Rota Spain

Hi Nancy! My son arrived in January. He's an IT, so not that social. He does call me though. He uses Magic Jack. A lot of people use Skype to keep in touch. My son says Rota is a lot like Pensacola.

My son uses Majic Jack and at least I get to hear his voice.  The difference between Pensacola and Rota (according to my sailor) is that it is not as humid (hot) and not as windy.  He likes it a lot!  Wishes he could stay on base but is going on a ship.

Hi all, I am new to this group. My sailor just left to Rota last week. Have not heard from him since then yet. As for now I am starting to plan a visit with him in October and would really appreciate any advice - when to buy cheaper tickets, where to stay, where to rent a car

Son just got to Rota last week...Anybody else just get to Rota with 133?

My sailor just left after 2 years.  He is now in Jacksonville.  He had a great experience there. Lots of opportunities to travel and see Europe. As for getting there Irina. Take the the train to Jerez de la Frontera from Madrid. There is bus service to Rota.Rental cars are available everywhere, not cheap. This is Spain.

Hello Everyone.  Like Irina, I am trying to plan a trip to Rota.  Any suggestions on airlines?

I haven't been there yet, Irina; but please share what you find out.

I'm retiring next year and my son and his wife asked me to move to Rota.  I will not his dependent, nor am I not looking for Military Sponsorship. I am doing this all on my own.

My question for this group is what is some of your lessons learned or things you wished you knew before you moved?  I plan on relocating toward the end of July, beginning of August, 2015.

My son's in Rota on a deployment...He said they were cutting down on food portions and not giving them much to eat...Anybody else's sailor experiencing this?

My sailor has now separated and is in the reserves. He needed to to finish his degree as the money was no longer available as an active Navy man.  When in Rota he said budgeting was tight, it follows that portion control may be affected.  sequester!!!!

So happy to hear that my Sailor arrived to Rota!!!

God bless our Sailors!!

mic_from_cam

I have been meaning to PM you back...I will!

hope all is well!!!

Take care!

My sailor loves Rota! especially going to the beach!

We use this app called Tango so text and video chat. Supposedly it is free and hopefully it is because I don't want a surprise when I get my phone bill....eek!!!

Greetings to all Porter moms!! So proud of our Sailors!!

mic

how are you? sorry I haven't had the chance to send you a PM.

hello!!

I need some help, hopefully I find some here :)

my sailor's bday is next week and it is her 21st.

I'd like to have flowers delivered to her...does anyone know how I can go about doing this?

I called 1800-FLOWERS but they don't deliver to military bases :(

Navy Mom Deanna - thanks for your suggestion! I will look online to see if I can find something out from the NEX. Good idea! I really hope this all works out!

update!

made the international phone call to the NEX in Rota, spoke to the nice lady in the flower dept. and placed my order for a flower arrangement for my baby girl's 21st bday!

Although, she will have to go to the NEX to pick it up but the lady offered to give her a ride back to the barracks. She did tell me that they can deliver it but she needed an exact address and I don't even know if I'd be able to get that info from my Sailor and If I did ask her she'd want to know why and I don't want to ruin the surprise just yet. So eventually I will tell her to go the the NEX the day before her bday to pick them up.

I have sent her care packages but they arrive to the ship.

hi valsmom!

thanks for the generous offer and while ideally I would have loved for the flowers to be delivered, I have already made arrangements for my daughter to pick them up a day before her bday so she can begin to enjoy them!

another update - I have sent my daughter 4 care packages so far and all have been delivered. Two of them arrived within a week of me sending them. 

BTW - she loved her flowers!!

Hi Ladies!!  My son is currently in GM C School in San Diego.  He is supposed to be in Rota in early November and will be on the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and as excited as we are for him I am extremely nervous!  He is my first born and we are extremely close.  I have my days of where I am great and then I have my days I miss him so much I just want to hear his voice or see his face, but I try really not to be the clingy mom and try not to contact him every day.  I am happy for him with all that he is and will be learning and for the adventure he is about to embark on, but I really don't like the idea of him being on the other side of the world which is something I do not share with him.  Any advice on how to deal with our kids going overseas would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

Hello to all!

my daughter arrived to Rota in late April/early May and loves it. I don't think any mom likes the idea of having our kids so far away from us here in the states, let alone to end up in another country. But, such is life in the Navy. Rota is 7 hours ahead of CST, so usually when I was on my lunch break here, she would call me. I imagine you son will be flying out to Rota since the USS Cook is already over there.  My daugher's trip to Rota was on the ship, so there were out at sea for a little over a month when they left from Norfolk.

