Cadiz: White Villages and the Artistry of Flamenco

As we sailed south and west from Barcelona, we welcomed a day at sea after eight straight days in port.  Sometime during the night before arriving in Cadiz, we passed through the Strait of Gibraltar.  The Strait of Gibraltar is only eight miles wide, and as much as we would have enjoyed doing some scenic cruising, neither of us was particularly eager to get up and go out on deck between 1 and 2 AM in hopes of seeing the famous Rock of Gibraltar.  For all we know, it might not have been lit and we would have seen nothing anyway.  So we decided to be content knowing that we had passed through this famous waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. 

So now we are back in the waters where we started in January – the Atlantic.  Cadiz is a major coastal city in the region of Andalusia (a region known for its horses).  Founded as a trading center by the Phoenicians over 3000 years ago, making it the oldest city in the entire continent of Europe.  Its original name was Gadir, meaning “walled city”.  Cadiz changed hands many times throughout its long history, with the name evolving with each foreign possession.  The Romans called it Gades; the Moors renamed it Qadis, from which the modern form of the name, Cadiz, is derived.   The Moors, coming up from Africa, quickly took over the Iberian Peninsula in the 1100s, but were driven out by the Christians by the next century.  In 1495 Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage to the New World from Cadiz. 

We were scheduled for two tours in Cadiz.  The first, White Villages and Countryside, took us around Cadiz for a panoramic tour before heading south along the coastline out of the city.  We drove past picturesque seascapes as well as farms dotted with horses and bulls.  Andalusia is an area also known for its bullfighting and is the only region in Spain that has not made this sport illegal.  The tide was out so some of the land was puddled and the boats were high and dry. 

Our first major stop was Vejer de la Frontera, perched high atop a hill.  Following our guide upward, we toured through narrow and winding cobblestoned streets through the picturesque village, peeking into quaint courtyards and passing all four of the watch towers of the village.  As had been described in the tour title, the entire village is white!  It was reminded us somewhat of Santorini, but here the roofs were made of tiles other than the brilliant Mediterranean blue that Santorini is famous for.  The streets were so narrow that it was hard to believe that even the smallest of cars could negotiate them, but they did, as we flattened ourselves against walls to allow the occasional cars that did attempt to navigate the roads to pass. 

We entered a small castle; the only original part left was the stone archway shaped like a large keyhole that had been built when the Moors were still living in the area.  We didn’t get beyond the courtyard as everything else was closed. 

Every corner we turned seemed to present another photographic opportunity as we saw lovely flowers on walls, doors opening onto courtyards that showcased elaborately tiled walls, and always narrow ribbons of cobbled roads that seemed to make us feel like we were navigating a maze. 

Safely back on the bus, we passed through La Brena Nature Park, protected pine forest.  It wasn’t until we were close enough to actually see the trees that I could identify them as pine trees.  They certainly were different from any other fir trees I’d seen.  I usually think of pines as a rather conical shape, but these were shorter and round at the top, more like lollipop trees! 

Fortunately the weather cooperated to some extent because our next stop was very dependent upon whether we would be able to see anything!  Our destination was the Trafalgar Cape lighthouse, famous for the naval battle between the English and the Franco-Spanish troops.  Lord Horatio Nelson used a different battle plan than was traditional, which caused the French and Spanish to be soundly defeated, having lost a very large part of their ships, while the English lost no ships.  Although he was mortally wounded, Nelson died knowing that he had secured a resounding victory for the English.  He is memorialized with a statue perched atop a tall column overlooking Trafalgar Square in London, which is Chuck’s absolute favorite location in that city!  We were both very anxious to see the location of this historic sea battle and were glad that, although not picture perfect weather, we could see the white lighthouse standing out on the point with its backdrop of cloudy gray skies. 

Our final stop was the small coastal town of Conil, where we had the opportunity to wander the streets on our own.  I enjoyed meandering through the small streets and checking out the little shops at my own pace rather than being herded from place to place by a tour guide.  Again, displaying its white painting, the town afforded many photo opportunities.  I popped in and out of various shops and snapped pictures down the cobblestoned streets while Chuck climbed the small watch tower for a panoramic view of the village and seascape. 

