This morning we left Cadiz.
We retraced our steps, stopping for 45 minutes in Seville, and finally reaching Madrid. We took a bus, a regular train, a high speed train, a city train, a subway, and a shuttle bus.
And ultimately settled in or fourth and final casa.
Then we took the very long, hot and humid scenic walk to get to an extremely large mall (that turned out to be less than 1Km from our hotel – when you took the less scenic route). It was a very huge North-American-looking phenomenon. It was very overwhelming; especially since we are so used to walking into tiny little shops that don’t fit more than 3 people at a time. We found a very cool Brazilian restaurant and ate a celebratory departure meal complete with alcohol-free sangria for all.
Back in our hotel, we partook in one more indulgence: ice cream and cake from Room Service. The kids were thrilled.
Tomorrow we make the long flight home.
I’d like to say that today was our most splendid day in Cadiz, but it was bittersweet. Apart from the regular mixed emotions of regret to be leaving this enchanting setting; the reality that our vacation is nearing its end; combined with excitement to be commencing our return home; there was an additional shock. When we arrived at the beach for our crabbing session, there was an alarming scene before us. People were gathered around attempting to resuscitate someone. We don’t know what the circumstances were, but, unfortunately, it ended tragically. We kept our distance and proceeded with our excursion, but the impression remained with us all day as a dim cloud.
The kids tackled their crabbing with gusto. With the help of some fishing hooks and bate (calamari) supplied by a fisherman, they were able to snag some pretty large crabs. Of course, I heard all about the really big ones that got away… And Lukas gathered yet another assortment of hermit crabs; and some sea snails to boot.
After our lunch hiatus to do some preliminary packing and tidying, we returned to the beach for more amusement and recreation. The seaweed had infested our usual spot again (so much for the full moon theory…), so we headed to the more crowded, less seaweeded area of the beach. Once again, a tremendous effort was made to enjoy the surf and the sand sculpting took on an added dimension.
After dinner; some more packing and tidying; and a trip to pick up snacks for our train ride tomorrow; we went back to the beach once more for our final sunset stroll.
Despite the angst and feelings, we truly did have a wonderful day.
For our final walking tour (the purple walk), with Jasmin as our designated guide, we visited areas of the Old City attributed to the prosperous time resulting from trade with the Indies. We visited three Churches and an Oratory; which is a Holy Cave or subterranean church. Within the Oratory were impressive full-length wall carvings from the 17th century depicting religious scenes. As we strolled to each destination on the tour, we admired the colourful facades and eccentric ornaments of the old merchant homes and churches.
We also made time for some final souvenir shopping before the last stop on the tour.
Quite fittingly, Jasmin’s tour terminated at the Museum of Cadiz. This prestigious destination has been the top of her list since our arrival. It houses more of Cadiz’s archeological finds, including two enormous Phoenician sarcophagi. The impressive exhibition of fine art ranges from 16th to the 20th century. And the museum also features a large collection of marionette puppets and corresponding scenery from the 19th and 20th centuries, representing the city’s cultural heritage.
The scenery was painted on sheets with incredible amounts of detail.
The tour of the museum was a great finale to both our walk today and our visit to Cadiz.
After a full day spent in the Old City, the question was put forth as to whether or not we go to the beach for a swim. The unanimous decision was not to go for a swim, BUT to visit the beach after dinner for crabbing. So that is what we did, however, upon arrival the tide was still high which doesn’t support good crabbing. We opted for a walk to kill time to see if conditions changed. They didn’t. And somewhere along the way, someone suggested swimming. This time it was a positive unanimous decision. So, into the ocean they went…with their clothes on…
They emerged utterly pleased with themselves shortly before sunset to scoot home and dry off.
We started our day out paying a visit to our hermit crabs at low tide. The wind was still high, but it was unable to whip up the wet sand. It’s interesting that the kids can find some of the same crabs – identifiable by their unique shells. With the tides sweeping up and back so much, I expected them to be scattered more. But they are always more or less where the kids left them.
We braved the gusting winds at high tide once again. It was tolerable in or near the surf. The further away from the water, the more likely we would get stung by the sand. The girls stayed deep and the boys did some body surfing.
After dinner the girls went crabbing while the boys played in the wet sand. We stayed near the pier again in order to be protected from the blowing sand.
