El viaje a Cádiz (The Trip to Cádiz)

View of Cadiz.

On Friday, as part of our educational class through el centro, we went on a day trip to Cadiz. Cadiz is the located in the Southwestern corner of Spain and is only about an hour and a half away from Sevilla by bus. Just to give you an idea, here’s the little blurb that my book says about Cadiz:

“Cadiz is the oldest inhabited city in the Western world, founded in 1100 BC. This modern, bustling Atlantic port is a kind of Spanish Marseille, a melting pot of Americans, Africans, and Europeans who are docking or passing through. The Old Quarter teems with local characters, little dives, and seaport alleys. . . .Phoenicians, Arabs, Visigoths, Romans, and Carthaginians all passed through Cadiz and left their imprints. . . .from numerous sea walls around the town you have views of the ocean. It was here that Columbus set out on his second voyage.”

So, yeah, Cadiz was excellent (imagine there’s an accent on the ‘a’; I’m lazy). We got a private bus there and the program gave us all money for lunch (but Mayte had packed me and Katie bocadillos (sandwiches), so we profited 15 euro!). We had a guided tour and then had the afternoon to ourselves. Cadiz felt like a smaller, quainter version of the older neighborhoods of Sevilla, except with water surrounding it on three sides. It was a beautiful day, as always, and it was a lot of fun. My foot wasn’t bothering me much—an added bonus—so the walking was really enjoyable.

At the end of the tour, we climbed up a tower to get a panoramic view of the city. It helped us know how to get around when we were back down in the winding streets! I went with Liliana and David, a new friend from UMich, to the seaside park to eat our bocadillos. Sometimes I tend to think a park is a park and I would rather see buildings, but this park had all kinds of greenery I’d never seen before and cute fountains here and there. Lunch was a lot of fun. After that, we made our way over to one of the older playas (beaches). Cadiz is known for its beaches. I also tend to think a beach is a beach and I would rather see buildings, but, just like the park, this beach totally disproved that mentality. The water was a brilliant, sparkling blue. The old city walls jutted out into the ocean. Palm trees were swaying in the breeze. Little row boats of all colors were anchored near the shore. I have been to beaches in the US, but this was different. When Liliana and I swam out into the ocean, we looked back to shore and all we could see were palm trees and white-washed houses (oh—and skinny people wearing insanely tight and small bathing suits).

One of the beautiful views of the city... the sun was getting in our eyes. Big time.

Detail on the side of a building on one of the many winding streets.

Catedral de Cadiz.

In one of the many squares (this one was probably the biggest) with David and Katie.

This street was much wider than most, so it doesn't fully convey the little-street feel, but I like this photo because you can see the detail on the houses better.

On the side of Playa de la Caleta, one of the most popular beaches in Cadiz.

So the cafe must have been closed, but I still like this photo.

And this was when we marveled that what we were doing, swimming on a gorgeous beach in southern Spain, was a class. Our attendance on the Cadiz trip was required and it will affect our grade for this pro-cultural seminar class. The class is worth 4 credits. So, for me, on Friday, school involved touring one of the oldest cities in Europe and relaxing on a magnificent beach. There’s no complaining here!

We left Cadiz in the late afternoon, early enough to arrive home before dinner (which, keep in mind, is much later here). Everyone was exhausted; the sun gets really intense. The day was spectacular. Next weekend we’re taking a similar excursion, only it’s for three days and it’s to Madrid!