la Coruna, Spain Cruise Port Guide

busiest ports. This remote area is tucked into the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, surprising visitors with its green and misty countryside that is so much unlike other parts of Spain. In 1720, La Coruna was granted the privilege of trading with America--a right previously only held by Cadiz and Seville and not extended to other ports until 1778. This was the great era when adventurous men voyaged to the colonies and returned with vast La Coruna's beautiful main square, Plaza Maria Pita, is named after the local heroine who saved the town when she seized the English standard from the beacon and gave the alarm to warn of the English attack. Many of the buildings in the old section feature the characteristic glazed facades, which have earned La Coruna the name City of Crystals. The port is only 37 miles from Santiago de Compostela, the third most significant Christian

pilgrimage site in the world, after Rome and Jerusalem.