As you all now know we have recently returned from a 6-night cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. Our ports of call were Vigo Spain, Gigon Spain and Le Harve France. The 2 first ports of call are both in and around the infamous Bay of Biscay! For some people, just hearing the words ‘Bay of Biscay’ is enough to make them tremble, but the bay is really not all bad!
My blog today is for EVERY SINGLE PERSON out there that is slowly beginning to panic about their Bay of Biscay encounter. Yes, the Bay of Biscay has a terrible reputation and it is not without reason. Parts of the continental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow waters and thus the rough seas for which the region is known. The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean’s fiercest weather and large storms often occur in the bay – but NOT ALL OF THE TIME and there are some beautiful ports of call around it.
Our cruise through the English Channel towards our first port of call Vigo was wet but calm. There were some good swells when we started to enter the bay and this really only affected those first-time cruisers. These swell waves are caused by the winds that blow from America. We saw hundreds of dolphins which the Bay is also renowned for.
Vigo was our first port of call. Ships dock right in the city centre and you can take a leisurely walk into town from the ship. Nicknamed “Green Spain” due to its cooler climate and is very popular with the Spaniards as a holiday destination away from the heat in Summer. The town centre is quite charming. It is packed with little market squares, charming alleyways and lots of restaurants. This would be the warmest day of our 6-night cruise and we spent the afternoon on the pool deck.
Our second port of call was Gijon. The port is an industrial port so we had to take a bus transfer to the city. There is a beautiful promenade which we walked along. The beach was full of surfers riding the waves which are prevalent in this part of the world as Gijon is situated in the famous Bay of Biscay.
We only did one excursion and this was at our third port of call Le Harve. My advice is not to waste much time with the city of Le Harve as we found it rather boring and regretted not doing a full-day excursion. That afternoon we visited Honfleur. It is a charming town and one of my favourite destinations. Its harbour sits in a great location, tucked away on the southern side of the Seine’s estuary. Do yourselves a favour and google this part of France – it is simply beautiful. I had visited Honfleur on a river cruise last year and really wanted to show my wife how beautiful it is.
To really appreciate this part of the world I would recommend a river cruise from Paris down the river Seine.