Three Facts You Must Know About Spain

The sound of a Spanish guitar fills your senses with the strains of Malaguena. The flamenco dancer whirls around the room and the singer sets your blood to boiling with the passion of his song. What enchantment is this that speaks to you in a mystical language that words could never convey? Ahhh, you must be in Spain!

Spain is a land of enchantment and beauty that is like nowhere else in the world. It has beauty that is unsurpassed, a culture that is unique and it draws vacationers from all over the world to enjoy all that it has to offer.

Spain, officially known as the Kingdom of Spain, is located in Southern Europe and it is about twice the size of the state of Oregon in the United States. It borders Andorra, France, Gibraltar, Portugal and Morocco and it is the fourth largest country after Russia, France and Ukraine.

An interesting custom that is practiced in Spain is their siesta. Shops are typically open from around 9:00am until 9:00pm, Monday thru Saturday but from 1:30pm until 4:00pm, many places are closed for siesta time. That is the time some shops will close to allow for a rest period. While not all shops observe a siesta time, it is still a quaint custom that is practiced today.

If you have some sort of emergency in Spain, there are telephone numbers you can call for help. You can dial them toll-free from any phone that is near. Some of them are:

Emergency services Tel: 112
Ambulance/Ambulancia Tel: 061
Fire service/Bombers/Bomberos Tel: 080
National Police/Policia Nacional Tel: 091 (for serious trouble)
Municipal Police/Policia Municipal Tel: 092 (for larger towns and cities)
Civil Guard/Guardia Civil Tel: 062 (for smaller towns and villages)

A lot of people, especially in the United States, believe that the Spanish language of Mexico is the same as the Spanish language of Spain. Nothing could be further from the truth. Castilian Spanish is the national language of Spain but there are many different dialects that foreigners may have trouble understanding. Galicia, Catalunya, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country and, especially, Andaluc

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