On Sunday 29th April we were in Cadiz where we walked around the city and dodged the showers.
Our cruise to the Azores, Madeira and the Iberian Peninsular would take us to Ponta Delgada, Praia da Vitoria, Funchal, Cadiz, Malaga and finally to Gibraltar
Arriving in Cadiz
The Captain explained that Arcadia had experienced unforecast gusts of at least 25 knots as she was entering Cadiz. The temperature was below 15C and we had rain forecast for the afternoon.
The sunrise, however, was spectacular.
Breakfast again in the lower Meridian restaurant. Once off the ship we crossed the dock area and then walked out into the city of Cadiz. We had to cross a series of busy roads before we reached the Plaza Espana. In the Plaza was a large memorial, statues and gardens At the side was the road that ran around the outside of the city.
And the rain came
As we walked the promised rain came early and the heavens opened.
We sheltered in the doorway of a bank until the rain had passed.
We then turned into the city and followed the roads until we came to the Cathedral Square.
The cafes and shops were just opening and were sorting out their tables and chairs. Past the cathedral we came to the promenade on the opposite side of the city to where Arcadia was docked.
Along the promenade
We walked along the promenade with the Cathedral behind us.
The promenade had a cycle lane marked out with clear warnings that cycles took precedence over mere pedestrians.
At one of the turns of the promenade we could see a collection of boxes below us on the rocks. On closer examination we realised that these boxes were there for the feral cats that we could see sunning themselves on the rocks.
On my return home I discovered that this building is one of Charlie Waites’s images. I just captured this cyclist and not the ‘prow’ of the building.
Further down the promenade we past a building and there we met a blast of cold wind. This was our signal to turn back towards the Cathedral.
Lots of Spyders
Once at the Cathedral we crossed and went back into the square again. Now there were lots of cars parked parked to the side of the Cathedral. By the time we reached the cars the rain came again and we joined everyone else sheltering under the awnings of the nearby cafes. Across the side of the square we could see a small bar and we dashed over there and ordered two coffees and waited for the rain to stop again.
I joined the stream of people taking pictures of the cars. They were a collection of Fiat and Seat produces Spyders. These were from the era that Fiat worked with Seat before they became part of the Volkswagen Group.
The flea market
After I had taken my pictures we followed another road out of the square and came to the covered market. As it was Sunday the market was closed but nearby around the Post Office a flea market was in full swing.
The goods on offer were an eclectic collection of junk mixed with old toys, broken office equipment, shoes and even DVDs of porn.
We walked past to the next square and called at a small supermarket and picked up some danish pastries.
This road then lead us to the sea wall further round from the from the ship’s dock. We met our friends off the ship walking in the opposite direction and swapped advice on where to go next.