The girls were quite successful in obtaining some fair sized crabs.
The little ones they caught on their own, but the bigger ones were declawed and presented to them by a fisherman. They told me about some that were even bigger near the end of the pier. They were quite proud of their acquisition.
Today was Lukas’ Blue Walk. The theme of the walk was the Spanish Constitution. The enactment of the Constitution took place in Cadiz, in 1812. In lieu of this, Cadiz is preparing for a grand bicentennial celebration in 2012; consequently, a major restoration and clean-up are well underway. Thus, Lukas’ walk consisted of temporarily closed exhibits and draped facades enclosed in scaffolding. I have no doubt it will be extraordinary in 2 years. It was still enjoyable to be out and about, following our fearless leader through the labyrinth of streets.
Our trip to the beach this afternoon was short lived. Although the quality of the water was greatly improved from yesterday, the wind was extreme. Once we came out of the ocean, the sand blasting was a bit painful and difficult to tolerate. We retreated to our casa.
We did venture out again after dinner. The wind was still strong, but we avoided the loose sand and climbed the rocks of the pier instead. The fishermen were out in abundance as well.
I was hoping to snap a “catch”, but no such luck.
Low tide is now past our bedtime, so the kids had to settle for crabbing on the pier. They were extremely successful in collecting a crab of a different sort this time.
These are not as cute and ornate as the hermit crabs, nor are they as easy to handle. Good thing we had our buckets.
Well, I was excited that there was to be a full moon yesterday and today. Since our days basically revolve around low and high tide, I thought these two days would be impressive. Not so. Although the tide was the highest it’s been, it was not so significant. And, I’m not sure if it’s related or not, but the water was quite yucky. There was a lot seaweed and debris floating near the surface. At low tide, we had to wade through all the seaweed that had been deposited on the sand to get to our hermit crabs.
Apart from my Astronomical Phenomenon disappointment, we still enjoyed the day at the beach.
We were able to enjoy two low tides (one in the morning and one in the evening) pursuing crabs, of course.
And despite the debris in the water, we managed to have a lot of fun during high tide. After inventing various ball activities in the surf, the kids erected a “volcano” in the sand.
Lukas is actually standing up inside the crater.
Although this volcano was dormant, we found the crater had been flattened by other external forces when we returned in the evening.
We spent the morning in our casa. The kids played and read books, while I worked on the blog. I know, not very exciting, but more distraction for you.
We now have a new link called “Gallery”, in which we will upload photo galleries. I have already put in Ben’s Galleries from Madrid and Seville. They show our visit from his perspective. I think it’s quite interesting, not to mention entertaining. Please, check it out.
The plan is to upload all of our photos from the trip, since this page and the Photo page contain only a sample of the shots taken. Keep an eye on it for updates.
After my geeky morning, we went to the beach. Crowded is an understatement, but it is Sunday. It was way too hot to even remotely “chill” in the sand, so after a dip in the ocean, we played 4-way Monkey-in-the-Middle. We got pretty silly and had a lot of fun. Fortunately no bystanders were injured. The game did come to a halt when Lukas caught the ball…in the eye…where else?? No harm done, and fortunately we leave his glasses in the casa when we go to the beach. This could explain why he didn’t see it coming…
In the evening, we skipped the walk and went straight to the rocks. The kids are getting very efficient at detecting hermit crabs and accumulated quite the zoo.
That’s it for pictures today. I figure you’ll get to see plenty when you go to the Gallery.
Check out the new link "Gallery".
I will upload various perspectives and extra photos that didn't make it into the daily blog, so check it out periodically for updates.
Enjoy!!
This morning it was very windy. We sleep with the windows open - it’s very relaxing to hear the sound of the waves. But this morning we were startled awake by the sound of doors slamming; pushed shut by the wind. I figured it would be a cool day, but on the contrary; it was very humid (our first since Seville).
Our goal today was to walk to the other side of the peninsula. We are on the Atlantic side, so we went to see what was on the Bay of Cadiz side. The Old City is located at the tip of the peninsula, so we’ve had a preview of the bay from our walks there. This time we remained in the New City. It didn’t take very long to get to the other side (I think it’s only 1000m). Everything seemed muffled and our energy was dampened by the humidity. The other side revealed a very large department store that contained a movie theatre – Spanish, of course. This has spurred the debate of whether or not to return another day to see Toy Story 3 (in Spanish, of course –hence the debate).
