Location: Tarragona, Spain
On the voyage to Tarragona, the crew of Argo picked up an unintended passenger. Named Rudolph, then Rupert, a small finch, appeared on our boat about halfway through the sail. All of the crew instantly became attached to him, especially after he proved himself to be awesome at catching annoying moths that were fluttering around. Although many of us wanted to keep him permanently, we cannot control the whims of a bird, and Rupert, like Nelly Furtado before him, “spread his wings and flew away” once we were in sight of land. After the loss of Rupert, we docked in Tarragona, Spain, which is about an hour outside of Barcelona. The afternoon was filled with classes and boat appreciations. Two highlights followed the busy afternoon: shore showers and il Classico, the soccer game between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Shore showers were greatly enjoyed by everyone, especially since the water was warm. Afterward, we were allowed to go out and try and find somewhere to watch the game. Three boys, Staige, Tom, and Holden, had bought tickets to the game in advance and were able to see the game in person. Others broke into groups and ended up wandering about Tarragona, trying to find a place open on a Sunday night to watch the game. My group ended up at the top of Tarragona in Old Town, watching in this huge plaza that was divided between Madrid supporters and Barcelona supporters (we sat in the Barcelona section). After an eventful game ending in a tie, everyone made it back to the boat to get some sleep for our Barcelona day tomorrow. set date: 2012-10-07