Cadiz

I think its fair to say that the cities we have visited so far, on this half of the trip, have exceeded our expectations.  We anticipated the Alhambra would be something special, but just how delightful Granada itself proved to be came as a surprise. Judged from its outskirts Malaga looks like a workaday industrial city in decline. However, the medieval centre is charming and the recently remodelled promenade overlooking the harbour was a pleasure to stroll around, proving that modem does not always equate with soul-less. Though the style of the old town of Marbella quite clearly was a recent recent concoction, a make-over for tourists, nevertheless it was stylish, and a great place for tapas.

So Cadiz had a lot to live up to, for me especially. When I was nine or ten years old my family used to play a Waddington's board game called 'Buccaneer'. This involved steering little plastic galleons around a chequerboard sea, finding treasure, and fighting rivals. Each player had a home port, I always chose Cadiz, it had the yellow galleon. I don't know why, maybe I had learned about Drake and the singeing of the King of Spain's beard at school, or perhaps the the name simply sounded exotic. Anyway Cadiz really did have a challenge - to meet my expectations that had been simmering away for half a century.

From Camping Las Dunas, on the outskirts of  El Puerto de Sta Maria it is a half hour walk to the Statione Maretimma Metropolitana, where you catch the catamaran across the bay to Cadiz. It's a half hour ride, and only €2.30 for a single ticket. Forget visions of a Thames water-bus, these are seriously seaworthy boats; they need to be, the bay that they cross experiences the full force of the Atlantic. They resembled the motorboat that took us to the Whitsunday Islands off Queensland.

Waterbus - Cadiz style

The Cadiz landing point is just beyond the container port. Judging from the giant ocean going tugs, and huge rusty seagoing pontoons tied up at the quayside, Cadiz must specialise, like Rotterdam, in marine salvage. My ten year old self would have delighted in all of this, especially the huge bright red tugboat. Nevertheless part of me was a tad disappointed that there was no big yellow plastic galleon tied up beside it.

arriving at Cadiz

Big red tug-boat!

A large plaza with tall palms and fountains and the Baroque city hall faces the harbour only a couple of hundred metres from where you land. The tourist office is just beyond here on the promenade. The girl behind the desk was really friendly and pointed out the nicest way to reach the Parque del Genoves botanical gardens. She gave us a city map with a walk that took us to the gardens along the old ramparts. These too had lovely gardens of palms, orange trees and bougainvillea draped across pergolas. You could glimpse the sea on one side, and old Baroque palaces on the other

The Ayuntamuinto faces the habour.

Old mansions in the Plaza Espana

The ancient ramparts

Alameda gardens next to the ramparts

The Parque Genoves was spectacular, more an arboretum than a botanical garden like Kew. The tree specimens tended towards South American tropical varieties, unsurprising given Cadiz's history.

Parque Genoves specialises in large old specimens...some of the trees are quite elderly too.

Beyond the gardens you reach the beach, overlooked by two old fortresses and a late nineteenth century spa built in a vaguely Moorish style. This area also houses a number of The University of Cadiz's faculties. Groups of students were hanging out on the beach, just chatting or kicking footballs around. Cadiz is a seriously laid back place.

Castillo de Santa Catalina

Playa de la Caleta - the old spa building looks a bit 'Brighton Pavillion'

It was less than a 10 minute walk from here to the Barrio de la Vina, the fisherman's quarter, where reputedly the best tapas places are. As soon as we arrived on Calle Virgen de la Palma, we were accosted in the nicest way possible by a woman promoting her restaurant. Of course, never wanting to be pressured, we resisted and walked on. After ten minutes of wandering about, staring at incomprehensible menus, we decided to go back to the first place. At least the owner was friendly and spoke some English. It was a wise move, the dishes she helped us choose were delicious - a shrimp and potato fritter, fish croquettes with herbs, Dorada in a cheese and ham creamy sauce, and the inevitable spicy patates bravas. Washed down with a glass of local wine, the bill for both of us - €18  - yum!

an aperitif....

great tapas...

Calle Virgen de la Palma certainly lives up to it's reputation as a mecca for foodies.

it's great for people watching too

After lunch we wended our way through the tangle of alleys towards the Central Market, eventually arriving at a square dominated by Cadiz's enormous Baroque cathedral. We stared at it for a while making pithy remarks demonstrating our grasp of architectural history, such as, "My that's big." or "Well, they certainly liked their twiddly bits."

overjoyed by the market

cool graphics

The cathedral was so big we could not take a photo, the Post Office is quite big - will that do?

The oldest part of Cadiz is on the hill to the left, including the remains of a Roman Theatre. In fact the city was already 800 years old when the Romans occupied it. Some archeologists think that Cadiz is the oldest continually occupied city in Europe, dating back to a colony established by the Phoenicians in the 9th century B.C.

Time to head back. We stopped off for a coffee in the main square. Glll found a kiosk where she topped up the Spanish SIM in her mobile. Then back to catch the boat. Half way across the bay the wind strengthened, and the sea hovered on the tempetuous side of choppy. I was relieved to get off and get back to the van for beer o'clock.

moment cortado

at 2 euros,these were the most expensive coffees so far - but that's still only £1.44! 

He looked the part, but was actually too pissed to hit the strings - I bet it sounded awesome in his head though...

The oldest part of Cadiz

with a nice roof-line

Hooray! Sim card renewal moment

Ah, the call of the sea...the challenges of the water-bus

Is Cadiz my favourite city, how can you really make that judgement. What I would say is that it may be the most satisfying city I have ever visited. It has both grandeur and a vibrant proletarian culture. Great food, unique music and dance, a relaxed but vivacious atmosphere, beautiful squares and gardens, intimate souk-like alleyways and warm, welcoming locals; what is there not to like about it?

I can't see this being our last visit, we loved it.