They have everything they need in Rota and everything is convenient. You have nothing to worry about! Our Sailors are safe. The only thing that is of concern is the drinking age...over there it is 18 and there are some bar/café type of places around there and the risk of underage drinking(by our standards) is high!

the Sailors typically have bicycles as a mode of transportation to get from their barracks to the ships and then when they venture out, they usually take a cab.

On the bright side, the beach is close by so that is always a nice place to just go to relax.

My daughter has also taken two trips and went to Madrid on the train and to Barcelona on the plane!

your son is going to see a part of the world that most of us can only dream of visiting!

stay strong and always be supportive! believe me, he will keep in touch with you...they do get homesick after a while :)

Take care!

Hi all...My son is on his way to ROTA...well, he is in Norfolk right now but he should soon be there.  I am so excited for him.  Gives me even more reason to visit Spain

Bobbi H...I'm pretty sure his orders said he was to report to Norfolk.  He actually reported there yesterday,  My oldest son is stationed there so he is staying with him till he flies.  I love it when they get to spend time together,  His wife isn't so keen on them taking over the living room with the Xbox and such, but she understands that they won't see each other for a while, so she is putting up with their antics!  I sure hope you get to spend your birthday there!  What fun!!

Looking for tips on cell phones in Rota... anybody have any info on the best plans they can get?  We're not sure what to do on this issue.  All the plans available here seem to be very costly for little to no service.  Has anyone bought a plan in Spain?

hello Bobbi H

did you see the in the Discussion Forum above the topic of Cell phones?

my daughter has an iphone with Sprint as the carrier service.

their international plan charges 20 cents per minute on phone calls. Another way we have communicated is with an app called Tango. You can video chat with this app as well. just make sure you have wi fi.

another thing I heard they can do is just buy a sim card out there.

hope this helps.

Hello everyone,

My son is on his way to Rota, Spain tonight.  It's been a difficult day--- he'll be there for 3 years.   Looking forward to finding out more about Rota

hello ktin - your son will be far away but he will be ok.

the base in Rota has everything he will need and the beach is really close by too!

I hope to take a trip to see Rota for myself.

Joe&NatesMom:  Thanks for asking about my son.  He's been there about 3 weeks now and settling in nicely.  He is really enjoying the weather.  Said the hottest it's been is 83...huge difference from where we live!

His biggest complaint seems to be the food isn't very spicey (out side the chow hall)... he likes his jalapinos and such. He did say he found some awesome olives stuffed with serano peppers.  He's also found it to be a big plus that he's pretty fluent in Spanish.  Said they speak Castillian there and some of the words are different, but for the most part he's doing well on that point.

How's your son settling in?

Glsd to hear everyone's sailors are well and that the Carney arrived safely.

My sailor also said the weather and the beach were awesome in Rota. She is also fluent in Spanish so a lot of her shipmates stick close to her whenever they go off base and into town...lol! Although for the most part, the Spaniards do speak English as well.

i'm hoping to take a trip to Rota to visit her sometime next year!

Bobbi H...Glad to hear!  My son has gotten into his routine now, and is loving it!  He bought a bike to get around, and has been on a few sight seeing tours.  He misses home though, and I have sent him a few reminders for his room.  He said his walls were bare, so I sent him a Ravens and an Orioles banner to remind him of home.  Also his favorite quilt for his bed.  He's really into fitness, and says the gym there is pretty good. 

Hello again! Not too much activity in this group so I hope someone passes by and sees this post. lol!!

just wanted to ask if any of your Sailors have been car shopping and bought a car in Rota? average car prices? cost of insurance? Also, if and when they go on patrol for extended length of time, is there storage place for a car rather than leaving it out in the elements? Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!

Leach73, my Sailor bought a car after being there a little over a month.  He bought one from another sailor for less than $2000.  His insurance is with USAA and I think it runs around $900 a year and is paid monthly.  Not sure abut the storage part, as my Sailor is a Corpsman and will be on base most of the time.

thanks Bobbi H

I will def. have my sailor look into the USAA insurance. Good idea!

