When the alarm went off at eight o’clock this morning, I awoke to see that Trevor was out on the balcony, where Borealis was already docked in Vigo, Spain.
“Guess who we are tied up alongside?” he asked. “Balmoral?” No. “Arcadia?” No. It was none other than Ambition, the Ambassador Cruises ship on which we’d had a good little Scotland and Faroes cruise in June/July of this year. Of course, I had to go out onto the balcony and get a photo. 😊
We had been to Vigo twice before, once in 1999 on the Funchal, and once in 2010 on the Queen Elizabeth. It is a charming little town in the Galicia region of northern Spain, and today we were booked on a half-day excursion to explore.
After breakfasting as usual in The View, we went out onto the back deck for a walk around. We had to meet our tour guide and coach at 9.15am dockside, so after returning to 6227 and collecting our cruise cards, money, water bottle and cagoules (!!) we made our way to the gangway on Deck 1 and disembarked.
The weather was pleasantly warm, maybe about 18°C with patches of blue sky and fluffy white clouds. We walked out of the cruise terminal towards the line of waiting coaches, and had our names ticked off a list by Javier, our smiling guide. We informed us the coach would take us into Pontevedra and we’d continue much of our tour on foot. It would give us the chance to stretch our legs after two days on a choppy Atlantic! 😊
As the coach meandered through the busy streets, we looked with interest from the windows at the people of Vigo going about their everyday lives. Soon we left the city behind and travelled through the lush green countryside; Javier explained that, being in northern Spain, the Galicia region got more rainfall than was average in Spain, hence all the greenery, and indeed this region is well-known for its vineyards and wines (which we’d sampled on our previous visits).
After about 45 minutes we arrived in Pontevedra and the coached parked up, ready for us to begin our walking tour.
Pontevedra is situated in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the County and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. The city is best known for its urban planning, pedestrianisation and the charm of its old town. Between 2013 and 2020, the city received numerous awards for its urban planning.
We found ourselves in a large, tree lined area with benches situated at intervals; Javier explained that this was a popular meeting place and families tended to take a stroll here and sit under the trees, listening to music from the nearby bandstand. By now, the clouds had dispersed and the sun was hot on our backs.
Soon we came to the ruins of San Domingo church, dating from 1282. You could see the remains of the arches and rose window.
I love the architecture of the old parts of Spain; it’s so ornate with its balconies and balustrades, pillars and sculptures; there is so much to look at. It knocks spots off modern buildings. Javier explained to us the importance of the scallop shell in Galician architecture.
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of northwest Spain’s Galicia region. It’s known as the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, and the alleged burial site of the Biblical apostle St. James. His remains reputedly lie within the famous Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, consecrated in 1211.
Traditionally, Camino pilgrims would have to walk over to Santiago and back. The scallop shell, a common mollusc along the shores of Galicia, was used by returning pilgrims as a badge of honour and ‘proof’ of having visited the city of Saint James.
More than just a souvenir, in a way, the Camino shell can be considered the original ‘pilgrim certificate’ even before the Compostela was issued to medieval pilgrims.
Along with the walking stick and the pumpkin used to carry water, the scallop shell was also a handy utensil for medieval pilgrims, who could use it as a dish to eat their food or as a cup to drink water.
In modern times the scallop shell has become such a popular symbol that pilgrims carry it on their journey to Santiago, not only as a memento of their achievement. Thus, you can see scallop shells featuring prominently in church architecture, scultures, paintings and decorations.
We came upon a really unusual church, the Church of La Peregrina. From the front, it didn’t look like a church at all, more like a tall narrow building with twin towers. It was only when you looked at it from the side you realised it went back a fair way. The church was light and airy inside, with many paintings and statuary, and of course gilt scallop shells.
Continuing on our way, we walked through several squares (there are a lot of squares in Pontevedra!) with lots of trees and fountains. We then arrived at the convent, access to which was via a couple of series of steps. Some people baulked at the thought of climbing the steps, but Javier assured us that the visit to the convent would be worth it, and indeed it was. It was lavishly decorated, with many fabulous stained glass windows. An old nun stood in the doorway with a begging bowl, muttering a litany of prayer under her breath.
Once we’d descended all the steps again, we passed through yet another square; this one contained a water feature in which several pigeons were taking a bath and cooling off. 😊
We arrived at another church and Javier spread his arms wide and exclaimed “Wow!” Everyone snapped to attention wondering what the ‘wow’ was for (Javier did tend to be somewhat overenthusiastic!) as he pointed upwards to the décor and façade of yet another church. While it may have had the wow factor for some people, we always mentally compare every church and cathedral to our ‘own’ cathedral in Durham, which certainly takes some beating. 😊
As we arrived back to more or less where we’d started, Javier said we had 15 minutes of free time, to use the facilities or to buy refreshments. Trevor and I sat on a nearby bench for a while in the sun, then it was time to return to our coach for the journey back to the Borealis. It had been an interesting tour and we’d got some exercise walking around in the sunshine. 😊
Arriving back at the port, I took a photo of the Ambition and the Borealis as they stood stern-to-stern. We then boarded the ship and returned to 6227 to dump our bags before heading to the View for our lunch, which I enjoyed with a chilled glass of cava. As we weren’t sailing until 4.00pm, we decided to go ashore again and explore the immediate vicinity, and perhaps visit a bar for the mandatory glass of freezing cold beer. 😊
After walking around for a short while, we came across a bar with tables and chairs outside and lots of pigeons strutting around, hoping for a crumb or two of bread, or some nuts. All the seats in the shade had been taken, and I wasn’t wearing any sun protection, so we decided to go inside. There were several pigeons inside as well, and the proprietor did not seem put out in the least. We each ordered a foaming pint of cold beer, which came with a dish of marinated olives and some peanuts. As we began shelling the nuts, the pigeons gathered around our table, and I occasionally threw half a nut into the mêlée, watch the flurry of grey feathers and wings with amusement. 😊
We stayed in the bar for about 40 minutes, the pigeons receiving several more nuts, before paying for the beers and venturing back out into the sunshine. Then we took a slow stroll back to the Borealis and returned to our cabin (suite!!) for a half-hour power nap, with our balcony door propped open to let in the warm sea air.
Afterwards we just pottered around and went out on the balcony to watch the Borealis’ departure. As we were right at the stern we could see as well as feel the increase in the propellor speed as the water foamed and surged below us. The Borealis has stern-thrusters as well as bow-thrusters, and we enjoyed the feel of the thrumming power beneath. We would now be at sea until 9th November, in two days’ time, and we certainly hoped it would be a lot calmer than it had been! 😊
The rest of the evening we spent as we do every evening; dinner at 6.15pm, then along to the Neptune Lounge for the show at 8.45pm. The show featured the Borealis Theatre company and was themed around colours, so songs included Yellow Submarine, Red Red Wine, Purple Rain and Paint it Black. It was an exuberant, colourful show and we really enjoyed it; there are some really talented singers on board the ship. 😊
Afterwards we went to the Morning Light pub where the others from table #222 were already waiting. We reached the tiebreaker with two others teams, but lost out again! Then we all sat talking for awhile before heading up to the Observatory to listen to the disco music and enjoy a nightcap.
It was about midnight when we returned to 6227 and settled down for the night, after first going out onto our balcony and watching the wake for a while. The Borealis was steaming along at a fair old pace, and we looked forward to another day at sea tomorrow.