Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz is a city of towers and balconies. It is on a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean and a good viewpoint of ships heading into the Mediterannan. In the old part of town are narrow streets with old buildings. Each one has lacy wrought iron balconies, many with plants and flowers. It was really pretty. We were cleared to get off the ship at 8 am but after our experience yesterday we decided to wait until almost 9 to get off. Even at that hour most places were closed and the streets were empty. There was a tourist information booth in the cruise terminal giving out maps of the city. They pointed out the 4 walking tours, each with it's own color line. They actually had lines painted on the sidewalk, it almost felt like a scavenger hunt trying to follow them. 

We set off following the purple line. We ran into 2 other couples attempting to follow the same route. We kept running into each other off and on all day. The first attraction was City Hall. It is a big, very ornate building. We then went to the cathedral. It was closed until noon so we would have to go back. Next was an old Women's hospital that had a painting by Goya in the chapel. Unfortunately it was also closed. Around the corner was the highest tower in the city. There used to be over 160 towers, there are about 120 remaining. We climbed to the top and had a very good view of the city. One floor down from the top they had a camera oscura. They use a mirror to reflect an image of the city on a dish shaped screen. The guide pointed out a lot of churches in the city as well as the fort, gardens, etc. We could see people walking in the streets, it was interesting. We continued following the purple line to another church then next door to another. Above 5 arches in the sanctuary were old paintings of the life of Jesus. Three of them were painted by El Greco. The line took us in circles going past historical buildings. We finally got to the end then headed back to the cathedral. 

Now the streets were getting crowded and all the cafes were open. We visited the cathedral then chose a cafe with wifi. It will be nice to get home and have unlimited internet. Paying by the minute on the ship is a pain. We had the same lunch that we had had both the other days in Spain, fried calamari for Mel, tortilla Espanola for me. It was the best yet but also the most expensive. We walked back past the Women's hospital to see if it was open, it was not. We then started to follow the longest street in Cadiz to the water. There was a nice botanical garden there. We walked on the walk by the ocean rather than thru the garden. 

We came around one of the points on the peninsula and decided to follow the blue line. That took us back into the middle of the city and past more churches. There must have been a church every 2 or 3 blocks, many of them very large with old, ornate decorations inside. We heard parts of 3 different services as it was Sunday. We found the end of the blue line then continued to a large square where we had started the day, in front of the City Hall. We then went back to the ship. There was wifi in the terminal so we left our things in our cabin and went back out. There were a lot of people trying but the Internet was not very good. I was unable to get emails or download any pictues but Facebook came right up, pictures and all. They must have a powerful server. We were back onboard by 5 pm to get ready for dinner. We had again walked over 8 miles. It will be nice to have 2 sea days to rest before our last two ports in the Azores.