Friday, August 1st, 2025

Our pier was very close to the border of Spain. Today’s tour is an all day trip to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Salamanca, Spain. The city dated back to 220 BC and a Renaissance city.

Along the way we saw fields of sunflowers on both sides of the road.

We passed the town La Fregeneda, a municipality in the province of Salamanca, Spain. It was known for its location of being near the border of Spain and Portugal and also the Arribes del Duero National Park.

Salamanca was known for its historic university of about 30,000 students. It was founded in 1218. It was the oldest university in Spain and I read it was the fourth oldest university in the world! Salamanca was nicknamed “La Dorad” (the golden city) because of its sandstone buildings golden hue. The buildings were beautiful!

The Art Nouveau and Art Déco Museum had these beautiful stained glass windows. It was located at the entrance to Salamanca’s Old Town in what was once an old private mansion.

We had some free time at the Salamanca Central Market before our walking tour. It was located in a protected architectural work that was more than a century old. It was the oldest market of supplies in the city. It had the best meats, fish, and vegetables.

Plaza Mayor was one of the most beautiful squares in Spain. It was the best example of Baroque architecture and constructed between 1729 and 1755. It was the meeting point for the people of Salamanca. The square had 88 arches and a number of carved medallion reliefs.

On the northern facade of the square was the City Hall had two stories of balconies and a Belfry that was added in the 19th century with three bells and a clock.

On the easter facade of the square was the Royal Pavilion. It had a large semicircular arch. Royal officials watched events on the plaza from the central balcony. Above the balcony was a medallion of Philip V, who was King of Spain in the 1700s.

The Casa de las Conchas, was a 16th century Gothic palace that was now a public library. It was covered in more than 300 symbolic seashell motifs. The shells were a symbol of the order of Santiago.

The Major Schools building (University of Salamanca) with its detailed sandstone characters, shields, and symbols. It was said students and visitors strived to find the famous frog of the University of Salamanca that was hiding.

The ceilings within the Major Schools were quite unique.

Salamanca had 2 cathedrals that stood side-by-side! The old Cathedral was built in the 12th-13th century and was in the Romanesque style . The “New” cathedral was built in the 16th century and was in the Gothic style. The town needed a second cathedral partly because of the large number of students at the university!

Our guide pointed out to us on the facade of the north door on the New Cathedral an astronaut, a dragon eating ice cream, lynx, bull, stork, rabbit and a crayfish. These were added during a 1992 restoration. The astronaut was added by the stonemason Miguel Romero. He carved the astronaut to symbolize the 20th century and mankind’s achievements. He had permission to add these to the facade. We found the astronaut, the dragon eating ice cream and the lynx.

We went inside the “New” cathedral which was beautiful. Please click through the slideshow below to see the exquisite interior.

A local lunch was provided at the Alameda Palace hotel which was a five- star hotel. An interesting fact was in the woman’s restroom stalls you were surrounded my mirrors in every direction. It was a talking point by our guide and all of the women! The lunch served was a traditional Spanish meal. After lunch we were entertained with a Spanish Folk show!

After our lunch and entertainment we had free time to explore more of Salamanca.

As we walked around we saw the pilgrim shell which was a universal symbol of the Camino de Santiago. This shell and a yellow arrow were the two primary symbols that guided pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. One of the ancient pilgrim routes that lead to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela went through Salamanca.

We returned to the Ama Douro around 6:00 PM. Tonight’s dinner was an amazing Portuguese dinner.

This evening there was a Vintage Port Wine opening ceremony with our Cruise Manager André and our Sommelier, Gabriel in the lounge. We had never experienced this ancestral tradition of opening the bottle of vintage port wine with only fire and water. It was fascinating to watch.

After opening the bottle cleanly, we all had the opportunity to have a glass of the vintage port wine.

It was a lovely evening to sit on the sun deck and enjoy our wine.