We were in Vigo for our unscheduled port call because of bad weather only announced on our sea day the day before. Our stop at Vigo was followed by two sea days when Iona sailed almost to Morocco to avoid the bad weather in the North of the Iberian Peninsular.
Day 3: Monday 7th October 2024:Vigo, Spain
The gentle rocking of Iona overnight gave us both an excellent night sleep.
The Horizon was very busy this was only to be expected as a late arrival meant everyone waited for breakfast. For this visit Iona was scheduled to dock in Vigo at 10 am. The weather was not forecast to be very good. My Met Office app warned for a 90% chance of heavy rain all morning.
Vigo
There was a slight drizzle as we went down the gangplank and into the terminal. Once passed the statues, the street sellers had replaced their Rose of handbags with umbrellas.
On the way to the shopping precinct this visit was via the steep streets to the left of the terminal helped by a travelator for the last incline.
The square was busy with large groups of visitors on walking tours. The sky was overcast but as we walked past the shops, the Sun came out and we had clear blue skies for a while.
Mama Elvira Café in Vigo
The alley outside the Mama Elvera Café was next to a building site and for our morning coffee we had to go inside. We ordered Dulces to accompany our coffees and they were delicious. The Wi-Fi was fast enough that I was able to process some of my 90 or so emails and to make posts on Instagram all without using up any precious mobile allowance
Vigo Old Town
Once back to the shopping precinct we headed for the old town and walked down between the old houses.
The progress on urban renewal of the area hadn’t progressed much since our last visit.
The bars were all shuttered as we walked back up and past the covered food market.
We walked up to where the administrative offices were and stopped at the first café. Our table was in the Sun and I enjoyed a large San Miguel.
Rather than start walking again, we headed back to the terminal.
Iona
We managed to get a table at the Olive Grove back onboard. Our food came after a 45 minute wait but the pizza was excellent. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the balcony reading.
After pre-dinner drinks in Anderson’s, we joined friends in the restaurant after the usual hassles with virtual or non-virtual queues.
Day 4: Tuesday 8th October 2024: At sea
After another bouncy night we went for a late breakfast in the Pearl restaurant.
In our cabin we had a reminder about our booked excursion to Jerez from Cadiz on the 15th. Another delivery came and this our invites to the Peninsular lunch later in the cruise.
Access to the bow was closed, but I did as many backwards and forwards walks along the deck between the bow and the stern.
Walking Iona‘s decks can be interesting as there are a lot of wind breaks and in place is very narrow gaps between the ship and the raise of some beds.
Afternoon at sea
This was the day that Iona had been scheduled to be in Vigo rather than at sea. At noon the Captain warned about 3 to 4 m swells from approaching storm as it approached Northern Spain.
Iona would sail far down the coast of Portugal to avoid the worst of the weather.
We went for a late lunch to the Olive Grove. The restaurant was even busier than the day before probably because this was a sea day.
We all met up again in Andersons before the fun and games of finding somewhere to eat!
All in all a very restful day after Vigo as we went back to our cabin to read again after dinner.
Day 5: Wednesday 9th October 2026: At sea
Overnight the sea felt to be calm but outside on the balcony it was still very windy.
Iona had sailed down the coast of Portugal.
Over breakfast we all discussing what to do in Barcelona. Visiting the Barcelona Guadi garden was the majority’s favourite.
Back in our cabin we found that we had won tickets in the lottery for seats to see Gary Barlow on the evening of our stop in Lisbon.
Iona was now was way past Lisbon and heading towards the Straits of Gibraltar.
After a fascinating 3 pm art talk, we decided not to walk outside as everywhere was wet and the air felt very damp.
Evening
Iona had by now had turned West away from Morocco and would later sail North towards Lisbon.
The Captain updated us to expect swell from the Atlantic but that this should be less than what we had experienced earlier. Booking dinner was again exciting with queues leaving us all a little bit frustrated with the process.
Laura Evans in the theatre
In the theatre we watch Laura Evans perform a set of country music. This include multiple Dolly Parton songs as well as one from LeAnn Rimes, and a song from Carrie Underwood.
Late evening view from our cabin
On our balcony the lights of the ship that Iona was following were moving from deck up to as high as the bridge – yes there as quite a swell!
The ship’s clocks went back an hour overnight to Portuguese time ready for our visit to Lisbon the next day.