Spirit of Adventure blog

It was a settled Saturday in Portsmouth as we embarked excited guests for our next adventure on board Adventure – a 15 night cruise to the islands of the western Mediterranean.

Three days at sea passed calmly and blissfully as everyone settled in and enjoyed all the marvellous food, drinks and activities on board. Outside temperatures rose steadily whilst we cruised further south, making sunny outside decks popular by day number 3. Our first port was Cadiz in Andalusia, south-western Spain. Temperatures soared to almost 30 degrees during our call; unusually warm for springtime, even in this region. There were no complaints, though!

Cadiz & its surrounds have plenty to offer, even if one isn’t into history, good food or beautiful beaches. We offered tours to not-so-far away Seville, as well as local walking trips, or even a visit to the Fundador Brandy winery to conduct some ‘quality control’ tasting. It does go rather well with chocolate, or so I was told…by some unsteady looking guests returning from their trip…

All aboard at the end of the day, it was then time for another warm pleasant day at sea before reaching the Balearic islands and Mahon, in Menorca. A most pleasant sail-through in the Mediterranean (in my opinion, anyway). Mahon harbour is steeped in natural beauty & history. The Brits “owned” this place for a period, and so much of the architecture is not so dissimilar to that of 18th century Britain. Mooring right at the entrance to an historic walled city is always a pleasure, and makes it so easy for everyone just to step off and explore. Wandering around the harbour shores, up the steps into the old town, or simply sitting in a local coffee shop with views watching the world go by, are all pleasures here, more so when it’s sunny and 24 degrees outside as on this occasion.

Ciutadella, an equally beautiful but rather smaller town located on the other side of the island, (a short but pleasant drive away as it’s a pretty small island) is also well worth a visit, with wonderfully clean, winding, cobbled streets and a nice medieval feel.

As the sun set further to the west, it was once again time to re-board our ship and head further east to see some more islands – only this time they would be French and Italian...

Kind Regards
Captain Kim Tanner