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April 26, 2019
Tarragona, Spain

We were originally supposed to be in Barcelona, Spain, today. But the pier was so crowded with cruise ships (six of them), ours was asked to vacate early. Last night at midnight, the Viking Jupiter sailed 60 miles south to Tarragona.

We could have taken a bus tour from Tarragona back to Barcelona. But with a 1.5-hour drive each way, that four-hour tour turned into an eight-hour tour. We decided we did not want to spend that much of our port day on a bus.

Instead, we overslept this morning, had a quick breakfast and boarded a 15-minute shuttle bus into Tarragona.

Tarragona is not a cruise ship destination. In fact, this is the first time Viking has stopped here. Tarragona is also not named after the spice. Instead, it was an ancient Roman town (“Tarraconis”). Many archaeological landmarks still exist, including the Roman fortified walls, forum and amphitheater.

We had a great time walking around the old city with its narrow streets. One particular highlight for Gail was the old cathedral, covered with statues and gargoyles. It was beautiful, historical, non-touristy and uncrowded. We were back aboard ship in time for a late lunch.

Russell does not need to deliver his first lecture until May 1. In the meantime, we are able to watch the other three lecturers to see how they approach their presentations. We had dinner with all of them and their partners.

Friday evening, Russell and his fellow lecturers all took the stage during the “Captain’s Welcome” and each gave a brief spiel about their upcoming talks.

Gail also had her moment to shine. As Russell’s “Public Relations” person, her job is to market us and make us approachable to the passengers. So at 10:30 pm, we hit the dance floor in the Torshavn lounge. Gail normally avoids dancing, but whenever we are on a cruise she transforms into a different person. Tonight, her mission was to get every person on the dance floor, whether male or female, single or coupled. Amazingly, she accomplished her mission!

We had a terrific time and met some terrific people. We finally got to bed after midnight, happily exhausted.

 

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