Cádiz

We moved on from Córdoba for the most part because it was a Monday and just about everything is closed there on a Monday. No sense in hanging around!

We travelled through the usual mix of flat or undulating plains of farmland (only this time cotton crops were a new addition to the view) or of the much more interesting mountain regions. Russ gets to see less of the latter as the concentration level required to stay on the narrow winding roads and not be bowled off the edge by tractors at full pelt is quite high. He's generally pretty exhausted by the end of a mountain trip.

Cádiz itself is at the end of a small peninsula and has no campsites close by. We opted to stay in a town called El Puerto de Santa Maria right on the edge of the Bahia de Cádiz. A regular ferry to the city operated not far away and it made a nice change from catching a bus.

For a change we found the Tourist Information Office very helpful and organised. They had maps of the town with walking routes - the routes were also clearly marked and colour coded as lines on the streets themselves. So armed with maps and guide books we tramped around the town looking at church after church - and the occasional other landmark...

We stopped for a coffee in the Cathedral Square. It looked enticing and a sit-down with a coffee and pastry was hard to pass up. But... the tea for Russ came without milk; the coffee for me was the worst I have ever tasted with the additional flavour of very strong UHT milk which I hate. The pastries (chocolate croissants) were cold and very bready. Then a machine started up in the square to steam clean the cobbles, all the while making the most dreadful noise and belching black, acrid smoke. We didn't leave a tip.

We climbed a tower, once a watchtower for ships, for a great 360° view over the city and also had a demonstration of an old fashioned Camera Obscura of the view which also gave us some insights into the history and geography of the city. The Roman Theatre, only discovered by chance in 1980, was on the walking route and we made our way there. No surprise that it was behind bars and there was no access and not even a good view of it! The Museo, however, had a very good display of Roman artefacts found in Cádiz along with two marvellous Phoenician sarcophagi in marble. But nothing was in English and we had to fathom the signage by resemblances to English or French or Latin! A small museum we chanced upon was a Museo of Lithography, beautifully set out and free (!), with old machinery and a collection of lithographic limestones and the lithographs from them.

But Cadiz is different from the other Spanish cities we have been to lately. It has the same narrow lanes, white houses and pretty squares, but is quieter and much more laid-back. And there is far less graffiti than elsewhere which is a bit of a relief. The climate is more moderate - a sea breeze moderates the temperatures and, while still lovely and warm, there is not the afternoon heat in the high 30s. A good spot!