Day One - We flew from Albuquerque to Barcelona through Chicago and Frankfurt with no issues. We arrived to our final destination right on time. Traveling out of the country was different this year due to all the COVID-19 requirements. Embarking the ship took a lot of patience as we had to wait in long lines to ensure that the requirements were in order. We had to take a COVID test before we left the country and another Covid test at the terminal and lots of paperwork required by Spain. We are required to take a daily saliva test. The mask requirements had been lifted on the ship and at most locations so far. Wanting to increase our chances of getting through all 23 days without a positive test, we wore our masks more often than most people on these two cruises. This is a view from our ship in Barcelona.
Day Two - we took an excursion to La Sagrada Famila and other works by Antonio Gaudi. Construction started on the church in 1882 and is scheduled for completion in 2026, the centenary of Gaudy's death. They still have a lot to get done and with a couple years lost to COVID-19, this finish date does not look optimistic. While they are sticking to his design on the outside the inside has been designed by many different architects but still following his grand idea, With this weekend being Palm Sunday there were large crowds, but sill quite a sight.
Day Three -We sailed to our next port by night and arrived the next morning Murcia (Cartagena), Spain. Cartagena is has a very quaint marina and is one of the big ancient Roman cities in this area. It is home to a 6,000 seat Roman Theater which was sitting under the town for more than 2,000 years and only just discovered and excavated in 1990. Much of the original roman walls and other buildings still remain. The old town still has the narrow cobblestone streets and is a pleasure to stroll around. Again this is the Saturday before Palm Sunday but is still great to walk around town with other Spanish tourist and feel like a part of the celebrations.
Day Four - Next port stop: Granada (Malaga), Spain. We sailed to Malaga by night and arrived the next morning. Malaga is noted to be one of the oldest cities in the world. This town has a history of the Romans and then the Moors and also the birth place of Pablo Picasso. We first headed out to the mountain town of Mijas at 1,400 feet above sea level. This town known for the small cobblestone streets and great views over the ocean. After visiting, Mijas, we got back and take bus to explore the city of Malaga. This town has many ruins of the Roman and Moors time here.
Day Five - Day at sea: Cruise the Atlantic Ocean from Malaga to Porto Portugal.
Sunrise over the North Atlantic Ocean as seen from Deck 2
of the Viking Jupiter ship.
Day Six - We arrived in Porto, Portugal at 8:00 in the morning. We had a morning excursion planned. Weather forecast called for rain most of the morning but we headed out to "The Best of Porto" excursion. This is a beautiful city at the mouth of the Douro River that comes out of Spain and enters the Atlantic Ocean. We walked through some old parts of town before getting to the Douro River for a boat ride up and down this river. We embarked a traditional "rabelo", a specially built boat once used to transport barrels of port wine. Unfortunately the rain started as we got on the boat and rained on and off for the duration of the journey. I stubbornly sat outside and got soaked but it was a great way to see the city. We then headed by bus to the Porto Cathedral which was built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style. When the Portuguese explorers were taking a lot of gold and silver out of South America they used a lot of gold leaf to adorn many of the rooms in this church. We then visited an ancient wine cellar for a tasting of the city's world-famous port wine, served with typical tapas from northern Portugal and accompanied by the sounds of fado music.
Day Six - Day at sea, travel from Porto, Portugal to Falmouth, England.
Steve's breakfast stop, most mornings: the Explorer's Lounge.
Cool
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