Britannica Mallorca Trip - Days 1 and 2

A very lucky group of students from Britannica began their journey to Spain on Friday evening. After a long flight, we stopped in Paris where we enjoyed a continental breakfast before boarding our connecting flight to Palma Mallorca. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by the principals of the Orbital schools here on the island and our hosts Port Calanova Sailing school, who put on a delicious spread of food and drinks to welcome us. The students had no problem falling asleep after the journey they had to get here! The next day we woke up with all the students excited to make a start at the sailing course. All students finished their theory section in the classroom and then despite some bad weather the instructors took us out for their first taste of the open water!

Due to the rain in the afternoon, we took all the students to Mallorca's trampoline park. They had an amazing time practising their flips, ninja warrior skills and gladiator battles. We even had enough time to play in the pool. The students have been getting the 5-star treatment with every meal in Spain. Here’s what we have all said about the food and trip so far:

Phil: "This is the best day of my life"

Fletcher: "Do we have to go back to Shanghai?"

Mr Benson: "This really is pae-YAY-a!"

We can’t wait to make more amazing memories this week!

This morning we awoke to beautiful sunny skies. After breakfast we headed down to the port to begin our second sailing lesson. The students learned how to tack and gybe (turning into the wind and turning away from the wind). Although the weather was beautiful, it did tend to make some of us a bit sick. However, all of the students persevered and enjoyed their sailing lesson.

After our lesson, we were greeted by some eager friends from our sister school, Balearas International College. We headed up the road to visit the campus and meet the rest of the students. Our new friends gave us a tour of their school and we got to know many of the students. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Balearas school and got to spend some extra time playing outside. Our students have made some great friendships - even exchanging phone numbers to stay in touch!

We sadly departed our sister school and headed to Palma Cathedral. We spent some time walking around the Cathedral, admiring the stained glass windows, artefacts and the scenery outside.

We then headed back to the sailing school for a quick water-frisbee match before dinner - Mr McKechnie unwillingly declared it a draw. We were greeted at a local restaurant by the very friendly owner who made us his award-winning (Best in the Mediterranean) "Cachopo." The students enjoyed every last bite! We then headed back to the sailing school for a quick diary-writing session before the students all fell asleep!

On to Day 3!