Hello everyone!  Hope this finds you doing well.  Our son leaves for Rota, Spain, tomorrow.  He is excited and so are we.  When he was in college he studied at a Spanish University in Segovia.  We are hoping for a positive experience! 

Our son has only been in Rota a little over a month.  He is a gunner's mate.  It has been very hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year.  He had just finished up with boot camp the beginning of December last year and was able to come home for Christmas when GL went on stand down for the holidays so this is the first Christmas we will have without him.  I finally decorated the tree yesterday after it had been up for 2 weeks already.  I cried as I put the ornaments on and listened to Christmas music.  I made the comment today to my husband that it made me sad that he was going to be alone for Christmas.  I just meant he wouldn't be with family.    

He is 19 and our oldest son.  We have an older and a younger daughter and a younger son at home.  We had family pictures done before he shipped out in October and I refuse to cover up his boot camp picture so I had to buy another frame.  

I can't even just pick up the phone and call him when I want because about the time I would like to in the evening he "should" be sleeping.  I miss him everyday and these days a few tears fall every time I look at the tree.

I also am extremely proud to be a Navy mom and proud of what he is doing!

Hi all,

I haven't been on here for quite awhile. My son has been in Rota for over a year. I got to visit him last June, and really enjoyed it. I used Iberia Airlines, which was an experience. I'm glad I heeded the warning not to trust them with checked bags. My son is in married housing. He's an IT.

He calls me with his MagicJack device. I was out of state visiting my brother and family for Thanksgiving, and my son called. We were out shopping. I caught up with my brother and wife later and said, "Sorry. My world stops when one of my kids call." They just smiled. They know how I am.

My son will finish A school in June and has orders for Spain. Happy for him and look forward to visiting him when we can.

Good Morning!  Our son will be leaving for Rota very soon...any words of wisdom?

cjtizzy55 not much I can tell you.  A lot will depend on his rate.  My son is a corpsman, so he lives on base in barracks.  He works shift work, so his scheduling is different. Do try and figure out how to get his belonging over there.  There is a way to send what is called household goods.  If they take more than 2 bags, they have to pay for the extras. My Sailor is on the tail end of a two year assignment.  Being able to speak Spanish has been a plus for my son, so if he's able to as well, that will help.

Thank you Bobbi H.  He is S-Pact so, I am assuming he will be on his ship.  Sorting out cell phone communication...any heads up on that?

Thank you Bobbi H

Our son has been there since November 2015.  He is a GM on the Cook and absolutely loves Rota!  We use either WhatsApp, or Facebook to call and love to video with him over Skype.  He is on T-Mobile, but I'm not sure how his coverage is over there.

The time difference is something to get used to.  By the time I settle down at night and would really like to talk to him, he is in bed.  On the flip side, I get a lot of time to talk to him by myself because the kids are usually at school and hubby is at work when he calls. 

Advice would be, let him enjoy being there and taking in the world.  Our son has been to so many countries in the two patrols they have been on since he reported there.  He was just on his first actual leave and went to Portugal for a few days.  Needless to say, I am very envious of our boys' travels. 

Also, the ship was out on patrol when he got there.  Once the ship came back in, he had to live on the ship until he passed his qualifications then he got to move into the barracks.  From what I understand, it sounds like a dorm for the most part In his barracks, they can put things on the walls as long as they don't put holes in the walls. .

All he took with him were his uniforms (duh) and few civilian clothes and personal items.  Everything else, he has bought over there.  He hasn't bought too much though, I don't think, with the exception of the xbox. 

To ship stuff to him (care packages and such), flat rate boxes from the post office are the best way to go.

I think that's it.  Good luck Mama!

NavyMom2014 is right.  The 7 hour time difference is awful! (I am on central time)  Also have to watch during time changes.  There's changes, but not at the same time as in the states.  

So glad I joined this page!  He is very excited to start this part of his life, and so very thankful that he got what he wished for on his "wish list".  He is literally following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps.  Both were stationed in this area.  Vietnam and WWII.   He'll see and do soooo much more than I ever will.  All while doing something he believes in.  Not a bad way to start!