During breakfast this morning, Captain Frank came on the PA to announce a change in our itinerary, completely expected by us as he had dropped the hint yesterday afternoon. Due to a low pressure system in the Bay of Biscay, the port of Brest, France, will be cancelled. The plan is to remain here in A Coruna, Spain, until 11pm tonight, then speed to Portland, England arriving Friday afternoon. Hopefully that will help us to avoid the worst of the weather and provide a safe passage. We can say one thing for sure, this world cruise has been the craziest one for things going sideways. Three cancelled ports and one where we were not allowed off of the ship is more than we have ever experienced on a grand voyage. Of course, there was the 2020 world cruise that simply ended and we all went home. Perhaps that was the worst experience. At least we are still onboard and will continue forward.
The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of A Coruna, Spain so early in the morning, it was still dark. It was also raining, windy, and cold…..a cool 50 degrees. The clouds were slowly breaking up, and eventually the sun did appear. However, compared to our last few ports, there was little warmth in the sun, and the breeze went right through our sweatshirts.
There were some tours here today that took folks to high estuaries for $50 for 4 hours and a panoramic ride through Old Town for $60 for 2 hours. A Coruna and Belanzos was $90 for 4 ½ hours, while a taste of Spain was $100 for 3 ½. A tour out of town was to Santiago Compostela for $125 for 5 hours, and the historic city of Lugo was $100 for 7 hours. Since this is our first time to stop here, we decided to tour the city on our own, like we usually do.
But first of all, we have to address a continuing problem with the TV reception. Sometimes while docking, the TV is temporarily shut down, then returns after we are docked. Recently, the reception while in port has been so bad, it shuts itself off after 30 seconds. This has been blamed on the mountains blocking the signal, being out of the footprint, the moon aligning with Mars (just kidding), or the city shutting us down. Some of which turned out to be false, although that is what we all have been told by front desk people. This morning, the excuse was that the local authorities shut us down again, and the reception will return after we leave the port at 11pm. So…..tonight after dinner, we found a note saying that the TV interruptions will continue to last up until April 15th. By then, they expect to receive an upgraded 5G filter which should descramble the signal to a normal and steady display. Of course, they apologized for the inconvenience. Signed by the IT Department. Now why couldn't they come clean, and tell us this in the first place as we hate being lied to? Well at least we can watch a movie, even if they are old, or we can turn on the bow and aft cameras, assuming they are still working.
We do not have a lot of info on this port other than it is a city of 250,000 residents that speak a slightly different language than the rest of Spain. It is called Galician-Portuguese, a language that came out of the Middle Ages and has remained in this Spanish community of Galicia. Now that's probably where the local beer got its name – Estrella Galicia. A very nice beer too.
We left the ship about 10:30am with umbrellas in case of rain. It was still cloudy, and looked as if it could rain with all of the dark passing clouds. Of course, we never needed them, although we did have a few sprinkles. There were no maps in the tiny terminal, so when we got outside, we asked a policeman where we could find a map. He pointed out a small yellow building which looked closed. There was a kiosk with the "i" on it, so we went around the back and found the doors. We were handed a map along with directions for the best way to take for our walk. So off we went, following the numbers that marked every historical site.
This seaside route took us past the small boat marina and a long hike to the Castle of San Anton, a 16th century structure on a small islet. It once housed people with contagious diseases, but was later used as a fortress, and also a prison. Today it houses an archaeological museum. We only had time to take photos today. Following the marina avenue, we passed several historical sites on the left hillside, which we decided to check on the way back. This walled street took us uphill for spectacular views of the Ria Da Coruna, which is the river where the city is located. Down at the bottom of high cliff was a beach called Praia da San Amoro, as well as a beach club with two swimming pools.
The road went on for quite a way until we reached a large area that had green rolling hills. We could see the strange stone sculptures on the right, but very far away. By going straight, we could see the famous Tower Of Hercules, built in the 2nd century during the reign of Emperor Trajan. It has the distinction of being the oldest working Roman lighthouse in the world. But we were a little disappointed that a statue of Hercules was not on the very top. Located behind the tower was a Compass Rose done in tile on the ground. And just a small tip: there were restrooms around the backside at the base of the tower…..free. We did walk the long- rock paved road up to the tower, but did not feel the need to go inside. The views were fabulous here, but so was the wind.
Walking back down, we ran into Greg, Ginni and Rich who were on their way up as well. It is so funny that we keep running into each other. Heo had taken the long way around to see the "Stonehenge" type sculptures, then re-joined the group at the top. Studying the map, we figured a better way to walk back and see more of the historical buildings along the way. It was more of a shortcut and found us at the Town Hall, another impressive structure from the 1900's. It has three towers topped with copper laden domes and a very ornate façade. It also happens to be located at one of the largest plazas called Maria Pita, a woman who had a part in fighting off some of the notorious Portuguese pirates centuries ago. Lining the inside of this plaza were many glass- tented cafes where they served pastries, coffee, and tapas and wine or beer. This reminded us it was time to search for a lunch place…preferably Italian. We had researched pizza and did locate some nearby restaurants, but accidently left the list in our room.
Coming back into the waterfront section, we walked the narrow pedestrian-only avenues finding mostly tapas and Spanish/Portuguese menus. We did locate one nice pizzeria, but it would not open until 8pm. Running into Rene, the spa manager, she suggested trying the other streets above the one we were on. She has been here many times, and knew of more places to eat. Getting lost in the maze, we never did find another lunch spot that was opened for Italian.
Oh well, it was getting late, so we headed back to the ship for a room service lunch. It was already 3pm and we expected a long wait. It arrived 15 minutes after we placed or order, which was lucky, since several of the tour buses had just arrived at the same time. We spent the rest of the afternoon working online, then covering up and relaxing on the veranda while watching the guests coming back through the terminal.
Dinnertime came quickly, and we had guests once again…..Ginni and Rich. Quite often their tablemates are missing in action, so Greg likes to include them at our table when we have the room. We had a great time with them, except for an incident with the sun setting. Since the decision had been made to stay in this port until 11pm, we happened to have the blinding sun going down in the aft dining room. None of us could see, so Oscar, our head dining room waiter, kindly asked the three guests sitting at the back window if he could close the drapes for a short time. The answer was "NO". Really, how rude was that? So Oscar came and informed us we would remain blinded for a short while. He literally stood in a spot that might block the sun for some of us. He needed a tablecloth to block it. Finally Presty came along, and informed the other guests that he had the right to close the drapes in this situation since it was bothering more than just our table of guests. As luck would have it, a black cloud came over the sun for a few minutes, and then it finally it went down behind the hills. Apparently these rude people had complained about the rowdy noisy guests surrounding them, and Presty even suggested he could move them to a quieter table. They refused. Does that mean they were trying to get even with us and other guests for having fun? Sure sounded that way to us. Anyway, on their way out, they passed by all of us and we said thanks for nothing. They had no good reason for being so rude, and one of them actually said sorry. Perhaps they may consider moving to another table at the window on the opposite side.
The ship left right after 11pm, and when it hit the river, we were in for a bumpy and wild ride out to sea. The swells continued throughout the evening, and the strange mysterious noises in the walls and ship's interior were back. This may continue all day until we reach Weymouth, England tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
