We decided to stop in Cádiz on the way to Sevilla because Ellen’s family had hosted a social worker from Cádiz many years ago. When Ellen and I went sailing in the early 80’s with her parents, they had some work done on the boat in Gibraltar, and we took the bus to Cádiz to visit Maria Luz. We remember it being a nice town.
What we saw this time around defied our memories. Cádiz is a beautiful town. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest in western Europe, has been a principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. It is situated on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea. The Old City consists of narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas, (or as Nancy calls them, “AFP’s”). The city is surrounded by numerous parks where exotic plants flourish, including giant trees supposedly brought to Spain by Columbus from the New World.
We found a parking spot and walked. And walked. Being built on a spit of land, we found numerous water views and fortifications. For many years it was the Spanish port for 75% of the booty coming from the new world, and became extraordinarily rich and powerful.
Ellen, Is this where we visited and drank lots of sherry??