5. Cadiz

 5. Cadiz

We docked in Cadiz at 8am in the pitch dark. Sunrise at this time of year in the western Mediterranean isn’t until almost 9 o’clock. The cruise terminal is very near the city centre so after breakfast it was a only a short walk off the ship and for a wander round. (We had already decided that going on organised excursions on this trip were not going to be a priority.)

A stroll through the botanical gardens revealed a wide range of flora as well as numerous bright green parakeets in the palm trees. The path led on past the University and to the Castilo de Santa Catalina where we stopped for a look at both the fortification itself and the city beach, esplanade and shoreline. 

Turning back and into the centre of the city we refreshed ourselves with some freshly squeezed orange juice from a stall in the central market. (After all, this is the centre of the Seville orange growing industry so it would have been rude not to.)

The narrow streets were busy in some places and deserted in others and a number of them already had Christmas decorations in place. Mask wearing is not required outdoors but we noticed that about half of the local residents were wearing them anyway. Around the central square and alongside the cathedral the bars and restaurants seems to be doing a roaring trade. We could have gone to the top of the cathedral tower but the queue was long and social distancing would have been impossible. It was just as well really as when the church bells chimed at noon, it was loud at ground level, at the top of the tower it would have been deafening.

One last stop in the streets was for a churro ice cream…a cone made from cinnamon and chocolate dipped pasty dough filled with marshmallow and ice cream. Delicious.

The day was pleasantly warm and sunny at 24C and the city is full of history and architecture, indeed Cadiz left us feeling rather Moorish.

As a final anecdote from the day, we ended up on a table for dinner sat next to a GP . Although he was German he had lived and practiced in the UK for many years and somewhat unusually for a German had a very good sense of humour. The top is of conversation was very wide ranging, taking in everything from the state of the NHS to the war. (We didn’t mention it, he did!). And when the subject came around to football his first comment was “that third goal never went in….it never crossed the line…we were robbed!”

As I write this note on Tuesday morning, the weather has turned a little and the sunshine of yesterday has been replaced by clouds and a strong breeze. But it’s not unpleasant and certainly not cold. We passed through the Straits Gibraltar around midnight and expect to be alongside in Barcelona by breakfast time tomorrow.