SCandinavian Cruises - 2026
Wednesday 3 June'26 - La Coruna (Spain)
So, if you can imagine Spain as roughly a square attached to a vertical rectangle at the top left hand side then A Coruna (La Coruna in English) is at the top left corner of that... Due to its position against the Atlantic ocean, it has been a strategic port for many years, dating back to the 1st Century. We docked again just before 0800 but as we were the 3rd ship in port, we were assigned to the industrial berth, meaning, unless you were on a ship based excursion, you needed to be bussed to the port gates, rather than being able to choose to walk as per so many other of the ports. We had chosen to do a 1hr Tuk Tuk tour but it wasn't due to start until 1300 and the meeting point was next to the cruise terminal, we headed for a leisurely brekky and then onto the shuttle it was. Amazingly, the port gates are right opposite the city's rose garden. Beautiful and the bouquet was great. After walking through it, we meandered around the street with no real plan other than enjoy and keep an eye on the time and distance to the Tuk Tuk tour meeting place.
As part of our nomadic wandering, we came across 2 schools, side by side. The 1st was the kindy/primary and the other being the secondary one. As we were to find out later, Pablo Picasso attended the secondary school and it was there he spent his formative artistic years. Another interesting fact was that he learnt about the naked female form by spying through the keyholes at the local beach change rooms.
Talking about the beach, just down the road was the city beach. One end is the main swimming area whilst down the other end, due to a few rocky outcrops, is the surfers preferred area. At times waves can reach as high as 10m but I wasn't keen to test the Atlantic waters as it is currently a mild 5'c, and surprisingly even at the height of summer, is lucky to go above 10'c. Across in the distance on the left hand side is the Obelisco Millenium (Millennium Monument), a totally glass sculpture made to commemorate the changeover from the 20th century to the 21st. A bit more walking before heading to the Tuk Tuk.
After meeting Manuel, our driver/guide, off we trundled. After passing the beach again, we passed the ultra modern Port Authority building. We then passed the Hospital Abente y Lago (Old Military Hospital), which is within parts of the remainder of the city walls. The hospital was where any sailor, since the 15th century, that was not well when their shipped berth, was placed in quarantine until they were given the all clear by the Military Commander. Next stop was The Tower of Hercules. Built in the 1st century by the Romans (what have they ever done for us???), it is one of the oldest in the world. Just down the road is a sculpture, Statue of Breogán, a mythical Gaelic god. The link has some very interesting facts about its origins.
A little more driving around this enchanting place, City Hall being the next point of interest, before being dropped off back at the starting point. A 10 minute walk back to the shuttle bus and back on the ship. A great day and like Portugal, would love to spend a little more time in Gallicia, the province of A Coruna and an earlier stop, Vigo.
Upon boarding, I needed a nice relaxing cup of Earl Grey tea (you read that correctly) then a refreshing shower because, despite it being an overcast day, it was still warm and sticky. Dinner in the Tuscan restaurant, before a cleansing ale or 2 whilst undertaking trivia, which tonight had one of the funniest things I have ever seen. They had a thing called "The Whisper Challenge". There were 2 teams of 4 people, who all had headphones on playing loud music. The 1st team member was given a few words, then they had to tell their next team member and so on until the last member had to say what those words were. The 1st team, 1st set, had "Red Apples" as their words. The last person said, " I rode a camel". This set the platform for nearly an hour of side splitting fun. After that, bed.