Posted on: 5/05/2024
Posted on: June 17th 2023
Santander Trip
"On Saturday 17 June, we set off to Gatwick Airport from school to get our flight to Bilbao airport. We were all very excited to get to Spain, despite some nerves about the upcoming flight. Fortunately, we all survived the vigorous turbulence on our flight, and finally landed in Spain, albeit soaking wet from the unexpected rain we experienced when getting off the plane! We took a beautiful coach journey (most of which, we travelled along the coast, where we could see the gorgeous sunset as well as some stunning mountain ranges) to the place where we would meet our host families in Santander. There were some nerves but definitely bundles of excitement as we waited to be introduced. After we had been introduced we went to our homes away from home and met our host’s dog, Rocky. We had some delicious dinner then went to sleep.
The following day, we arrived at the meeting point, got on the coach and headed off to the areas of San Vicente de la Barquera and Comillas, which were beautiful and filled with shops. As a bonus, the sun was actually shining! We were all very excited to go to the Cuevas de Soplao, and split off into two groups to go down into the caves. The tiny train down into the caves was ear-piercingly loud, but definitely worth it, as once we got down there, the caves were a great sight. The tour guides were kind enough to give us all an explanation in English, which really allowed us to understand the origin of the caves.
Monday consisted of language school for 4 hours in the morning, which was definitely a different experience for all of us. At the school, they prepared us for a quiz about Santander which we were to do later on that day. We ate lunch at the park before wandering around and asking people the questions on our quiz sheets - in Spanish! This really helped us all build up our confidence and allowed us to get to know the Santander culture; everyone was really friendly.
The next day we did language school in the morning again, and were all very excited to go on a boat trip and to the beach later on. However, the weather was awful and we had to stay on the boat before going to get churros. The churros were delicious and almost made up for the lack of beach we were getting. Despite the rain, we still had a great time on Tuesday.
We were all very happy on Wednesday for our last day of language school - it was a great experience, but the best part of every day was getting out and doing things in and around Santander. That afternoon, we visited the Magdalena peninsula and Sardinero neighbourhood. It was really exciting to see different parts of the region; it was so different from the UK.
Thursday was the last day - a bittersweet feeling. Of course we had all had an amazing time in Santander, but it would be nice to return home. We said goodbye to our families after triple checking that we hadn’t left anything behind. Lots of tears were shed as people said goodbye to their host families - you really do create a bond with the people you stay with. After collecting our certificates from the language school, we waited for what felt like hours for the coach, and travelled to some coastal towns: Santona and Castro Urdiales. The weather was beautiful, and I for one was ecstatic to have some stunning weather on our last day. We explored and bought some final souvenirs before getting on the coach and departing to the airport.
This trip was an incredible experience; it really helped build our confidence and also of course our Spanish."
Written by Mia and Aj, Year 10
