Spanish Ports
We had the opportunity to visit four ports in Spain during our #MSCcruise in April. Although our time in these places was limited to a cruise itinerary timetable, it gave us a chance to sample the cities. We enjoyed the atmosphere in each one of them!

We successfully used our eSIM purchased from Airalo. For $6USD we had 2G of data for our two weeks in Spain. It was a convenient way to stay in touch with family or use email or WhatsApp to confirm tours etc.

Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands (ESSPC)
We truly enjoyed our day in Santa Cruz De La Palma, one of the small Canary Islands. Oliver, our tour guide, was excellent. His English was superb and he informed us of many details about this small volcanic island. Only 15% of Santa Cruz de la Palma’s economy comes from tourism. The rest of their income comes from the agricultural sector. They grow a huge amount of bananas, avocados and other fresh produce. The climate is perfect for it. There is an arid and rainy side to the island and a natural spring for water. We toured a rainforest of laurel trees and the vistas on the drive up to it were amazing. This part of the island has been recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. The Park Natural la Nieves means snow. We also visited the small town of San Andreas and the Aldeas Distillery and sampled some rum concoctions. The island is beautiful with gorgeous blue (azul) seas and black sand beaches. Because there is not a big tourist industry, everything is quite reasonably priced. I think we’d like to come back here one day and maybe spend a week. There are many hiking trails and cafes to explore. 
It was great to see land after 6 days at sea. They have beautifully maintained and restored much of the Old Town buildings.

Alicante (ESALC)
This coastal city was a last-minute addition to our itinerary when we had to scrap the island of Lanzarote due to high winds. Wow, it is a beautiful spot and the 21C and bright blue skies made it seem idyllic. We walked into the city centre which is overshadowed by the huge castle! The esplanade is full of palm trees and a wavy mosaic pathway. I enjoyed my first Sangria in Spain and it won’t be my last. The city has maintained the stone arches into the narrow streets and we appreciated the restored buildings from the 1900s. We enjoyed people-watching today and met a family from Edinburgh. It was a relaxing day. 

Majorca/Mallorca (ESPMI)
One of the best-known Spanish islands is also very beautiful! We spent our day walking around the old city centre. The Catedral de Mallorca is stunning with Gaudi’s touches. I also loved the old castle that once served as the home of the royal family. I love the Gothic style and the sandstone colour. We had another beautifully sunny day at 21C to enjoy the streets. The architecture is so interesting My favourite was the Gaudi- inspired designed building with rod iron balcony rails that looked like cobwebs. The modernist designs from the early 1900s have been beautifully maintained and restored. We enjoyed an incredible hot chocolate and pastry at Bar Bosche @barbosche1936 which has been open since 1936! If we could have stayed a week in Mallorca we would have eaten several meals there! Perhaps we will visit again. 

Barcelona (ESBCN)
Our original cruise was scheduled to end in Malaga so we arranged hotels and tours in Granada post-cruise. When the cruise debarkation port was changed to Barcelona it added 2 days to our cruise at no extra cost. But, for us to keep our Granada plans, we had to arrange a flight to Granada. As a result, we will have to come back to visit Barcelona in the future!
Our Spanish ports we well organized and showcased Spain in springtime beautifully. We will definitely be back!