I spent almost two weeks cruising around the Iberian peninsula, which included about a week's worth of days in cities around Spain.
This was my first time exploring the southern coast of the country, and I got my first taste of what I think most people associate with the country. While I had been to Northern Spain once, I didn't feel Galicia and the Basque country are what most Americans think of when they imagine a visit to the country.
While sailing on Silversea's Silver Ray ship, I spend two days in Cadiz and Malaga each, and got to also visit Valencia and Alicante.
It was an incredible opportunity to explore the history and culture of Spain's Mediterranean coast, and I came away with some important lessons learned.
Here are the 7 things I either didn't expect or jumped out even more than I expected to me during my week sailing around Spain.
Meal times are much later
The siesta is real, and you need to plan around it.
In Spain, a lot of businesses shut down between 2 and 5pm for an afternoon break. This makes touring in the morning far more important, which might be a problem for those that like to sleep in.
The siesta is a socially accepted "nap" during the mid-day. Not everyone participates in it, but you'll notice a slow down around then.
The benefit to this schedule is they re-open businesses in the evening, and it's common for restaurants and shops to stay open until seven, eight, or even nine at night.
Many cities were easy to explore without a tour
If there's one thing I've come to accept more and more as a truth of cruising in Europe vs the Caribbean, it's that organized tours aren't nearly as necessary.
In almost all the ports we visited, our ship docked so close to the city center that it required either a short walk or a complimentary shuttle bus ride and then you could explore quite easily on your own.
Armed with Google Maps and some pre-cruise research, I was able to easily track down what I wanted to see without needing to rely on a cruise ship tour.
That being said, I did take a few different tours and while it's nice to have background and context provided by a guide, I found these cities were just as enjoyable to walk and see what was around the next corner.
I'd recommend anyone taking a cruise to these cities to embrace the idea of walking around the city on your own. Download a walking tour or outline a few must-sees beforehand, and you'll find it quite manageable.
I didn't need to convert currency at all
I admit, I fell for a trap of European cruising I've written about before to avoid: I wasted money converting currency to Euros.
I watched a lot of videos before my cruise about what to do in each city, and I became increasingly concerned I'd need cash instead of a credit card (or tap to pay).
After spending a week here, I never needed cash in any restaurant, store, or street vendor I ran into. Everyone took tap to pay. In fact, I stopped bringing a credit card and just relied on my phone to pay with it.
The threat of pickpockets made touring more worrisome
Spain, unfortunately, has a reputation for having a lot of pick-pocketers. The worst is in Barcelona, which is the city I would fly home from.
Knowing this made touring anywhere with any kind of a crowd rather unnerving. It was probably more paranoia than anything, but I felt less safe in a Mercado or historical site with a lot of people around because it seemed like there was a higher chance of pick-pocketing.
Luckily, it didn't happen to me, but I was sure to keep my hands in my pockets when there was a crowd and I sometimes flipped my backpack around.
There's nothing wrong with being a vigilant traveler, so always be aware of your surroundings.
Real paella doesn't have seafood in it
During my Silversea cruise, they had a cooking class to learn how to make authentic paella from Valencia.
The chef leading our class said (and we later confirmed with locals) that real paella never has seafood in it. Chicken and/or rabbit is the protein that you'd find in the place it originated, Valencia.
The other thing to know about it is that it needs time to be cooked. Avoid any restaurant that has paella available in less than 25 minutes.
Every region has its own culture
Andalucia, Valencia, Catalonia: regions of Spain are quite different.
Spain is a country that holds different autonomous regions together and it's far less homogenized than you might assume.
It reminded me a little of how Texas, Quebec, or Puerto Rico are parts of their respective countries, but retain a very distinct cultural heritage, language, and approach to life.
As a tourist, you might notice things like how they pronounce basic words in Spanish, how much influence there is from other cultures in their architecture or food, or simply the look of the city.
It was fascinating to visit cities and find a different look and feel to it all.
The mercado was the easiest way to find local food
As a solo traveler, a sit down restaurant isn't as enjoyable as if I was going with a group. Even with friends, sometimes a quick bite to eat is the right play to keep your adventure going
Every city had a market (called a Mercado) where you could find all sorts of food vendors. Most are fish, produce and meat sold to be cooked or prepared, but I found food stalls too.
What I loved about eating in the Mercado was I got very fresh food to try, but I didn't have to commit to an entire sit-down meal either.
I regretted not going to the beach
I assumed April would be too cold to enjoy a swim in the Med, but I was totally wrong.
We had picture perfect weather in Alicante and Malaga, and I regret not bringing a bathing suit with me. Or at least, carving out time to spend hanging out on the beach.
I think I was also jaded from being to so many beautiful Caribbean beaches that the thought of going to the beach in Spain seemed unnecessary.
The truth is I wish I could have at least stopped for a bit at the beach in many ports I visited just to sit, relax, and enjoy the view. I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful these beaches were, and I would have loved to have found time to go there too.
