May 8 Tenerife

May 8 Tenerife

 This is our kind of port -- we walk off the ship and into town. We pass the large yacht basin. The building in the background is the clock tower of the Insular Palace of Tenerife, wrapped in netting for some restoration work?

 

 The harbor contains what appears to be an oil drilling platform. Didn't know there was oil in this area, or maybe this is just a port in a storm.

 

Monument a los Caidos, a memorial to the Nationalist victors  in the Spanish Civil War

 

The obligatory I "heart" our town sign in the Plaza de Espana 

This is just labeled "Artwork" on the map. 

Brand extension

 

Plaza del Principe de Asturias 

We got our steps in, now it's back to the port and Marina

 

 

 

 

May 5 Casablanca - Lanzarote

May 5 Casablanca

 We leave the Mediterranean, not to return on this voyage. Our first stop is the exotic Casablanca in Morocco. We were here last summer and took the interesting excursion, so we chose to just explore on our own. Our favorite Destinations Manager, Luke, assured us it was safe so we took the shuttle bus into town.

At the shuttle bus stop both bus exits were mobbed by taxi drivers offering their services. It was nearly impossible to leave the bus for the crush of taxi drivers. A few stayed 10 meters from the bus and attempted to engage you in conversation as you emerged from the scrum. One guy said he was "with the shuttle bus company" but we quickly dispatched him. 

Here's the bus at the stop. The bus is now empty but a gaggle of drivers is still there.

We headed for the Medina, a large souk. Here's the clock tower outside.

And here's the gate. Strangely, at 9:45 on a weekday, only 1 in 20 shops were open. 

We walked through quickly and came upon the fort guarding the port.

In the distance was the famous Hassan II Mosque. We didn't walk that far, but did go into a modern mall just past the fort. The stores there were open, we bought a few things, and returned to the shuttle bus. Only a couple of drivers attempted to become our friends while we waited for the shuttle. 

May 7 Lanzarote

 After the fun of Casablanca we stayed aboard the ship during the next port stop at Agadir, Morocco. The shuttle was to a beach resort surrounded by other beach resorts so it seemed like a good day to stay aboard. 

Arrecife is a city on the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. Exiting the ship we waited 45 minutes for shuttle bus that took us less than a mile in 5 minutes to the edge of the port. Had we known, we would have just walked.

Here's the tidal lagoon on the edge of town. 

San Gines Church

Castillo de San Gabriel

The islands are volcanic, and here's a strangely shaped hunk of lava on display in the waterfront park.

Also in the park.

Shopping street

Street art - Pescador con Marlin

 

 

 

 

 

May 3 Malaga-Cadiz

May 3 Malaga

 We are docked at the end of a very long pier, so we take the shuttle bus into the downtown area. (When we were here a year ago we walked, but we have gotten smarter.) We were greeting at the shuttle stop by King Neptune.

The waterfront is a long park with broad walkways.

The Roman Theater

Pablo Picasso was born here and is currently sitting on a bench just a few blocks from his boyhood home. His Museum is nearby, and if you'd like to visit, get in line now.

Monumento a Torrijos right in front of Pablo

Bell Tower, Church of Santiago

Malaga Cathedral

 May 4 - Cadiz

Cadiz is a wonderful port. Many people take the long bus drive to Seville, but we walked off the boat directly into the shopping area. The cathedral is less than 1km from the port. 

Wall art on a street leading to cathedral square.

Catedral de la Santa Cruz de Cadiz

Wiring reminds me of Vietnam

Tiled roofs of churches with the cathedral bell tower behind

Child carrier technology has improved since I was using one. Built in sunshade.

Roman Theater

Street art outside the port

 

 

 

 

 

April 30 - La Seyne Sur Mer - Barcelona

 April 30 - La Seyne Sur Mer

An unexpected new port. We had planned San Tropez but it's a tender port and the winds were picking up. The captain wisely decided to skip that port and substitute La Seyne. It's actually just across the bay from Toulon where we were a week ago. We walked into La Seyne for the exploration and exercise.

On the 1 kilometer walk into town, there were several small playgrounds for children. For the slightly older, there was this skateboard venue.

Up until 40 years ago this was a big ship building location. This huge building is now a crumbling remnant of that industry.

An ordinary apartment building, but what's that pink room in the middle? It's almost a common patio, but is it?

You can't fight a good idea.

Their fleet of delivery vehicles.

I loved the name of this street vacuum.

 

May 1 Barcelona

The military headquarters 

Royal Square

Passatge de Madoz

Carrer de Ferran

Bishop's Bridge on Carrer del Bisbe

Monument als Herois de 1809

The most exciting part of our visit to Barcelona was lunch at McDonalds on La Ramblas. The french fries are better aboard the boat, but they can't beat a Big Mac.