Saturday, May 30 - mystery ride, we see you Africa

Saturday morning we woke, ate a quick breakfast, got dressed, and hopped in the car for a mystery ride.

Along the way we saw loads of windmills.

Our first mystery destination was Tarifa.  Tarifa is the southernmost point of continental Europe and at the gateway to the straits of Gibraltar separating the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.

There, we took the kids on their first boat ride.  Well, you may be able to count the paddleboat ride we did in Charleston, SC last October as their first.  But this was definitely their first open water boat ride and their first whale watch.  It was also Scott's first whale watch.  We went with FIRMM (Foundation for Information and Research on Marine Mammals).  It was wonderful.  First they split us into groups by language.  There were 3-4 groups.  We, of course, were with the English group.  There was also Spanish and German (there are a lot of German speakers in Tarifa).  I think that there was a 4th group of native French speakers.  Each group was given an overview about the dolphins and whales we might see, why they're in this area, what their habits are, what they like to eat, what endangers them, what they look like, their size relative to humans, etc.  It was just enough to feel prepared for the trip and yet not too much to be overwhelmed.

There are 4 types of dolphins and 3 types of whales that are seen in these waters throughout the year.  Some are there year-round while others migrate through for various reasons and at various times.  

After the overview, we walked by the shop which was sandwiched in-between dive shops at this harbor.

As we walked to the boat, we saw this catamaran ferry which goes from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco, Africa.

Another view of the ferry.  It's just under 20 miles between the 2 cities.

We moved around a lot on the boat.  Here's position #1 with Devon on my lap and Cody and Rosa behind me.  

Shortly before boarding the boat we all ate a piece of gum to help with sea sickness.  Here's Cody spitting his out.  

A view from on the boat.  All passengers stayed on one level.  A lookout person was on the roof with a microphone.  When she spotted animals, she'd tell us about them first in German, then English, and finally in Spanish.  

Enjoy the pictures and videos of striped dolphins, pilot whales, common dolphins, and the sperm whale.  It was so much fun seeing all of them.  We even got to see the sperm whale head back under the water and say goodbye with a big wave of the tale.  It's possible that some of these pictures missed the animals.  Whoops.  No time to edit them now.  So, just enjoy the sea views.

Views of Spain in the distance.  Later in the trip we saw Africa in the distance and Scott's phone even started roaming in Africa.

A container ship.

The seasick gum didn't help Rosa or Scott.  Rosa got sick while we were watching the sperm whale.  But, afterwards she felt great.  Scott never got sick, which was probably unfortunate.

Devon felt great, but tired by the end.  He pulled off a nice cat nap on Scott's lap.

Rosa was much better at the end of the trip.

After the ride we headed up from the harbor to a series of restaurants.  

We ate lunch at the pizzeria.  We liked the creativity of the wine bottles wrapped around the pole.

After lunch we walked around a little bit.  

We really liked the Tarifa vibe.

And then we hit the road again to go to mystery ride destination #2 for the day.  Along the way we say various forms of wind sports.  Tarifa is known for its wind and has loads of windsurfers and kitesurfers.  

It also explains all of the windmills (wind turbines).

We had considered stopping at a beach on the hour-long drive between Tarifa and the hotel we'd reserved.

But we knew the kids were tired and should try and take a nap.  Cody is just pretending here.  We'd said that the first kid to fall asleep would get a prize.

Rosa and Cody tied.  Devon had already slept on the boat.

Love this picture of these two with their heads together supporting each other as pilows.

Our turn off the highway had Colorado in the name.

At last we arrived at our hotel.  I'd found an amazing last minute deal for $75 for the night at Hotel Confortel Chiclana de la Fronterra.  Our apartment had 2 bedrooms and the couch and a kitchen.  It had both a front and back porch as well.  And the pools were PHENOMENAL!

Just behind our room was this buffet restaurant.  Many hotel guests ate here, including us.  It reinforced with us that we're not really buffet lovers.  But, the kids are!  They thought it was amazing!

Devon and I had checked out the restaurant while the rest of the gang was showering.  Here he is running up the ramp. 

At the hotel, the kids and Scott swam and swam until they couldn't stop their teeth from chattering.  It was their first time swimming in Spain and they really missed it.  And the pool they choose was shallow enough that the kids could stand in it easily.  Cody spent most of the time jumping in, climbing out, repeat.  Rosa spent most of the time carrying Devon around on her back.  And at times the kids would all gang up and climb all over Scott and push him in or have him take all 3 kids on piggy back rides at the same time.

Then we all showered, ate dinner, did some homework, watched some tv, and went to bed.

All in all, an extremely successful day!