It's week 2 back in Prado and it has been an emotional rollercoaster. A LOT has happened. I won't lie, I was feeling the blues on the first day I got back. Feeling overtired from travelling and seeing the state of my car after it was damaged was a bad combo. Re-adapting to small-town Spanish culture was a little challenging after the chilled out Christmas break, however we soon settled after some Sunday drinks at La Bodega.
Embracing local nights out
My housemate and I have found it difficult to make Spanish friends and integrate with Spanish people. However we hadn't considered the most OBVIOUS place we could go: BARS. We normally head out of town for nights out however we gave going out in Prado a go and it was a great idea. Ironically, on our first midweek night out we met an English girl from Brighton who's experienced life in Prado and sympathised with some of our challenges (e.g. verrry cold houses in winter). We also spoke Spanglish with some other locals once they saw we were open to talking with them. I normally try to hide how much Spanish I understand out of fear of people actually talking to me in Spanish. Beers tend to help. We tried a Friday night in Prado and ended up at a lock-in until 2am, being the ONLY two females out in Prado we were bought a lot of shots, the most popular one here is a homemade Apple Sourz. Is it safe? Unsure, but I've lived to tell the tale.
A saviour! And faith in humanity restored
Some local people were shocked when I expressed my unhappiness at the damage to my car in a salty Facebook post on the town's page. Intentional damage to cars isn't commonplace here. Most were sympathetic however one of my neighbours insinuated it was my fault for leaving it parked there (see GIF).
Public transport is dismal in the town, so having my car can feel like a lifeline. A man in La Bodega bar heard about my difficulties and instantly found someone who could help. Three days later and my car was fixed! The mechanic only charged me for the parts as he felt bad about what had happened, which was really unexpected.
Let's gooo
I had freedom to drive around again! Some of the sights here are really incredible. I've shared some views from my travels on my AwksAux Instagram. One of which was a drive to a local yoga retreat, Suryalila, for a holistic massage. My tyres survived the horrendously bumpy terrain of the road to the retreat, but it was worth it, the grounds are honestly spectacular and the massage was so relaxing. They also have an array of animals living on the retreat, including alpacas, I really resisted begging to pet them all.
Despite my difficult start to the year, this week has really made up for it. I'm now much more comfortable socialising with the locals, which I think will be the best thing about living in a town of this size. I'm pretty content in my own company, but it's been refreshing to edge out of my comfort zone (with help from the local moonshine).
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