Northants Nutters at Sea (2024) – 3rd July (Day 5)

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Morning everyone! 😎🌞. Thanks for all the reads so far! Here we are with our fellow Northants Nutters, halfway through our 10-day adventure aboard P&O’s Ventura. It’s Day 5, and we’re moored in the Port of Vigo, on the north-east coast of Spain until mid-afternoon.

Missed a Post?

Day 1 – Setting Sail (eventually!)

Day 2 – Sea Day 1

Day 3 – Santander, Spain

Day 4 – Sea Day 2

Vigo?

Vigo is a city and municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits on the southern shore of an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ria de Vigo, the southernmost of the Rías Baixas. It is the capital of the comarca of Vigo. The municipality, with an area of 109.06 km² (42.11 sq mi) and (in 2022) a population of 292,374 is the most populous municipality in Galicia. The area of the municipality includes the Cíes Islands, part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park. Once famous for its fishing industry, it is now better known for the Stellantis car factory that provides around 6000 local jobs.

Weather or not…

Actually, in spite of the above forecast, during the 8am tannoy announcement from the Bridge, they reminded us that it MIGHT hit 29°C later today and to make sure we were suitably protected. I took Ann! 😀

9.30am: We all met at the now familiar on-board Costa before leaving the Ventura to take advantage of the good weather.

Just as previously at the Port in Santander, getting to the town in Vigo was super-simple. The Ventura had moored right next to the Cruise Terminal that was in turn in the centre of town. So, it was a just a short walk and we were where we need to be.

Vigotarians!

Thanks to some research by Rhonda, we made plans to head for the local Shopping Centre area to enjoy a 90-minute tour of the town via the Tourist Bus – and at just €7.50 each, it was great value. There’s no ‘red bus sightseeing tour’ here, so this was the next best thing! Cheers, Rhonda! 👍😘

As the marketing material described it:-

“From open air, upper floor of the Vigo’s tourist bus you can discover some of the city’s most emblematic areas. Thanks to the commentary system, available in several languages, you’ll learn that Policarpo Sanz Street and García Barbón Street host most of Vigo’s museums and also who these personages were. The sightseeing tour stops at the best viewpoint over the Vigo estuary; you’ll discover the authentic city, its neighbourhoods like Coia, and it will also take you to the beautiful beaches of Vigo“.

More details HERE and even more HERE.

We’re on the Bus!

9.57am: It was certainly a popular choice! When we eventually found the bus-stop (as the photo shows, right opposite the Hotel Bahia de Vigo) it began to fill up quickly. There was no pre-booking facility, so it was a case of paying the driver as we boarded. By the time the Bus arrived at just before 10am, the queue was just beginning to outgrow the bus-shelter.

Given the gorgeous weather (the best since we began the Cruise) it was no surprise that the TOP deck was going to be popular. Luckily, The Nutters, were one of the first to board and by the time the Bus left at just before 10.20, the top-deck was full! 👍

Unlike the Road-Train from earlier in the Cruise, the commentary via the headphones was perfectly audible AND we could control the volume – LUXURY! 😀. We were soon on our way. We were last here PRE-blog days, so we’ve no idea exactly when it was (but we think at least 20 years!). As we began to soak up the view of the town, we remembered NOTHING of our previous visit – not a thing! Maybe that’s not unusual for ME, but for Ann not to recall anything must be a first! 🤔

The first thing we noticed – or rather, felt – was how hilly everywhere was here. So-much-so It reminded us of San Francisco!

It was also a busy town, but on the day we were here, not TOO busy. During the whole of the trip, we hardly got caught in any congestion at all and that made it an even more enjoyable experience as we cruised around the town without issue, but with a perfect view. I say ‘issue’ but there was that small matter of losing a passenger or two!

As we departed the castle walls after the first stop, one of our fellow travellers realised her husband was missing! Yes, really! 😮. The Bus came to an immediate halt and after a few minutes, our left-behind traveller and his friend re-boarded – much to the merriment of the rest of us – and the embarrassment of a certain few! 😂😂

With everyone back on board, we continued on our journey (keeping a very careful eye on our recently reunited passengers). I would say that Vigo doesn’t have a lot to see in terms of old buildings or shiny shops (if that’s your thing) but it was all very pleasant if you prefer just wandering around where it offers quite a few Bars and a large Park. But as previously mentioned, it is quite hilly. There’s an ‘old part’ to Vigo, but Ann and I have that on the list for next time!

