Barcelona to La Coruna, Spain on SS Voyager

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Barcelona is our entrance into Spain’s Catalan country, boasting a very tall monument to Christopher Columbus. Dark, narrow streets linking picturesque squares highlight the presence of bars and cafes. The Arc de Triomf and Ciutadella Park, both legacies of the 1888 World Exhibition, lead us to Olympic Port where we learn how the city transformed itself by tearing down aging warehouses along the waterfront t to build housing for Olympic athletes in 1992 and further lessening the urban housing shortage while opening up the waterfront vistas. Driving through the picturesque Placa Espanya, Congress Palace and Maria Cristina Avenue we end up on Montjuic Hill for panoramic views of the city. The sun sets on a beautiful day in Spain as we depart the harbor for Cadiz.

Cadiz is one of the quaintest cities we’ve enjoyed and our well guided walk through the historic section is an education in historic living. Modern urbanization has been avoided as the narrow streets, medieval buildings and gracious people intermingle with historic cathedrals and scenic plazas. The 178 step trip to the top of the city’s watch tower on the highest point gives true perspective to this island city and its maritime history. Lower priced shops than in other cities visited plus a relaxed but safe atmosphere (many patrolling policeman) make this a fun town to visit in the shadow of more metropolitan neighboring Seville. We end our tour with the consumption of Tapas hor doveres and a Flamenco dancing demonstration.

Arriving in Lisbon, Portugal is an experience. Our enrichment lecturer Sandra Bowern gives us a point by point description from the ship’s bridge as we slowly motor toward our pier in the heart of this enclave of history spanning the Rio Tejo (Tagus River). We’ve already learned about Lisbon’s important maritime history from Sandra and so passing the statues honoring Magellan, Vasco da Gama, Henry the Navigator and other famous Portuguese explorers. Our tour enjoys a guided walk through the old quarter, visiting the main Lisbon Cathedral Se. The Ajuda Palace is most interesting in that sprinkled among the former royal family antiques is a modern art collection. After our Palace visit we walk through the old town area with the usual medieval narrow streets and unique architecture of shops and apartments and find ourselves at the ship.

A fouled mooring line delayed our departure to Oporto, Portugal so our excursion, provided by Virtuoso Travel Club, was abbreviated to the tour and lunch at the XIV century manor house Casa de Juste. As it was we enjoyed a 45 minute tour through the countryside to Guimaraes, the cradle of Portuguese nationality and the first important city of the kingdom of Portugal with references that illuminate 800 years of history. The manor house owner, 16^th in the line of succession, conducted the informative tour highlighting the antique china and furniture and painted murals brought from other European estates over the years to pinpoint the uniqueness of this mansion turned B & B. The splendid meal with manor house wine was followed by a wine tasting of port to further educate our palette with the product honoring this area with its name. Several of our party honored the impact of this fine meal and after meal wine selection with a snooze on the way back to the ship.

Returning to Spain, and its daylight saving time, our next walking tour of an old city was of La Coruna on the northern coast on Sunday morning. After the usual champagne breakfast on board, our guide’s sense of humor exemplified the talent and capability of the local population, as we saw the results of years of development taking this fishing village to a modern tourist attraction by maintaining its colloquial flavor with modern touches. We saw several picturesque squares, including Maria Pita Square and visited Hercules Tower, a lighthouse at the harbor entrance first built by the Romans. Returning to the ship we are reminded of the importance of the heroine Maria Pita who thwarted Napoleon’s Army’s attempted invasion when she became angry and, grabbing a spear, killed a French soldier and spurred the defending Corunna’s to repel the French, thus becoming Spain’s Joan d’Arc. An afternoon in the sunshine aboard the ship was relaxing although the chill factor reminded us of the guide’s comments about the low temperatures now being experienced “Come to Coruna in the summer time and have the best winter of your life”. There are 2.7 Million people in the area with 250,000 in the city of 36 square kilometers. Heritage is a mixture of Irish, Spanish and Portuguese. He notes that the “Rain in Spain mainly falls here”. Roman Catholics make up the majority of the population but only 20%!a(MISSING)re practicing the religion regularly (there are 56 churches and 1500 bars). Unemployment is 21%!w(MISSING)ith many young people leaving for other European countries for jobs. Housing is expensive (300,000 Euros = $380,000) and the local banks have been absorbed into multinationals. College have a student population of 70%!w(MISSING)omen with colleges of medicine being 82%!w(MISSING)omen. The beaches are beautiful but the water is cold as the Gulf Stream pushes the cold Atlantic toward the shore.

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