I have been traveling all over the map but in doing so, my wake times have been all over the map. Everything is at a whim, and it just fits how it fits.

The downside of sleeping when tired or delaying it until its convenience is that sometimes conveniences comes when after partying and traveling and arriving at the hotel at 7pm. This isn’t so bad in itself, I’m not missing anything by sleeping when I want because I don’t have anything booked.

Specifically the downside in almost all cases is when I want to eat or drink. 4am right now, nothing is open. Also in Spain, 4pm or so, is country wide naptime. So the last time I was hungry and left it till then, I ended up eating 10 euros worth of pastries and cakes because it was the only thing open. Now do I eat, the oft-forbidden mini bar chocolates in their tiny portions and giant prices? No, I must resist, and wait for the greatest thing ever, hotel breakfast buffets. Wow! I have seen some amazing ones and they are an awesome way to start the day, even if Spain traditionally doesn’t really even have breakfast. (coffee and toast)

I’m not really sure how any of this works for people with jobs, or schedules. When prodigy goes on stage at 3am, how then does sleep fit in if you have to do something at 8am? I see people of every age out in plazas, sitting on benches or drinking beers well after midnight. Does the day just start later? I’ve walked around some mornings and I guess that to be true. So Spain has this figured out way ahead of everyone else. Mornings are for suckers.

Except…. I’m pretty sure the productivity of cultures with 8,9am start times is much higher than Spain’s. The positives of warm nights come at a cost since really its more efficient to sleep at night. My ‘efficiency’ from a tourist perspective might not be that high in volume for sites seen. But I’ve seen many sides of this country in many times of day in many scenes and neighborhoods, while making my many traveling hops. So that’s pretty successful! Also, taking one bus and no subways/taxis means my feet have taken me everywhere. The real winner are Nike Shox shoes, A+, no question. Ventilated backpack also scores high. SIGG water bottle, props also to you. And.. google maps on my phone, which means I can go get lost, and search for something I see, and then I am found. Amazing! Paper maps are for suckers! (or those who run out of data credit on their foreign mobile phone plan :-( ) If I was on my own mobile SIM, I could have GPS too, which sorta makes being a tourist a cakewalk.