We followed the same route back to Cadiz and the ship, but this time the tide was coming in and the boats were no longer stranded.  As we drove, our guide pointed out a small flock of birds.  I had never seen flamingoes in the wild before, but it immediately made me think of our cousin Jenny, who absolutely loves flamingoes!  I wish one of us had been ready to snap a picture, but we sailed past them so quickly that we didn’t have a chance!  Sorry, Jenny! 

During the afternoon Chuck took the time to go out and explore Cadiz while I worked on pictures and the blog.  While he was gone he ran into DJ, one of our cabin stewards, enjoying his time in town with friends.  Earlier in the day I had asked our other steward, Evan, if he was going ashore.  I had asked him the same thing sometime last week, and he gave me the same reply both times:  “No.  I was here on the Noordam last summer.  DJ hasn’t ever been in the Mediterranean so I gave him my time off so he has a chance to see these ports.”  I guess this just shows what a generous person he is!  As far as we can figure, these guys work 14 or so hours a day, always with smiles on their faces, and always eager to please.  Time off is very precious, so I have to admire a person who also gives his time to a friend who would like to see a new part of the world!

Chuck and I were signed up for the last complimentary shore excursion provided by AAA, An Evening of Flamenco.  The night before we had told our dining steward Yohat that we would need to be finished with dinner by 6:30 at the latest, so he took our order that evening and told us to come at 5:20 rather than the regular time of 5:30.  We really appreciated his efforts; we were totally finished with dinner by 6:15 so we were able to get things organized before leaving the ship. 

Before being delivered to the restaurant where we would enjoy an evening of dance, we were given a panoramic tour of Cadiz, our second for the day.  However, this evening it was sunny as opposed to the overcast skies of the morning so picture-taking was much better!  The bus dropped us off at the end of a block and we navigated the extremely narrow street (wide enough for a single car and two very small sidewalks) to La Cava restaurant, where we were packed into seats for the performance.  If we had felt like sardines at the restaurant in Naples where we had pizza, this was twice as tight!  Not only were we wedged in, but we were up against a wall so couldn’t even back our chairs up to get out!  However, we did have a good location in that we were able to see most of the dancing.

First, however, we were served tapas.  Had we known we would be given so much food, we certainly wouldn’t have indulged in a full dinner on the ship!  When we sat down there were plates at each place with sausages, hams, and cheeses.  Bread and bread sticks were in baskets on the tables, and as we ate these samples, dishes of fried cheeses, fish sticks, and a kind of fried potato patty were served.  Neither of us felt like eating much so we sampled some of the things and left others.  About a half hour later, the performers mounted the stage: a guitarist and a singer, as well as three flamenco dancers – two women and a man.  Talk about a high energy dance!  I know what energy it used to take me to do those clogging routines when I was in the dance group, and those routines lasted about five minutes each.  Then we would get a breather.  These dancers would dance for up to about fifteen minutes straight with no break!  With only two exceptions (the first and last numbers), each did solo dancing that involved very quick and fancy footwork and graceful hand movements as they whirled and twirled across the stage.  It was an amazing display of talented artwork!  We were delighted to have been able to see such a beautiful performance!  As we drove the few minutes back to the ship (we could actually see the ship from the place we boarded the bus) the tour guide told us that the male dancer is famous throughout Cadiz for his flamenco dancing skills; in fact he has very recently returned from Japan, where he spent time demonstrating and teaching flamenco to the Japanese!

While we had been at dinner, Captain Jonathan made an announcement indicating that when we set sail at 11:00 we would be entering the Bay of Biscay.  There had been quite a storm a little farther north that would cause tremendous swells in the waters we would be sailing.  He suggested that we secure any breakable items, so when we returned to the ship we got busy stashing things away as we had done so many months ago crossing the Pacific between Punta Arenas and Easter Island.  This time, though, it would not involve winds, just swells that would rock us.   And rock us they did!  The ship has been rolling and pitching for hours.  Considering the length of this cruise, though, it’s incredible to think that these rocky waters are the very first we’ve encountered since early February!

So now we are headed toward our final port of call on our voyage throughout the seven continents, Funchal, Madeira, a Portuguese island off the coast of Africa. 

BT