The previous blog shared how Dave and I spent our sea days as we crossed the Atlantic. This blog provides a brief description of each of the ports we visited. Not one was disappointing.
Bermuda
Our first port after 2 fun-filled days at sea was Bermuda. Dave and I have previously visited Bermuda and explored the capital of Hamilton and the east side of the island. This time, we took the ferry from the cruise dock (Naval Dockyard) to St George’s, on the northernmost end of the island. St George’s is the oldest English settlement in the New World, established in 1612 when a ship sank off the coast and the survivors made it to shore.
Dave and I enjoyed a stroll around the quaint town, visited a perfumery, an unfinished church, and St Peter’s church, the oldest surviving Anglican Church outside of the British Isles. Due to hurricane damage, St. Peter’s was to be replaced, but due to more storms and parish infighting, the replacement church remained “unfinished”. St Peter’s church celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2012.
A trip to Bermuda would not be complete without ordering their famous fish sandwich served on freshly baked raisin bread…except I forgot to take a picture. It was tasty!
Next stop – Azores
I guess when you are crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Florida – there are just a few islands to visit. After 4 more sea days, our next stop was an island in the Azores. The Portuguese Azores archipelago is made up of 9 islands. We visited Ponta Delgada, the capital, on the largest island, Sao Miguel. Dave and I joined 3 other couples from the Cruise Critic roll call and enjoyed a guided tour. The local guide met us at 10 am and we didn’t get back until almost 6 pm. It was a jam packed day exploring the various volcanic landscape, craters. lakes and my favorite – thermal springs. We also stopped for a traditional Azorean lunch. Although some vistas were fogged in due to light rain, it was still a great visit!
After safely crossing the Atlantic with such terrific weather, we stopped at Cartagena, Spain. I didn’t know Spain also had a city named Cartagena. Our tour guide mentioned that often people book the wrong tour – booking one in Cartagena, Columbia rather than Spain. Oops! DeeDee, who is kindly taking the first shift watching Murphy while we travel, has visited Cartagena and noted the Taste of Tapas tour was great, so I booked it. Dave and I, along with 18 others, enjoyed tapas at three different restaurants. The guide also gave us a great history lesson while we walked the streets of the city center, which was first settled in 220 BC. That was a long time ago!
For those that followed along our Great Loop boating adventure, you may remember the “Little Beers”, made from Licor 43 & heavy cream. Licor 43 is made in Spain and Cartagena had an entire store dedicated to it. Of course, I had to do a bit of tasting. Our tapas tour guide hadn’t heard of Little Beers, so we showed her pictures and how to make it. She was excited to share it with others. She also shared that Licor 43 is great with ginger ale. I just might try that!
Palma de Mallorca
Our last island port was Palma, on the island of Mallorca – just 200 miles southeast of our final destination, Barcelona, Spain. While watching various you tube videos on what to do at this stop, I found that they run a historic narrow gauge train from Palma to Soller, a port town on the north west side of the island. Dave and I walked a mile to the train station, first stopping at the gorgeous Le Seu Catherdral for a photo op. And, I couldn’t resist popping in for a pastry on the way to the train station
The hour-long train ride included going through a 1.9 mile long tunnel. Pretty neat! We enjoyed waking around the town and having a delicious lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Back on the train and a walk through the city center of Palma back to the ship (well, actually to a shuttle bus that took us to the ship). There were 5 cruise ships in town. The streets of Palma and Soller were packed with tourists. I can’t imagine how nice and quiet the town is once the ships leave. But then, tourism is huge for their economy.
Upon waking the next morning, we had arrived in Barcelona –our final destination. Time to leave the ship. Dratz! Back to making the bed, meal planning, cooking, cleaning and laundry. Oh well, it was a great break.
Barcelona
Dave, Johan, Dee, and I claimed our luggage and headed for the taxi line. We were staying 2 nights in Barcelona for sight-seeing. With limited time, we rode the hop-on/hop-off bus to tour the city. It really was a great way to see so many sights. The pictures below are of the interesting architecture throughout the city.
Dee wanted to enjoy an authentic paella, so from a recommendation from a fellow cruiser we went to La Fonda, a few blocks off Las Ramblas “The Boulevard.” It was scrumptious! And, the Sangria was the best I have ever tasted.
We had St Petersburg friends who were also visiting Barcelona, but left just a day before we got there. They left us a sticker on a pole to find, giving us a few hints, but when we got there the sticker was gone! It appears the city workers remove the stickers on a daily basis.
A visit to Barcelona is not complete without visiting the still unfinished Basilica Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudi’s dream. Amazing. I cannot do justice in describing the history behind the church and the life of Gaudi. I highly recommend going to https://blog.sagradafamilia.org/en/ and reading about it.
Well, that ends the story of our relaxing, fun-filled transatlantic cruise. Dave and I are so grateful to Johan and Dee for joining us and to DeeDee and Frank for hanging out with Murphy while we were gone. If you have not read it yet, Murphy wrote his own blog during his “staycation” (and it includes a bit of fun before we even left).
As of this posting, Dave, Murphy, and I have just left St. Petersburg, Florida headed for the Pacific Northwest and many sights along the way. Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs.
Thanks so much for following along. I cannot believe it; this starts our 5th year of traveling post-retirement. We are beyond blessed.
Excited for this travel season Brenda, I can get used to ocean crossings Dave, and it’s time to go exploring Murphy.
Never a dull moment in post retirement. Good for you.
Spain is a wonderful country to visit. You will need a rerun on that trip!
Looking forward to the north west blogs. Reta
Wow! What gorgeous places you got to see – I was in awe! Looking forward to reading all the details from your next adventure. Give Murphy a hug for me. Linda
Murphy gives you a hug and a big kiss Ms. Linda!
You are so good at sharing your adventures! Love following your travels. Enjoy the trip!
Thanks for following along! It really helps me write the blog when I know someone is reading it. 🙂