Spain Private Tour ... Itinerary 5
Summary: 21 days - Lisbon - Santiago de Compostela - Madrid - Toledo -
Granada - Seville - Cordoba - Lisbon.
 Jim and Pat Ames from Virginia arrived in
Lisbon from
Newark, New Jersey on Monday September 22nd. After several days
sightseeing in the Portuguese capital I met them briefly on the Thursday
of that week in their suite at the Four Seasons Ritz Hotel. It's a
good idea to break the ice with new clients whenever possible before the
first day of a tour so that we're already acquainted when we head into the
early morning traffic when our tour begins.
 Friday 26th Sept: We met at the Ritz at 9.30am and
headed into Lisbon's traffic which wasn't as bad as anticipated.
Just beyond the airport we joined the A1 motorway and headed north for
Oporto. The journey was straightforward and by early afternoon we
entered Spain. We continued slowly through the countryside of
Galicia arriving in Santiago de Compostela by mid-afternoon.
Accommodation here was at the Hesperia Peregrino which proved awkward to
find and as well as being a little out of town wasn't of the quality one
would expect from a four star hotel.
On Saturday morning the rain was heavy so we headed out for
an excursion to the "Coast of Death" so named because of the
number of sailors who have lost their lives in shipwrecks on this
treacherous coastline. To our surprise the first village we passes
through outside Santiago was called "Ames" so a photo
opportunity couldn't be missed.
 We followed the coastline all the way from Noia to
Finisterre enjoying
the sights of coastal Galicia where people are just starting to get their
lives back together after the disastter to their livelihoods of the
sinking of the oil tanker, the Prestige, a few months earlier. All along the
coast we saw structures on stilts with a cross on top of them which we
couldn't decide what their use was. Something agricultural or
somewhere to store the grandmother was as close as we got. We later
found out that they are called 'horreos' and are used to store corn.
From Finisterre we headed inland and up to A Coruña from where we
joined the main road back into Santiago.
Santiago is famous as the burial place of St James and is
considered the third great city of Christendom after Rome and
Jerusalem. As such it attracts thousands of pilgrims every year who
arrive on the Camino de Santiago.
 On Sunday we spent the day sightseeing in the city and saw pilgrims
with their staff and shell all over the streets of Santiago. The
Cathedral of Santiago is sensational and well worth the effort of
travelling a long way to see it.
On Monday 29th we met at 9am and headed through rural
Galicia to Lugo spotting many pilgrims on their way to Santiago.
Here we joined the motorway and headed down to Madrid where we arrived the
Ritz hotel at 4pm in the afternoon.
Tuesday was a day of sightseeing in Madrid using the very convenient
hop-on, hop-off buses which operate on a circular route which includes all
the main sights ... Prado, Retiro, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Royal
Palace, etc.
 The following day we met early and headed to the UNESCO
World Heritage City of Toledo. This remarkable city is one large
museum full of fascinating monuments where once upon a time Christians,
Moslems and Jews lived amicably together. Along with Toledo's
Cathedral, Alcazar, synagogues and the church of San Juan de los Reyes,
the other main sights revolve around the painter El Greco. These
include his home and the church of San Tomé which houses his masterpiece
called the "Burial of the Count of Orgaz".
From Toledo we took a major detour to visit Avila and see the
birthplace of Saint Teresa before returning to Madrid.
Thursday 3rd was another sightseeing day in Madrid, then on
the Friday morning we met at the Ritz at 9.15am and began our trip south
to Andalucia.
Our overnight stop was Almuñecar on the coast of Granada which
provided a base from where to take a couple of excursions whilst at the
same time relaxing in this quiet Spanish resort.
 On Saturday October 5th we travelled leisurely to Nerja
where we visited the famous Nerja caves. We then took a drive inland
to see the rural life of Spain's little known 'Tropical Coast' where a
microclimate allows the cultivation of mangoes, avocadoes, custard apples
and other tropical fruits. Sunday was a free day to relax.
On the Monday morning we took the 50 minute drive up
to Granada where we met our guide, Juan, for a private tour of the
Alhambra Palace. Often described as "the jewel of Moorish
Spain", the Palace attracts around 2½ million visitors a year and is
Spain's most visited monument.
Tuesday October 8th and off we go again. Next stop
Seville. We arrived at the superb Alfonso XIII hotel by 2pm, Spanish
lunchtime. The rest of the day was free to begin to discover the
Andaluz capital which according to Byron "is famous for its oranges
and beautiful women".
Seeing the main sights of Seville was the activity for Wednesday as well as
enjoying a flamenco performance at Los Gallos in the evening. The
following day we drove west to Cordoba for a day excursion centred on the visit
to the Mezquita, Cordoba's Great Mosque.
On October 11th we left Seville heading across the Sierra de Aracena to the
Portuguese border from where we headed up to the Continental AL
Radisson SAS Hotel in Lisbon and the end of our services.
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