May 4th, 2024

We woke up to rain and cold and we had a bike ride scheduled as our excursion. The ride was regular bikes, not E-bikes and they met us inside the port and adjusted the bikes and gave us helmets. There were 13 on the tour and 2 tour guides.

Our sunset from the night before

Our view from the balcony

eating ready for our bike ride.

The ride was about 8 kilometers and we followed the coast down to Hercules Tower.

Here is the route we took

A view from a scenic lookout

Hercules Tower from a distance

The walkway uo to the tower was steep and we were given 3 options, ride the bikes up, walk and push the bikes up or just walk and leave the bikes at the bottom. 3 of us chose to just walk up and the rest said they would ride but all of them were off and pushing the bikes at about the half way mark.

Hercules Tower

The Tower of Hercules is the oldest known extant Roman lighthouse. It was built in the 1st century. It is 180 get tall and was last renovated in 1791. It is still working and is a UNESCO world heritage site. You can go into the tower and walk the 200 steps to the top but the line was too long and due to the wind they were not letting you outside once you got to the top.

View from the tower of the beautiful tiled compass.

The rough coast line

Near the Tower of Hercules there is a sculpture garden with some nice rock sculptures.

While this looks like a mini stone henge it is a monument to the executed and is in memory of those that were executed by firing squad during the dictatorship of Franco.

More views of the monument

There is another sculpture called Menhirs and is a set of 12 sculptures arranged in a circle. Each stone has a gap in it which allows the wind to go through and also gives some unique views for picture taking.

Menhirs sculpture

Framing through the stone

Our bikes waiting for us while we explore the sculptures

After the stops we headed back to the city. The rain was picking up but we had rain jackets that protected us from most of it.

Views of the city from a vantage point

They have lots of bathing clubs right on the ocean which they say stays cool year round but during the summer the beaches are packed.

Kathy and I on our bicycles in one of the big squares

Lots of harbors with sailboats

We made it back to the port by 12:30 and went back on the ship to change out our shoes for some waterproof ones and then headed back out on foot.

We wandered around for a bit and looked for something to eat. Unfortunately for me what A Corona is known for is octopus which was hanging in all the restaurants. The only way they are prepared is boiled and then paprika is sprinkled on top. It is weird to see so many tentacles on plates. We finally found a place that served fish and chips and we both got a plate but we should have shared. It was way to much food.

We wandered around some more and found ourselves back in the square where the bike ride had stopped.

We stopped to take a picture and unbeknownst to us 2 of our shipmates snapped this picture of us taking a picture.

A couple more city pictures

The problem with Spain is that almost everything closes down at 2pm for siesta and then starts back up at 5pm which was our all on board.

Kathy found this nice man who was a spanish writer

With most shops being closed and with it being cold and windy we headed back to the ship to get warm. We sailed away right at 5pm.

In every port you go in you have to get a pilot for that port. That pilot takes control of the ship and steer you in an out of the port. After you get out of port the pilot has to get off the boat and the small pilot boat matches speed with the ship, which has usually slowed down some, and steps off a door in the side of the boat above the water line. It is amazing to watch them even when it is rough and windy.

We have 1 day at sea on Saturday May 5th and after that we have 4 ports left before disembarking on the 9th. A lot of people are starting to pack but we would rather wait until the last day and put everything out and go from there. Much easier packing to go home than come on the trip. For going home you know that everything in the room has to go.