsurfer willing to host us. (a quick plug for couchsurfing, thanks to which we had a much better spanish experience and saved some money)
this is how we ended up in huelva. even our host, a really lovely american girl who loves the city asked, 'so how did you end up in huelva for three days?'. it's a nice coastal town and we had a great time but there's just not a lot to do there. our host nicole took us around and showed us the major sights in the city. she took us to the beach for a relaxing afternoon and some (essential) ice cream and took us out to a really authentic tapas place she knows. on our own kelly and i did some exploring of the city which mostly included shopping and stopping for cafe con leche or hot chocolate.
the rest of our time in huelva we spent outside the city itself. one day while nicole was at work we decided to check out la rabida (which is fun to say if you roll your r just right) where there's a monastery of note and replicas of colombus' ships. we were told to take a bus to 'campus carmen' from where we could walk to the town itself. we got conflicting information from the woman at the bus station info desk and the bus driving buying lotto tickets but eventually we got onto the number five bus. we got off at a stop where we saw 'campus del carmen' only to realize that we were in the city and nowhere near any water. we came to the realization that the number 5 bus goes in a loop around the city and was decidedly not what we wanted. we went back to the bus stop, paid for another ride, and rode around the other half of the loop back to the station.
so we were literally back to where we started. we tried again, this time asking for a regional bus that went to la rabida. the ticket was actually cheaper and we got on a nice looking bus to take out of the city. this time we got it right. after confirming with the bus driver that it was indeed the stop we wanted, we got out and walked towards the monastery. along the way we enjoyed the little gardens and statues. we arrived at the monastery only to realize that it was monday, so of course it was closed. such a rookie mistake, ugh. we walked pitifully around the monastery (and around the locked public bathrooms) before decided to try and find the ships. we wandered down the hill, past a giant ampitheater, and down to the water only to discover that the ships, too, were closed. go figure. we tramped around the marshy area nearby to take some pictures before admitting defeat and heading back. we found a fun little playground on the way though and after rediscovering the joys of the teeter-totter all was forgotten.
we waited on a nearby bench for about 30 minutes for the next bus. once on, kelly realized that in our haste to make sure the bus driver didn't pass us, she had left her scarf. so we got off and walked back. it was there, luckily, and we waited a few more minutes for the next bus. and incidentally anyone reading this who thinks it wasn't worth going all the way back for a scarf just doesn't have their priorities in order. so, total number of bus trips made/paid for that day: 5.
on our last day in huelva we had planned to spend the day shopping. but after a few hours we realized we may have exhausted our shopping options. we headed back to the bus station (probably the single place we visited the most in huelva) to see where we could go. after consulting our tourism office booklets and the bus information we decided on niebla, an old walled city. thirty minutes later we arrived in niebla and the clouds rolled in. we quickly realized we were not dressed appropriately in our capris and light jackets. we blamed spain. still, we enjoyed wandering through niebla's white streets and little squares. most impressive, we found a bar serving pizza that was open during siesta for a nice lunch. the rest of our time there we spent wandering around and whining about the cold and the wind.
all in all we had a great time in huelva and its surrounding area. there were a few hiccups but any vacation where you can shop, eat tapas, and go to the beach can't be that bad.
this is how we ended up in huelva. even our host, a really lovely american girl who loves the city asked, 'so how did you end up in huelva for three days?'. it's a nice coastal town and we had a great time but there's just not a lot to do there. our host nicole took us around and showed us the major sights in the city. she took us to the beach for a relaxing afternoon and some (essential) ice cream and took us out to a really authentic tapas place she knows. on our own kelly and i did some exploring of the city which mostly included shopping and stopping for cafe con leche or hot chocolate.
the rest of our time in huelva we spent outside the city itself. one day while nicole was at work we decided to check out la rabida (which is fun to say if you roll your r just right) where there's a monastery of note and replicas of colombus' ships. we were told to take a bus to 'campus carmen' from where we could walk to the town itself. we got conflicting information from the woman at the bus station info desk and the bus driving buying lotto tickets but eventually we got onto the number five bus. we got off at a stop where we saw 'campus del carmen' only to realize that we were in the city and nowhere near any water. we came to the realization that the number 5 bus goes in a loop around the city and was decidedly not what we wanted. we went back to the bus stop, paid for another ride, and rode around the other half of the loop back to the station.so we were literally back to where we started. we tried again, this time asking for a regional bus that went to la rabida. the ticket was actually cheaper and we got on a nice looking bus to take out of the city. this time we got it right. after confirming with the bus driver that it was indeed the stop we wanted, we got out and walked towards the monastery. along the way we enjoyed the little gardens and statues. we arrived at the monastery only to realize that it was monday, so of course it was closed. such a rookie mistake, ugh. we walked pitifully around the monastery (and around the locked public bathrooms) before decided to try and find the ships. we wandered down the hill, past a giant ampitheater, and down to the water only to discover that the ships, too, were closed. go figure. we tramped around the marshy area nearby to take some pictures before admitting defeat and heading back. we found a fun little playground on the way though and after rediscovering the joys of the teeter-totter all was forgotten.
we waited on a nearby bench for about 30 minutes for the next bus. once on, kelly realized that in our haste to make sure the bus driver didn't pass us, she had left her scarf. so we got off and walked back. it was there, luckily, and we waited a few more minutes for the next bus. and incidentally anyone reading this who thinks it wasn't worth going all the way back for a scarf just doesn't have their priorities in order. so, total number of bus trips made/paid for that day: 5.
on our last day in huelva we had planned to spend the day shopping. but after a few hours we realized we may have exhausted our shopping options. we headed back to the bus station (probably the single place we visited the most in huelva) to see where we could go. after consulting our tourism office booklets and the bus information we decided on niebla, an old walled city. thirty minutes later we arrived in niebla and the clouds rolled in. we quickly realized we were not dressed appropriately in our capris and light jackets. we blamed spain. still, we enjoyed wandering through niebla's white streets and little squares. most impressive, we found a bar serving pizza that was open during siesta for a nice lunch. the rest of our time there we spent wandering around and whining about the cold and the wind.all in all we had a great time in huelva and its surrounding area. there were a few hiccups but any vacation where you can shop, eat tapas, and go to the beach can't be that bad.
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