¡pollo, pollo!

"once was enough." that's pretty much the response i've been getting from everyone when i ask them about carnaval in cadiz. for me, it was actually SO much fun. yes, ridiculous and overwhelming in so many ways, but such an incredible experience. sadly, i have no pictures to share since i decided to leave my camera at home for the night (and as you'll soon learn, that was a very smart decision) but here's one from google:

going into it i really didn't know what to expect, all i had heard was that it's just a massive party in the streets, and that it was mandatory to dress up, otherwise i would look silly as the only one without a costume. well, i did dress up (and as always, my costume was sub par, but no pasa nada) but i was not prepared for the costumes i saw. let's see if i can accurately set the scene for you:

bright lights from multiple snack stands blinded us as we exited the bus. as my eyes adjusted to the scene i was bombarded with images of indians, hippies, naked old ladies, athletes, mimes, and chickens (just to name a few) and THOUSANDS of people hailing from sevilla, malaga, cadiz, madrid, barcelona, and granada. needless to say, shelby and i beelined it for the popcorn stand and quickly finished off the biggest size they had. the rest of the night is a bit hazy, but had something to do with making friends with chickens from malaga and getting pickpocketed. yep, it was bound to happen at some point, figures it would be during carnaval. luckily enough, i had previously moved all of my important stuff (credit cards, drivers license, etc) from my wallet beforehand so i was only out about 7 euros. regardless, carnaval was something not to be missed and just further confirmed my previous belief that spaniards are fucking crazy and have few limits.

viva la vida.