Up at a leisurely hour, had breakfast that we bought yesterday at the supermarket on the way home from the late night soccer game. Finally eating only what we want to eat, it took us a while to get the rhythm back but we've got it now. Packed a lunch, again eating what we want and need, then off to town.
We are staying right in downtown, about a 5 minute walk from the walls of the old city where the cityscape changes from highrise modern to historical, there is a Roman theatre here dating from 79 BC. That's BC as in an era of time, not British Columbia. Seasons of conquest, piled upon each other; Romans, Moors, Christianity, Islam, Christianity again, etc. Untold bloodshed and violence on the streets we walk and sights we see, but all quiet now. Plaques, statues, monuments everywhere, this city is selling its history and they are doing it very well.
In fact, this city is a giant all-day candy-bag of a place. Imagine a bowl of ice-cream, your favorite kind. Imagine that the ice-cream never goes away no matter how much you eat, and you can never get full or satieted. And it is no-calorie, in fact the more you have the more calories you burn. That is what this city is like, every corner is as enthralling as the next in the tiny narrow winding streets, the sights and sounds and smells of people living in the 'hood as they have for centuries, millenia, right here in these streets. A twisty street suddenly opens into a plaza and there is a Saturday market there, selling everything you could imagine from essential foodstuffs to sunglasses, to cheap tourist stuff and costumes for the Carnival that starts on the 11th of February and apparently rivals New Orleans in its heyday. Then back to the twisty streets, Jan and I with map in hand, looking for the street names on the sides of buildings. Everything they need to live is on these streets, the old-towners never have to go beyond the city walls, everything from Gastroenterology Clincs to paint stores, with all the stops in between. The streets are shared between the people walking, kids playing, groups meeting and chatting, motorscooters without number, cars, trucks, and three-wheeled contraptions from which produce is sold. Coexisting, somehow, no shouts or harsh words among them.
Eventually we found our way through and finally out the back end of the maze, across the street from the most amazing park, complete with waterfalls and palm trees and sculptured shrubs, and ... Just amazing, Jan and I had been going steadily for over two hours at this point so we stopped and had our lunch on the park bench, in the sunlight, temperature in the low 20's, under a palm tree. Lovely. Had the bunwich and coffee, then up exploring the park and walking the seawall, the million-dollar views of Cadiz Bay filling the horizon, with the peace and calm of Cadiz University on the city-side of the walk. Walked, sat, took pictures, chatted, then repeated the process as we enjoyed scenery too pretty to just pass through. Cadizzies (Cadizers, Cadizites, ??) walked along as well in the Saturday afternoon sunshine, lots of couples walking, some with their dogs, one woman with her cat, and many small children with parents or grandparents. The kids were so well-behaved, and so cute, just perfectly dressed for their Saturday Promenade.
Finally, Zorilla Street, our re-entry point to the maze of streets of the old town. In we went, navigating again with the map, finding our destinations recommended by the tourist bureau, enjoying them, then moving on. Finally, ejected by the rabbit-warren of streets back into the plaza by the Cadiz Cathedral that we saw yesterday. The afternoon was late but just a bit early for 'the walk' by the locals, so Jan and I chose another set of tables in the square, about ten of them in a group, empty now except for us and our glasses of wine. Soon, the procession started, and the tables started to fill up. And they came and walked by, saw and were seen, glanced and evaluated and were evaluated in turn, Jan and I sitting in our dusty walking clothes with wine in hand just watching. Now and then a greeting from one to another, usually not. Some of them came and sat at nearby tables, close to us, and Jan commented on the heavy makeup that the women wore. I noticed too, and that many of the women smoked but very few men, and the men were largely silent or chatted in low voices but the women, preening like peacocks, talked and laughed in loud raucous voices and posed this way and that in their best fashion in their groups. Here and there a couple, like Jan and I only locals, sat and had their wine and cigarettes, and kept their own counsel between each other, watching.
The sun had come round the cathedral now, and we were feeling the bright light and warmth. Jackets off at this point, agreeing to more wine but avoiding the tapas as we had a plan of going to a Flamenco Dance show this evening. So, more time passes, more entertainment plays out in the square, and finally we are up and out, down the road by Santa Maria beach and back to our hotel after a brief stop in the Carrefour Super Market just by our hotel. Among other things, bought a box of wine, 1 liter, for 0.83 Euro. A steal, and its good wine that you can't aford not to drink. Got to the hotel, spoke with them about the Flamenco Show, they will reserve our seats and call us about 7:30, now is nap time.
Sadly, no show tonight we learned at 7:00pm so we had a quieter evening than we planned. Woulda coulda shoulda gone out to party anyway, on this warm Saturday night in Cadiz, but we were done for the night. No, we didn't drink the box of wine, just a couple of glasses. Tomorrow, we head south to Gibraltar.
