Today, we did a private excursion in the countryside of Northwest Spain. I, once again, booked this tour on Viator. Our port stop was in Vigo, and we immediately went south.

Our first stop was in Baiona, Spain, where we visited Monumento Virxe da Rocha or Monument of the Virgin of the Rock. This was erected in 1930 and stands 15 meters tall. The virgin holds a boat in one hand that you can stand in. It was closed when we visited.

For our next stop,  we visited a hotel built within the Monterreal Fortress Wall for espresso and other treats. It was beautiful. The state acquired the area in 1963 and converted it to the hotel. Right outside of the fort, there was a beach and a replica of the Pinta. There’s a full-size replica that was built in 1993 to commemorate the 5th centenary of the arrival of the Pinta in Baiona.

Next, we visited the Monastery of Santa Maria de Oia.

The Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Oia is a former Cistercian monastery founded in 1137. It is located in the province of Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural landmark in 1931. (Source: Wikipedia)

They were having services during our time there, so I didn’t take any pictures of the inside.

From here,  we headed across the Minho river to Valença, Portugal. Because of the European Union, this is an open border between Portugal and Spain. Valença is a small town from the 1500s.

After lunch, we headed to Palacio de Brejoeira in  Monção, Portugal. This was a palace built in the early 1800s and opened to the public in 2010. Today, the palace doubles as a vineyard and winery.  After our tour of the palace and gardens, we had a wine tasting. The wine is made totally from Alvarinho grapes grown on property. It was a very light, white wine. I could not take pictures of the interior of the house, but here are some of the exterior and gardens.

This concluded our time in Vigo, Spain. I have said it before, and it bears repeating. If you do not book an excursion of some kind, either from your cruise company or a company like Viator, you are truly missing out on culture and experiences in the port of call. The port area is very touristic and not representative of the culture as a whole. To show an example, I took a picture of our port in Vigo. Many people in our cruise group complained that many stores were closed and there was nothing to do in Port. We, on the other hand, had a fantastic day with our guide discovering Northwest Spain and Northern Portugal.

Off to a Coruna, Spain tomorrow!