If felt like a really cool morning even though the sun was hot, but that was because the wind was so strong.  Once out on the road, we realized the wind was at our back, so we were not complaining.

Our first goal of the day was to get to Cádiz.  We will spare you the climbs and barren landscape, but must subject you to the bridge we had to cross

in order to get into the city; not easy, not recommended, but done safely.

Since we got into “town” by 10:30 am, our thought was to try to tour it by bicycle and then move on.  The several miles it took us to navigate through the ‘new’ city almost did us in.  Once we arrived at what we came to see, we realized there was no way we could see it by bicycle; even with our “cram it all in fast” tour.   So we found a hotel that let us check in early, and also was in the center of everything.

Greek legend has it that Cadiz was founded by Hercules, but traditionally dated to 1104 B.C.  Confirmed facts are it is most ancient continuously inhabited city still standing in western Europe.  Also, Christopher Columbus sailed from here on his second and fourth voyages.  To us, it was just Incredible.

Beautiful gardensInteresting shopsamazing treesand a fortress wall that surrounded the entire peninsula.As we turned the corner of this edge of the fortress, a whole new world of beach-goers appeared.The boats on the sand, told the story of the dramatic tide change experienced daily.But the water was gorgeous, so we can understand why so many were enjoying the cold temperature.We continued the fortress wall and saw the enormity of the Cádiz Cathedral.But it takes walking many of the narrow streetsand stopping at the market for cherriesseriously, look at the size of these vegetablesbefore getting a closer look.

This is an interesting culture here.  Taking a break from one of our picture taking tours (around 5 pm), though we enjoyed the people watching, they were few and far between.  We retreated to our room to relax before dinner.  As we exited our room for dinner, we were amazed at the amount of people that were now out……as if the flood gates had opened.  Found a place for dinner that was probalby known more for it’s location, than it’s cuisine; fine with us; if was very entertaining. 

It was like a parade of “interesting” people.

After dinner, as we gluttonously enjoyed ice cream, we were amazed at the kids playing on the streets….it was 9:30 at night!  Guess it’s time for us old folks to go to bed.