Vigo

Saturday 23^rd November

I’ve been told it was stormy during the night ... I’ve been told the ship was on such an acute angle that some passengers felt the need to hang on to the sides of their beds for fear of falling out ... I’ve been told some people actually fell out of bed ... I´ve been told Chris´s TV fell off its shelf ... I´ve been told ... but I slept through it all until the steward knocked on the door at 9.45!

The port area of Vigo is very modern with some interesting statues – an early reminder that I’d left my camera on the ship. Luckily it was only a short walk back to collect it.

I collected a map from the port area and set off, looking for the Cathedral. This was not easy to find. Vigo is very hilly, which means that shorter buildings can obstruct ones’ view of the Cathedral. Eventually I found it. There were two men at the door with begging baskets ushering tourists in, taking no notice of the fact that a service was in progress. I walked in right in the middle of Consecrating the Host! (Later I walked past the Cathedral in time to see a change of shifts, with two women replacing one of the men. I wondered just how organised this is.) What I saw of the Cathedral in my brief visit appeared lovely – ornate but not gilded.

Vigo appears to be a mixture of the old (old streets, old houses, old shops), the new (renovations to old buildings, plus a completely new port area and modern shopping centre) and the transient (cruise ships bringing much-needed money to the area).

I wandered the narrow, hilly lanes of Vigo, marvelling at the cars that managed to drive along what looked like paths. On this dull, rainy day, Vigo gives very much an impression of grey, but there were occasional patches of green or trees with Autumn’s fruit still hanging.

 I was intrigued with this remnant of an old building, left standing in front of more modern blocks. It reminded me of science fiction stories where such a gateway would lead to another reality. I should have tested it out!

I am busy fighting off a cold, as well as some exhaustion from doing too much on Friday evening, so I didn’t stay off the ship for long. I took advantage of the free wifi in the port to upload my diary and catch up on emails.

Naturally I went to afternoon tea on the ship, especially as I had not had any lunch! I did not stay long as this time I was seated alone, and had not thought to take a book with me.

Dinner was another fun occasion with the group. We changed our seating so that we could talk to different people. I was somewhat restricted by the fact that one woman wore perfume so I could not sit next to her. Our waiter was a bit touchie-feelie, and tended to leave his arm draped over my shoulder. He did this to 85-year-old Peggy, who enjoyed it, but if he thinks he’ll get an extra tip out of me for invading my physical space, he is wrong! I will work out some way to discourage him.

After dinner Chris, Peggy and I found a quiet area in the ballroom so that I could begin to teach Chris how to rumba. Trevor joined us when he’d found his dancing shoes, and took over dancing with her. We had a lovely evening, with Trevor (very competent dancer) dancing with us. I managed quite a few cha-chas, doing steps I haven’t danced for nearly 30 years. He was very patient. However, the sway of the ship was too much for me to be able to keep my balance in a rumba or waltz. I’m afraid I don’t have the balance I used to have. I was sensible and left at about 10, when I could feel myself getting overtired. By then Pam had joined us but we didn’t meet up with the others of our group.