Port of Call - Cadiz, Spain

Sadly we would be passing Gibraltor Island in the dark again. Only once have we passed it during the day to get a look at it but that day had been foggy and rainy and there wasn’t much to see. To visit the island is still on the bucket list. Yes, there is still a bucket list of things to see even with all of the traveling we’ve done.

Cadiz was a port we had visited once in the past. I couldn’t remember much about it though except that I was sick with a really nasty cold and medicating which is probably why the memory part was bad. I did remember an old city (it is said to be the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe dating back to 1100 BC) and sitting at a café and sipping tea or coffee. I was eager to see what I’d missed.

We found another HOHO and boarded for our tour. The complete ride was a little over an hour and skirted the old city. It took us past beautiful beaches and the amazing Cathedral. With all the beaches, it was easy to see why so many northern Europeans go to Spain for a warm winter holiday.

Once we were back to the starting point, we opted to cross over the main street and enter the pedestrian area of the old town. It wasn’t anything like I remembered. For one thing, I didn’t remember all the people but this was a Sunday so perhaps we’d been there on a day when locals were at work.

Sundays in ports are sort of iffy for restaurants and shops but usually there are plenty of eager merchants who know when a cruise ship is in port it’s to their advantage to open up shop for at least a short while. The shoppers were not disappointed and those of us wanting a flavor of the city were not either. Several vendors were set up with carts full of oysters. Not my favorite but always intriguing. 

In the large old Plaza de la Catedral in front of the cathedral were several groups of people exhibiting talents but the one that was most popular was the flamenco dancer who had placed a small wooden platform on the cobbled stone pavement and was entertaining the crowds of locals as well as cruisers asking only for a few Euros in the hat that her husband held out.

We  enjoyed several other small narrow streets, looking in the windows at bakery and candy and other products of the area. We found a candy shop that advertised toffee and Bob and I indulged in a bag of toffee with chocolate centers. We had no idea how big a ¼ kilogram was though. The bag of toffee was sure to last us through the rest of our cruise.

Then it was back to the ship. Remember, Bob never misses a meal on a cruise. After all, he paid for all of them.