[Worldtrippers home] [2025 Crystal-Viking]
Today we visited a port we have never been to before! Vigo is on Spain’s northwest coast, just north of the Portugal border. Vigo thrives economically because Spain declared it a free trade zone in 1947, to encourage international trade.
Vigo is the closest port city to Santiago de Compostela, famous as a Catholic pilgrimage site. However, Compostela is still good 90-minute bus ride away from Vigo, and we didn’t feel like sitting on a bus for an hour and a half. Furthermore, the weather forecast was for heavy rain by this afternoon.
So after breakfast, we set out on a long walk. Our target destination was the Parque Monte do Castro, a half-hour walk from the cruise terminal. This park is up on top of a mountain, and offers sweeping views of the city and ocean. It is also the location of the Fortaleza de Santa María do Castro, a fortress built in the 1500s.
Gail was worried about the number of stair steps it would take to get to the top. She was thrilled to find that Vigo has installed escalators throughout the city as an alternative to the stairs. We enjoyed a scenic walk that took us through the city, followed by an uphill climb through the park to the fortress. The views, as promised, were stunning.
Best of all, we got back to the ship right before it started raining at midday. Gail spent the afternoon meeting with more guests to do genealogy research, while Russell continued writing a new lecture.
