Christmas Cruise to the Canaries

14^th - 28^th December 2024

Itinerary: Southampton - Vigo - Funchal - Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) - Fuerteventura - Arrecife (Lanzarote) - Cádiz - La Coruña - Southampton

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17 December. Vigo, Spain. A short walking tour today for a couple of hours. Not the best tour I've been on, I couldn't hear a lot of what the guide said through the cheap earpiece. We wandered through the town, past some statues and through the streets absolutely covered in Christmas lights. They certainly know how to dress the streets here! We walked along the main shopping street and up into an older part of town. It was just OK.

19 December. Funchal, Madeira. I've been here a few times and today I took a walking tour with nibbles. We started off by visiting the cathedral, then we made our way to the market, stopping off for a pastel de nata, glass of Madeira wine, pork sandwich (no I didn't!) and some chocolates. Then had a lunch of fish, tuna and beef, before walking along a street where most of the doors had pictures painted on them. A somewhat overpriced excursion.

20 December. Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. I had nothing booked and there's not really a lot here. I ambled off the ship into town, had a quick look at the market. Then a coffee and a stroll along the shopping street before wandering back to the ship.

21 December. Fuerteventura, Spain.An early morning arrival and late evening departure at a town with little to recommend it! When I went out, there was a brisk wind,but the sun shone later. There's really not much in the town, the port is obviously more of a starting point for island excursions. All I did was to wander around a bit, take a couple of photo's to prove I'd been here and then back on to the ship.

22 December. Arrecife, Lanzarote, Spain. I've been to Lanazarote before, both for a land based holiday and on a cruise. I don't remember this port at all! Another short visit. It's quite a trek into town. Very little was open and I don't know if that was because it was early or a Sunday, or a combination of both. I roamed around the town for a bit, then over to an old fort that's now a museum and then back along the front to the ship.

24 December. Cádiz, Spain. I've been here a few times before, so I did the usual. Wandered around the town, visited the fish market, had a coffee in Cathedral Square and that was it! At five o'clock Santa appeared on the funnel and then walked around the top decks!

26 December. La Coruña, Spain. Last time I was here, I took an organised walking tour. This time I strolled around for 10,786 steps! I walked the width of the town, which is a kind of isthmus and then back different way. On the way I passed an interesting little cemetery and then walked along the sea front, through an old part of town back to the ship. It was a bit nippy!