A New Adventure in France

Spain has presented us with a huge choice of routes and potential stops  and we could spend months visiting every city, interesting village or attraction. And we risk it all becoming just a blur of sights we have seen. Our choices tend to be determined on a daily basis by  weather(fortunately very clement for most of our trip), overnight stop possibilities, requirements for water, disposal facilities, laundry facilities, shopping, etc. And in between that are the most wonderful places to visit along the way. Often we are influenced by something we’ve read or seen or by recommendations from other people.

Two recent stops have really raised the bar.  The first was Cadiz, the furthest point west that we’ll get to on this trip. Travelling there we had a complete change of scenery as we left behind mountains and crossed flat lagoons.  Lured by the possibility of a boat trip, we decided to stay outside Cadiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria and to take the 30 minute ferry across the Bay of Cadiz to the centre of town.  We had expected El Puerto de Santa Maria to be just a place to stop without any particular interest but in fact it was a lovely town in its own right  On a Saturday afternoon the streets and restaurants were full of people. It is apparently popular for its beaches and pine groves  but the town centre itself was very interesting with hidden gems including a castle and bull ring which we reminded me of the Royal Albert Hall. 

Christopher Columbus lived there and the town was the starting point for  many expeditions to the Americas.  During the 16th and 17th centuries it was the base of the Royal Galleys and headquarters of the Captaincy General of the Ocean Sea. Our voyage the next morning was a much shorter one when we took the catamaran to the port of Cadiz, mooring just a few yards from the town centre. A smallish cruise ship was also moored in port – how lovely for those on board to be able to see the city from their balconies and to have just a short walk to discover it.

We expected the town might be quieter on a Sunday but it was lively with families out, a local market and many shops open. From the port we walked through the city to the Atlantic Ocean side, with the city revealing itself to us on the way.  The beautiful cathedral appeared as we rounded a corner. In a tiny side street we almost missed the hidden entrance to another Roman theatre – smaller than the one in Cartagena, but free to visit and one of four that originally existed in the city. We strolled through the Park Genoves, not dissimilar to some of the parks in Sydney.  We ended our trip with a meal in one of the central streets and I had to sample the local clams that are fished in the Bay of Cadiz.

From Cadiz we started to turn northeast as we wanted to visit Cordoba.  As we were passing the sherry region we expected to see fields of vines but we didn’t see one – we must have missed the ‘triangle’ where the sherry grapes are grown. Rather than trying to navigate central Cordoba, we stopped at a motorhome park about 5 kms outside the city and caught the bus into the centre, walking down through the narrow street of the former Jewish quarter to the river.  We crossed the river over the Roman Bridge towards the Tower of Calahorra to look back on the city.  Cordoba has four UNESCO listed World Heritage sites, the most impressive and best known being the huge Cathedral-Mosque, an Islamic Mosque which was converted into a Christian cathedral in the 13th century.  Various extensions over the centuries make it one of the largest sacred buildings in the Islamic world and it is awe inspiring to walk through the hundred of pillars supporting red and white painted arches and to see them next to the central altar of the cathedral. As far as Joe was concerned he much preferred it to the Alhambra Nasrid Palaces.

We loved the feel and scale of both of these cities, both very different to each other. Both of them merit more time than we gave them, but we’re glad to have dipped our toes in. There’s plenty more for another visit.