Tarifa, Spain - July 10




The day was an off day from working the NatWest Island Games so we traveled as a group to explore Spain. This was one of our excursions during the trip. I expected the day to be filled with beautiful landscapes and views throughout Spain. The excursion was well planned by Bland’s Travel Company. They made the experience a great one! Now I will get into how the day carried out: 
The day started off with a little bus driver trouble as our originally scheduled driver named Tony had chest pain and could not come into work and take us. So the company called another driver named Phil so we waited for an hour so. It was no big deal because things happen and Bland’s Travel Company took care of the situation perfectly. We then boarded the bus and drove to the border of Gibraltar and Spain. The customs walk into Spain went quick and was painless. I still cannot believe how easy it is to travel in and out of countries in Europe. Once we got through customs we boarded the bus and drove about 45 minutes to Tarifa, Spain. Our bus driver named Phil was full of jokes to entertain on the ride over. We then went to a café to grab a quick coffee then met Phil at the whale watching ticket office. The whale watching tour left about 12noon and we stayed out on the Straight of Gibraltar waters for roughly two hours. The experience was a cool one other than mostly everyone on the boat getting seasick.
After we got done with the whale watching tour we spent the rest of our time in Old Town Tarifa and the beaches.We went to a diner called La Pescaderia and it was great food. The town was a neat little place with cobblestone roads and old white or gray style buildings. I purchased a shirt from one of the stores as a souvenir so I can have something from Spain to take back to America. 
The overall review on the excursion to Spain was a good one. It was nice to get out for a bit and see new places. Our tour guide Phil was first class and he did a great job. The security at the border blows my mind because they don’t have tight security at all. The customs officers didn’t really check our passports that closely. It was a great day and it was something to kill time off of the rock. 

- Nick



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