Cruisin 2 - North Spain and Portugal

After Portland we headed South for warmer climes. No points for guessing our first stop. The flower puppy and Guggenheim glimpses should be an obvious clue, not least because they have both starred previously in this blog.

We opted to walk around the old part of Bilbao initially up the river. The sculptures were too numerous to log but this one seemed to embody both grace and strength in trying to throw the discus across the river to the City Hall.

A little further along was the 1860s railway station which glinted extravagance.

While across the river the 1890s Theatre Arriaga was eye-catching and spacious. 

As we wove our way through the laneways, all manner of tapas, food and coffee shops beckoned. This shop not only tempted with an immaculate display of hams and cheeses, but the wall displayed the speciality regions of Spain, Portugal and Italy. Now that is worthy of some study!

After Bilbao our next port was “A Coruna” which translates to “The Corner”. Aptly so as it is on the Northwest corner of Spain. It is a small but wonderful town which we explored using a surprisingly comfortable Tuk Tuk. The headland’s focus is a lighthouse named Hercules. This is the oldest working lighthouse in the world with the first version dating back to Roman times and the first century where a ramp was needed to supply the essential fire-wood. It has gone through several iterations with the current renovation dating back to 1788. It is a solid immoveable stone structure

which can be seen for miles around.

A speciality of this coast is Octopus and this brightly tiled version enticed all manner of passers by to sit amongst its tentacles and grab a picture.

The town front was particularly striking with most of the buildings clad in a myriad of small windowpanes. It made for a bright eye-catching façade and is appropriately nicknamed Crystal city.

Next stop was Porto where the guide had suggested we called into the Lello bookshop. This is where JK Rowling spent some of her time and the structure seems to have fired the imagination for the Hogwarts (Harry Potter) library.

Another that could have had an input were these two churches which were separated by a very thin hidden house. The entry is just to the left of the two square columns. The “Descubra a casa Escondida” is about 1 metre wide! 

The church to the left is Carmelitas. There was nothing secretive about the expensive decoration here! It is one of the most flamboyantly decorated churches you could hope to see. 

The attention to detail was also apparent at our next stop – the markets. The care taken in the presentation of these mushrooms almost detracted from a purchase – who would want to disturb this display?

Our guide Miguel L (as opposed to Miguel M or F or…) suggested that a quick stop at the railway station would be worthwhile. What great advice. The tiled pictures were sensational. Waiting for a train would be almost desirable!

After all that activity, it was good to stop for lunch where seafood was the focus. Alan and I succumbed to some wonderful Octopus while Kate and our guide shared a round loaf full of seafood all washed down with Pinot Grigio.

After that, a return to the ship for a rest was required! No prizes for guessing the imaginative concept behind the design of the cruise terminal.

Our next stop was Lisbon. As we had all undertaken a local tour when we called in last year, we opted to travel further afield to Sintra to visit the National Palace of Pena. The Sintra Hills are often covered by cloud, which fortunately cleared as we arrived. 

The mixture of colours and shapes were more discernible on the sunny side. We opted to access only the outside areas. Even so the ad hoc layout and numerous nooks and crannies took some time to navigate. Add queues and the inside would have been an all-day affair.

Our return trip was via the Western most point in Europe - the Cabo da Roca (Longitude 9°30). Fortunately, the weather was perfect. I suspect the Atlantic ensures there are many days when the weather is less clement - but at least the crowds would be smaller.

Our departure took us under Lisbon’s “copy” of the Golden Gate bridge being overlooked by the copy of Rio’s statue of Christ where a welcome restful sea day awaited.