Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Dave, and anyone else heading to Barcelona or Sitges should keep this in mind for a rainy – or cloudy - day:

We didn’t feel like going to the beach on the Thursday we were in Sitges – sunburn had taken its toll. So we decided to go to Port Aventura, the theme park near Salou – about 90 minutes by train.

What a fantastic day out we had. Port Aventura – or Universal Mediterranea as it is called these days – has loads of amazing rides. The place is divided into five zones: Mediterrania, Polynesia, China, Mexico, and the Far West. Each zone has two or three major rides plus a few smaller ones.

The park is dominated by Dragon Khan, one of the world’s most terrifying rollercoasters, and one of the most beautiful, too. A knot of loops and rolls, it is perched on a hill, visible from all parts of the park. According to a coaster-fanatics website I found, the ride exceeds speeds of 100km/h and has “eight inversions; two barrel rolls, two vertical loops, a cobra roll, a diving loop and an inline twist”.

All I know is, it’s bloody scary, yet wonderfully exhilarating. See this photo of me and Marcus on the ride. To re-create the Marcus-on-a-rollercoaster experience, watch this movie clip and scream, “No! No! No! Oh God no!” all the way through it.

Top tip if you are visiting the park: for about ten quid extra, you can get gold armbands which mean you never have to queue for the major rides. We gleefully, spitefully, swept past the waiting plebs, calling “guest-list, sweetie, guest-list!”

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