I had no food in my apartment so after waking up from sleeping in, I went to two different grocery stores and my favorite fruit stand to buy food for the week (more like a few days as I snack a lot).
At 2:00 was my scheduled time for the Arab Baths. Blake and Kevin came over to my apartment and together we walked over to the baths where we met up with our other friend Jenna. Opening the door to the Arab Baths, we were greeted with a dimly lit room with low tables and chairs. A pleasant aroma wafted through the air. We received our towels and massage token from the receptionist and then went into the locker room where we changed into our swim suits.
Beyond the large wooden door were 7 pools ranging from cold to hot. Steamy and dark with candle lit walls and the slight scent of spices, the baths were an immediate relaxation haven. We had a total of 2 hours in the baths, and had the whole bath house to ourselves. We rotated from pool to pool and drank some amazingly delicious tea that was hot to the touch but the perfect temperature to drink.
After about an hour we were called for our fifteen minute massage. We were led to another room where we were greeted by the masseuses who instructed us to lay down on the massage table. They asked us if we wanted the massage on our backs or legs.
We spent the last amount of our time in one of the warmer baths. Overall it was a extremely relaxing and cool experience. I had heard a lot about it and definitely wanted to try it so that I would know how much it cost (22 euros) and so that I can bring my family and friends who come and visit.
The rest of the afternoon was low key as I read for my classes (my Spanish-English dictionary in my lap) and helped Heiko make dinner.
At 9:30 Nathalie, Heiko, and I met up with a Norwegian girl, Helene, and Blake and Jenna from California to go to a flamenco show at "The Upsetter" flamenco bar at the start of the Albayzín. I had heard mixed things about this bar but was excited to go as I had not yet been to a "real" flamenco show (I had only seen the flamenco show that was at the residencia).
We got in for 8 euros with our student discount. No one was there when we arrived, so we chose seats right next to the stage. The Upsetter was a local haunt that had the main area for flamenco underground. It was a small venue and I could tell that it would easily fill up once people started to come.
The show started promptly at 10:30. There were three members of the band, an old man, a young guitar player, and a third man with long, dark hair. They started off with a bang and I was immediately impressed. The old man had a tremendously powerful voice. Fingers flying across the strings, the guitarist was tapping, strumming, and finger picking the notes of the song. The third man turned out to be the dancer. He was amazing as his hand claps sounded like drums. The stage was very small with worn wooden floors. Our seats were so close I thought that I was going to be kicked when the old man broke into dance and the dancer spun wildly. They were all amazingly talented and had great group chemistry and cohesion. They each took turns being the lead man as they switched the solo act from song, to guitar, to dance.
I was most impressed by the dancer as he spun and tapped loudly across the dance floor. He finished his routine with an amazing shimmy, shake, leg tap, feet tap concoction that had the whole bar cheering. he was pulsating and keeping such a fast rhythm that I was exhausted just form watching. It was a loud and energetic show all around. The dancer brought up a couple girls from the audience who he showed some basic flamenco steps. I forgot to mention that there was also a woman "storyteller" who was in traditional Gypsy dress who would introduce the song and tell stories in between the sets.
After the flamenco show we were able to talk to the group. There are flamenco shows every night and I would definitely like to see another group. A DJ began to set up after the band had left and we learned that there were free reggae rock nights every night from 12-3 after flamenco. Good to know, we'll have to come back.
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