By Chrishawn Orange
Augustana men’s basketball

My day to write and it began with a wake-up call at 7:30 a.m. from assistant coach Jordan Delp. He told me in the most monotone voice I’ve ever heard “wake up”.

We headed down to breakfast, which was pretty good. They had croissants with lemon powder on them and it was the best croissant I’ve ever had. From there we lined up in a single file line and started our morning walk down to our bus, so we could visit one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world – the Amalfi Coast. On the busiest street in Sorrento, because of the people heading to work, our bus driver was making tight turns and not at a low speed.

Traveling on the bus we were able to see some breathtaking views. The kind that look like they belong on a post card. Seeing views we have never seen before and at some points it almost looked fake because of how beautiful they were. With no sun out there was a calm fog on the water and it made the scenery look very majestic.

When I looked out onto Mediterranean Sea I couldn’t tell where the water ended and where the clouds began and it was truly unbelievable. Driving to Amalfi Coast we ran into some major traffic congestion. At one point we almost crashed into another bus and the locals around the area helped us maneuver out and we made it to Amalfi Coast in one piece.

There was bumper-to-bumper traffic and we were barely moving. With all of the houses on the mountain it created a vertical city. This was remarkable because in city of Positano all of the houses are on a cliff. It’s crazy to see how people built a city on a mountain and with the limited technology they had it still is maintained today. We maintained a positive attitude, despite the slow going, because of all of the picturesque views we saw along the way.

When we arrived at the Amalfi Coast, we split up into groups. I enjoyed my day at Amalfi Coast with fellow sophomores Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Englewood, Colo.) and Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) and Nolan’s parents. We all went out to lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant. There I had an unusual dish that I wasn’t sure, if the combination went together until I ate it. It was ham and cantaloupe and it was incredible.

After lunch I met up with my roommate Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and we went down to the coast-line to take the famous picture we always see other people take. The kind when they are in the water and the beautiful building are in the back.

We headed back to Sorrento where we finished our day doing some shopping. This is where Coach Delp made his first purchase of the trip and bought his mom a bottle of olive oil.

By Dylan Sortillo
Augustana men’s basketball

Today was an unbelievably eventful day filled with breathtaking sights and good times.

First we started off the day with a phenomenal breakfast provided by the hotel, then embarked on our journey to our first stop, Montserrat. This religious site is one of the most popular of the religious pilgrimage sites in all of Spain. This in itself is cool because of the vast history behind it so we were all extremely excited. Excitement grew from most of the guys as we whirled and winded on a narrow two-lane road in an enormous bus nearly 4000 feet into the sky, providing an amazing view we’ll never forget.

Once we arrived at the Monesserat we split up into our own groups. Some guys, including myself, and even some guys terrified of heights conquered their fears and hiked even further up the side of the mountain to check out the layout. Others checked out a museum that included paintings from world famous artists such as Pablo Pacasso, Salvador Dali, and Claudia Monet. After, our free time we collectively gathered in the Chapel and took in the moment.

Next we hopped on the bus and headed to our next destination, Sitges, the beautiful beach coastal village on the Mediterranean Sea. Many of the premier athletes and famous people of Spain reside there so you can imagine the quality of the village and the beach. We enjoyed our fun in the sun on the beach and the majestic waters and waves of the Mediterranean. Some (Brandon Schattner) spent a little too much time in the sun and got a nice sunburn.

After an authentic Spanish lunch, we headed back to our hotel to prepare for our nighttime game versus a premier Spanish opponent AET Boet Mataro. The program was recently bumped up to level one professional team, the highest league in Spain, so we knew we were going to have our hands full.

We ate a steak dinner at the hotel and celebrated sophomore Nic Uhlir’s 20th birthday, then headed to the stadium. We brought the energy from the start and jumped out to an early 10-point lead thanks to a hot start from senior Jacob Johnston. He even gave the “finger pistols” after a big three so you know he was feeling it.

But, of course they battled back and even took the lead in the fourth quarter with physical play and impressive European-ball movement. Thanks to solid contributions by everyone, including the energy from the bench and our fans we hung tough and gave ourselves an opportunity to win. Down the final stretch sophomores Pierson Wofford and Chrishawn Orange stepped up big and we were able to pull off a huge 74-73 victory. This was an ultimate grind-it-out game and was really big in bringing us together as a team.

Tonight we will go to bed happy and gear up for our flight to Naples, Italy in the morning.

Overall, our time in Spain was wonderful to us and we even came out with two HUGE wins.

Go Vikes!