Salou Day 2: Europe's Tallest Hypercoaster, Screams & Breath-Taking Beauty

11 hours of sleep later, I wake up to an extremely warm and stuffy room as we didn't know how to work the air con the night before. That wasn't going to dampen my spirits though as I woke up in Spain! 

     During breakfast I discovered the Spanish really like their sweet pastries and sugar. The croissants were doused in syrup! After a hefty plate of diabetes we eventually found our way to Port Aventura. Having never been to a theme park of this scale, I was quite excited. I've only ever been to Oakwood (a 'small' theme park in comparison to what else is out there) in Wales. So Port Aventura, with its Mediterranean background music playing as you enter, felt like the Disney Land/World I was promised as a child but never got to go to!!

     Straight away we were off to do some rides and get some adrenaline going. First off was Stampida, a terrifying wooden roller coaster that you go so fast on you think it will fly off the tracks when it speeds around bends. Of course wooden roller coasters are always extremely creaky and loud which is an added scare effect in my opinion. It gets the adrenaline going even without loops or extremely high dips! There's also 2 carts going at the same time, side by side; a red and blue one! You pick which one to queue for (we went for the red one as the queue for that was further away so we figured it might be shorter!) and then wait your turn. The colour you pick makes no difference to the experience you get in my opinion. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't miss the opportunity to do it a second time just to make sure. ;)

During the Bang Bang show.

Following this we went to the Bang Bang show in the Far West part of the park. This basically involved group of old western characters that were defending their bank from a group of cowboys. I'm sure there was a whole lot more to the story but I'm afraid my level of Spanish is below zero so I couldn't understand what they were saying. You didn't need to be fluent in Spanish to be entertained by the stunt show they put on which included trained horses, fireworks, fight scenes, people falling off the tops of buildings and hilarious sound effects. However the extremely 'camp' cowboy stole the show with his flourishing catwalk everywhere, his high pitched screams and of course the occasional dance routine he broke into (including Beyoncé's Single Ladies of course!).

    The rest of our day at the theme park involved doing as many rides as possible even if we had to queue for an hour. We went on rides that got you soaked but thankfully the Spanish sun was out so we could dry off while walking around. In Ireland, you'd probably get pneumonia if you did that.  For the folks that grt wet and don't have the thick Irish skin that's trained into coping with walking around in wet clothes, they also have body dryers dotted around the place that you can step in and heaters will help dry you off for €2 a pop. 

     Of course the highlight of the day were the big rollercoasters. We did Dragon Khan which consisted of several dips, loops, corkscrews and lots of screaming. Then of course there was Shambhala, Europe's tallest (78 meters/256 feet) and fastest (134 kilometers per hour / 83mph) hypercoaster. Even though we were queuing for over an hour, the thrill was definitely worth it! I don't feel the need to explain it any further as they film your reaction while you're on board and I have said footage for you compiled into a YouTube video with added subtitles for your entertainment. Watch it below!

I eventually got over the pain in my eye and we continued on our Port Aventura adventure! This consisted of fire shows, more roller coasters, chips (due to a lack of vegetarian options) and more screaming. We eventually had to leave so we could get back to dinner in time as the hotel restaurant closes at 9.30pm. When we eventually got off our stop in Salou, we had to sprint to the hotel to make it in time. 2 women and a young boy sprinting across roads and down paths in sandals and flip flops really must have been a sight for the locals!

     We made it just on time and even though we were the last to leave and the waiting staff were quite annoyed with us, staying in the park just that little bit longer was worth it! Especially as the queues got smaller and smaller as the evening approached. We'll be back to the park on Sunday to do the rides we didn't get to today! After dinner, as bloated and pregnant with 'food babies' as we were, we didn't want to retire to our room straight away where we knew we would give in to an early slumber. Instead, myself, my sister and my nephew walked down to the beach to go for a stroll along the shore. Seeing the beach at night time was a totally different experience. 

     First of all, the famous Salou fountain was so much more beautiful to look at at night with its light display and background music. The patterns of spouting water constantly changed too so you could just sit there and watch the fountain without getting bored. To see a beautiful man-made water structure like this always reminds me of the beautiful things we can make with our very own hands. And possibly with the help of machinery or factories... but Earth's own creations will always overpower man-made ones. Hence it was the sea at night that took my breath away as I strolled through the warm tiny waves at the edge of such a vast sea, barefoot of course! The lighting consisting of an orange crescent moon, the stars, faraway streetlights and the glow that came from the small bars that stay open on the beach at night. Dim light resulted in my phone camera not being able to capture the reality of what I could see like the smooth ripples of sand you could see so clearly under the shallow water. 

After taking in my surroundings and gazing into the dark horizon imagining where the Balearic sea hit the cost of Italy's island of Sardinia and France's island of Corsica, for a long period of time, we eventually headed back to the hotel. 

Tomorrow, we go to Port Aventura's water park! My first EVER water park. I hope it's as good as the movies.

Hasta luego,

Ceara

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