Life in San Sebastian and the Next Move

So I´v been in San Sebastian for 2 and a half months now and have really been able to get to know the city (especially the beaches) and the culture. My days are spent working in the morning and early afternoon, cleaning the hostel and checking-in the new arrivals, and usually going to the beach or for walks around the city in the afternoon. I return to work again at 10:30pm to do a final clean of the kitchen and bathrooms and then if I have the energy I head out on the town for 1,2,3, etc drinks and a bit of dancing at the bars.

I started to get a bit bored of this routine a few weeks ago and so I have been taking an advanced Spanish class twice a week and travelling to different towns and cities every day off that I have. For the last two weeks I have committed myself to doing one new thing every day. It can be something as simple as going to a different restaurant or bar or something such as doing a hike along the coast to the next town or visiting a different city.

Yesterday I cycled 20km south along the very hilly coast to a town called Orio. That in itself was a new thing for me, but I also did something that I have wanted to do for such a long and have never had the nerve to do so.

I´ve always been so impressed by the confidence that the women have here in that they seem to be so proud and comfortable in their bodies, whether they are big, small, wrinkly, old, young, etc. They walk with their heads high and, on the beach, topless, without a care of what the other people think. For me, it has always been a difficult thing not to worry about what other people are or are not thinking about me, and this tends to make me very stressed and nervous.

To make a long story short, yesterday I went to Orio and bathed topless like the rest of Spain! And I am so proud of myself for doing so. At first it was a bit awkward, especially whilst I was walking to and from the ocean, but I quickly became used to it and actually started to really enjoy it. The Spanish women have really taught me a thing or two about the value of appreciating your body for what it is.

This is another of my goals whilst I am here: Learn to appreciate my body for what I have and stop constantly comparing it to that of other women.

Since I have been travelling I have learnt a lot about myself, both good things and bad. I have created a list for myself on points that I would like to work on, and these do not include anything to do with making myself look better, but instead feel better.

Though I will be sad to leave San Sebastian the travel bug has once again taken a firm grip on me and starting September 1st I will be on the move again. This time I believe that I am going to join a friend of mine, Jose, on a car trip down the west coast of Spain and Portugal. Jose is a big surfer from Uruguay who has been working in San Sebastian for the summer as well. Whilst he and his friend play in the big waves, at all the different coastal towns, I plan to surf the small and kinder waves and discover the local streets, towns, and cultre.

This will take me to the 20th of September at which point I may continue along the coast of Spain up into Seville and the countrysides, or I may make my way to Italy for a change of scenery; I´m not quite sure yet.

I have a few visitors hopefully coming in the next little while. Next week my aunt, uncle, and cousins from England will be visiting a town just north of here and I hope to either go up to see them in Biarritz or have them come down here. As well, in October my dad will be in Europe on business and has said that he is going to come visit me wherever I am. Finally, Kate is turning 30 this year and is badly in need of a vacation and so may come out here at the end of October, early November. She has said that if she does she wants to do something active and do it somewhere warm, so I´m looking into the possibility of hiking the length of Corsica (an island off of Italy), doing island hopping in Greece, or hiking along the coast in southern Spain.

Anybody else interested in coming to Europe for a bit?