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| Vigo Harbour |
Tour guides come in many versions, mostly pretty good but
I suspect that the young lady we were landed with was wearing 'L' Plates. Her
English was heavily accented and a bit lacking in the colloquial department. By
the end of the tour we all felt that if we heard the phrase 'As I told you' one
more time we would scream. Yes, the guide had a lot to tell us and, yes, she
also had to interrupt herself to point out statues and buildings but didn't
seem to know how to return to her narration without those fateful words.
I don't know about anyone else on the coach but I felt
that the start of the tour was so depressing it took time to begin to see the
charms of Vigo. A 2kl. long tunnel (not good for claustrophobics) to reach La
Guia Hill for the panoramic views of the bay, the countryside and the mussel
farms - obscured by loads of vegetation - then a drive back to the city through
a derelict area is not good for Public Relations.
The City of Vigo is very hilly - which is why I had opted
for the tour. We drove along many streets, the names of which were a blur as we
passed the street signs, so I am not sure of the location of many of the
statues and memorials we passed. For example, there is a Worker's Monument, The
Merman, Fishermen and, in Plaza de Espana (hard to miss this one), a fabulous
statue of several wild horses - in black. According to the guide these horses
represent the wild white horses that roamed El Castro Hill and each July
there is the fiesta of white horses celebrating the cutting of the manes of these
beautiful animals. (I've searched the internet but haven't found any references
to this Fiesta).
In Montero Rios Avenue is a statue of Jules Verne because
the second chapter of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is based on a Spanish
treasure ship which was sunk in the Bay by the British.
If you don't like bagpipes check very carefully when
planning to visit Vigo. As the pipes are a popular local instrument, every July
there is a bagpipe festival when pipers from around the world gather to share
their music.
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| Castrelos House |
The penultimate 'treat' was a stroll through the 17th
century Castrelos Park. I am sure that they are beautiful in spring and summer
but in October they were a tad dreary.
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| A small Folly in the garden |
Now we come to my favourite part of the tour.... The
final stop on the tour was at the 5* Hotel Playa los Escudos for tapas. Most
people had tea or coffee but I opted for a very nice white wine (not the usual
plonk dished out on these occasions). And, I confess, ate a lot of the tapas
which I adore. I certainly didn't need lunch when we returned to the ship!
Even from my whistle-stop tour of the city it was easy to
see that Vigo is a beautiful place to stroll around. And, shopaholics, there
are plenty of shops! It is no good blaming P&O for a not very good tour -
the local tour operator is the one at fault. Something which I had to point out
to several of my fellow passengers.
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