Another very successful and enjoyable trip was had by all! Thank you Year 9 for being such lovely pupils. Mrs M Mathews
Report
by Jennifer Stocker, Eleanor Young, Lizzy Hardy, Louise Hale, Natalie Seeger, Ines Teixeira-Dias
Every morning we went for a jog. We jogged up a hill and then down the other side and along the beach to the hotel.
Cabárceno is a big zoo where the animals live in enclosures in what was once an iron mine. As a result, the rocks surrounding it are all a reddish-brown colour.
The beach was right outside the hotel. The sea was really cold but once you get your shoulders under it’s fine. Lots of boys ended up being buried in the sand including: Mr Rodgers, Max, Ryan, Cormac , Oli and Kenen.
Tapas is a snack that you can get in bars. It has a selection of things on the plate including calamari, black pudding and chorizo.
We went to a cake factory and we saw how they make the cakes we’d been eating for breakfast. They are called Sobaos. They are made freshly in the shop.
Santillana del Mar is a little medieval village. It has cobbles and a lots of little shops, restaurants and cafes.
We went to Isla one evening. There was a lot to do including pool and table football.
We had a sandcastle and sculpture competition which was judged by the lifeguard. There were entries of a mermaid, a turtle, a mouse, a shark, Sponge Bob’s World and a car!
The Valle Real commercial centre was very big. We had a supermarket quiz to do in Eroski (Bit like Tesco), find some shops/restaurants/cafés/ which fitted with what we were looking for in our booklets and we had to interview a Spanish person!
We did the euro challenge as well in the commercial centre. We were each given a euro and had to spend it as creatively as possible.
The hotel in Spain was very good. We all had a balcony and the whole group took up all the rooms on one floor. All the balconies were in line and it was quite funny when everyone at the back of the hotel stuck their heads outside!
The food in the hotel was really nice. There was salad and some form of meat as well as something traditionally Spanish for dinner. There was also toast, cereals, sobaos, palmaritas, galletas and juice for breakfast.
When we were out and about, we had a packed lunch which contained two half baguettes with different fillings, some water, a cake and a piece of fruit. However, on other days we were given some money by the teachers to go and buy ourselves lunch.
The coach journey was good. The coach was really nice and comfortable and was bright orange on the outside. We always knew where it was! Once we got used to being on the bus, it didn’t feel like it took 1 ½ days to get there at all! The coach had a DVD player on it too. We watched a selection of films and programmes including Glee which all the boys were very pessimistic about until the end of the week when my friend said he wanted to get back on the bus to watch Glee!
The drivers took us everywhere and were very knowledgeable when it came to Cabárceno
The teachers always made sure we were safe and occupied at all times. They did the wake-ups in the mornings and took the keys away at night. I remember being awake one morning just before Mr Walker knocked on our door. He was walking around and giving back the keys so we could have electricity. I heard him saying to the boys next door “Morning! Jog in half an hour, breakfast in an hour and a half! Morning!” I thought that was very funny.
Comments from students
It was a great trip and nice to have freedom when we went offsite.
Cantabria was a trip I will never forget! The rooms in the hotel were great, and I loved all the spare time we had to spend on the beach. It was amazing to be able to try Spanish food (which was really nice!) and the journey was such good fun with all my friends and didn’t really feel that long.
Going on the beach was so fun! Theweather wasnice.We all went in the sea, even though it was freezing!
After dinner we could go outside or in the bar area with our friends, which was nice to have some free time.
I thought that the trip was really fun and enjoyable. The hotel was great, especially as it was so close to the beach. The coach journey was quite long but seemed quicker on the way back. I really enjoyed visiting the nature reserve and bakery and doing the dancing. I mostly enjoyed going on the beach in the afternoon and swimming in the sea. The tapas tasted good and I was surprised that when I tried octopus, it actually tasted quite nice. Overall I really enjoyed the whole trip and would love to go again.
The morning jog was a good way of waking up. Going around the beach and finishing off with yoga was a good way to start the day!
The zoo was very interactive as you could get very close to most of the animals.
It was an amazing trip, I made loads of new friends and had the time of my life. I wish we could do it again!
Thank you so much for organising the trip. We enjoyed it very much!