There is quite a variety of fancy architecture and sculptures, and they’re worth a closer examination if you’re not whizzing by them at 50kph.

If you’re a beach-bunny though, the best is yet to come!

Vigo is very proud of its beaches. It offers close on 40. and has the highest number of ‘blue flags’ in Spain. You can read more about them HERE and the few that we saw looked absolutely gorgeous!! 😍😍

11.57am: At just before midday, the Bus brought us back to pretty-much where we started. We all agreed that our next stop ought to be somewhere for a drink. A short walk later and closer to the water, we discovered Real Club Náutico – Vigo

12.15pm: We settled down in the corner where the semi-covered area offered some protection from the blazing Sun, and we were soon slurping our beers and coffees and reflecting on the bus tour. We all considered it to be exceptionally good value, given the distance covered and the (small) amount we paid. A ‘must do’ if you’re here! But if you’re following in our footsteps, note the following:-

• First Bus is 10am
• Next Bus is 12 noon, then 4.30, the 6.30pm
• Pay on-board – they take cash or card
• This is not your normal ‘hop-on-hop-off’. If you hop-off, you’ll wait about two hours for the next Bus
• There are only THREE stops where you can get off – Monte O Castro: 10 minutes/Pazo Quiñones de León: 5 minutes/Samil Beach: 6 minutes

Everything else you need to know is HERE.

12.55pm: Ann and I headed back to the Ventura, whilst the others explored more of Vigo at ground level.

12.50pm: With the weather being so good, it had been a very enjoyable experience getting a feel for Vigo.

Back on board, we grabbed a quick bite in the Buffet. Ann then found a spot on deck to soak up some rays, whilst I carried on catching up with my reading.

Sail Away

3.30pm: We’re on deck as we sail out of Vigo heading for Lisbon, 230 nautical miles away.

Nutters, Natters and Nibbles!

5.35pm: This was a real collaborative effort! Paul & Sue provided the balcony, Richard & Nicki, the nibbles, whilst Ann & I brought the fizz.

To Bay Tree Restaurant

Next stop? More food and drink! 😋

6.40pm: If it’s 6.30 (ish) it must mean it’s time for first sitting – and our regular trip to Ventura’s Bay Tree Restaurant. Last night’s meal was the best so far, so let’s see if they can match it! 🤔😋. They did! 😋. Most of us tried the Butter Chicken Curry which went down a treat!

Tonight’s Entertainment

8.30pm: Tonight’s treat at the Theatre was Showmaddymaddy and absolutely no prizes for guessing who they were a tribute to… 😀. And if we thought they looked a little like Badness, who we’d seen a few nights ago, it was because it was the same six fellas! No problem with that, as Badness were fantastic! 👍

An almost full-house again tonight, but unfortunately, the usual ‘no filming or recording of any sort’ rule applied, so here they are in concert around 10 months ago. 👍

9.35pm: Just time to drop into the Havana Lounge to see the final 15 minutes of the Headliners Theatre Company vocalists performing ‘Hitzville USA’ – a tribute to Motown music, specifically, The Temptations and The Four Tops. Again, an excellent production and performance!

Late Night Quiz

10.30pm: We’d missed the Quiz last night, so this evening was an opportunity to make up for that! Geoff & Rhonda sat this out as they had an early start tomorrow in Lisbon, leaving Richard & Nicki, Paul & Sue, Ann and yours truly to fly the flag for the Northants Nutters. It was a great turnout and I counted upwards of 70 people taking part. We retained our alter-ego of ‘Table 16’ from the previous round and knuckled down a tough (but enjoyable) evening of stimulating our grey matter.

An hour later, it was all over, and with our QuizMaster struggling with a wayward PA system, ‘Team 3’ were announced as winners with 13/20 correct answers, whilst we weren’t too shabby with a total of 12! The winners received the statutory bottle of P&O wine. Reputations intact, we called it a night! 👍

Tomorrow…

We arrive in Lisbon around 7am-ish. After breakfast, we’re going on one of the official sightseeing Bus Tours, whilst in the evening, we’re venturing out to a restaurant in the city.

11.45pm: The ship’s clocks went BACK an hour tonight – that was useful!!! 🥱🥱. Nighty-night! See you tomorrow in Lisbon! 😴😴