Created by 3GoExploring
Travelling by cruise ship can be unpredictable when it comes to weather, missed ports are common and we have been very lucky until now. Prior to departing on this cruise, we had noticed trouble brewing in the Atlantic in the name of Storm Kirk and this time were armed with the knowledge that distributions would happen. Our first port of call was going to be La Coruna, but the captain decided to cancel this port and move further south to Vigo trying to keep ahead of the looming storm, so we arrived a day early into Vigo.
The morning started off quite groggy with blustery showers, but as ‘explorers’ this wasn’t going to put us off, on with the Gortex coats and let the adventure begin. Luckily, not long after leaving the ship the weather started to brighten, time to offload the Gortex coats and grab the sunglasses…
Our first visit was to Praza de Espana, a landmark featuring a sculpture of 60ft high herd of horses, marking the ownership of O Castro’s horses.
It is quite a walk up to these horses with a steep incline! However, this should not put you off, be prepared to be quickly and effortlessly transported up the hill by a travellator. Whoever came up with genius idea is a saint, minus a few inclined steps to cross the roads the travellator will take you all the way up the hill to the statue of the horse.
After taking in the sculpture, it’s a short walk to Castelo Do Castro, a prehistoric stone ruin built during Middle Ages. This fortress and castle are free to enter, and you can capture 360 views of Vigo known as the largest fishing village in Spain. The castle grounds also have its very own botanical park with hundreds of native and foreign species of plants.
You may have trouble spotting the cruise ship Iona, as she is attempting to play hide and seek…
From the castle we walked downhill towards the cathedral known as Concatedral: Basilica de Santa Maria de Vigo, a neoclassical church, unfortunately, this was closed but a sneak peek in the church viewing windows didn’t go amiss.
A pit stop for lunch was in order and it was time to try out the Quays on Deck 8 onboard Iona, fish and chips were a delight following our morning walk. The weather continued to improve so we headed back out into Vigo and took in the Old Town, everywhere you look there are hidden alleyways taking you on a journey back through time. Vigo may not be high on your list to visit however, we found it had a charm about it and we enjoyed the hours exploring.
There are plenty of eateries offing the usual Spanish cuisine, we didn’t try any but plenty of fellow cruisers seemed to be enjoying what was on offer. As we sit high up on board the cruise ship looking out over Vigo and the marina, you can imagine on warm summer night the hustle and bustle of yachts and the clinking of glasses.
Next stop for us is Lisbon, we still have Storm Kirk advancing towards us but hopefully the Captain has made the right decision and we stay ahead time will tell…
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