Outside along the bay, they have spruced up the boulevard in anticipation of the new bridge to El Puerto de Santa María.
Other than the major construction of the bridge and the marina, there wasn’t much to see. We slogged our way back through the damp air back to our side.
Our trip to the beach also seemed impeded by the humidity. The water was murky, much like the air, and the surface was flat despite the wind and high tide. Thus our visit was short and we retreated to the refuge of our casa. This gave Alia time to complete her blog update for last week.
After dinner we ventured out one more time, and much to our delight, the humidity had dissipated. We stopped by a local ice cream shop and then headed to the beach for a walk and some tide pool dipping.
The kids were thrilled with the hermit crabs again and discovered how to feed them. I’m not sure what hermit crabs eat, or if, in fact, they were eating the seaweed proffered, but it did appear that they were indeed eating. And believe it or not, Jasmin actually found her hermit crab from yesterday; alive and well.
Once the sun set on our day, we returned home.
This morning we headed out to the beach early to catch low tide. Despite our efforts, we were a little late and the tide was already creeping back in. We decided to walk toward the Old City. Surprisingly, we’ve never gone that direction before. Along the beach, there were seaweed covered rocks that gradually got larger.
By the time we got to the other end of the beach, it turned out that these “rocks” were actually the remains of the old wall.
We crabbed for a while on the sister rock pier and then headed home.
After a silly salon session, shopping, and sustenance, we returned to the beach for sun and sand sculpturing.
When we set out for our evening jaunt, we managed to hit low tide right on - completely unintentionally, of course. Our walk turned into a tide pool exploration, which turned into a hermit crab race.
The girls’ crabs were the liveliest. Jasmin’s even tried to move in with Alia’s at one point. I guess it was tired of solitary life. Ben’s was a little timid, but made an effort. I think his shell was a bit big for him – big isn’t always better… And Lukas’, I think was a little shell shocked from being shaken a few times too many.
Jasmin’s crab turned out to be quite socialable.
It spent the majority of the time clinging to her finger. So much so that it was difficult for her to remove it in the end.
The race did pause for a brief moment while everyone clambered up the rocks to watch the sunset.
Today was Ben’s turn to lead us through the Old City.
His path took us through the Medieval District and Puerta de Tierra (the only Land Gateway to the city). We visited three museums and climbed a tower. Although we were in the Medieval District, we actually went much further back in time.
In the first museum, we tread on plexiglass floors over an archeological site of Roman and Phoenician ruins. There were informative 3D videos depicting how various structures were originally constructed, as well as some of the restoration processes.
From there we climbed one of the Cathedral’s bell towers. We had an amazing panoramic view of the city and could even spot our beach in the distance.
Unfortunately, the Roman Theatre, which was our next stop, was closed for restoration. So, we continued on to the Cathedral museum. There were many paintings, some vestments, and other church paraphernalia; including some pretty impressive gold and silver monstrances. Jasmin’s favourite display was the giant hymnals.
Our last stop was at the Peurta de Tierra, itself. Inside the gatehouse was a display of lithographs. They had many different varieties of printing presses, original templates, and examples of published documents.
On the other side of the Gateway, we witnessed some Spaniards participating in their favourite pastime.
As an additional part of today’s walk, we went to visit more Roman ruins on the “New City” side of the gate. Apparently, it is only open to the public on Thursdays…but not this Thursday…
So, we ended up walking the rest of the way back to our casa.
Today at the beach, Lukas was very industrious, creating his own castle complete with farmland and moat.
After dinner we returned once again for our evening walk. I think this archeological influence is wearing off on the kids, because we spent the entire walk (it was low tide), unearthing clay pot bits and sea glass. We didn’t have our buckets with us, so by the time we returned home, there were many bulging, chinking pockets.
This morning, we went out in search of a bowl. A replacement for the one that met its demise yesterday morning as it tipped out of the dishwasher. We walked along the main street, close to our casa, perusing prospective shops. Thankfully, we found two potential substitutes. Neither are exact matches, so we are going to continue to keep looking. It is a relief to know we have alternatives.
This afternoon we hit the beach early, shortly after lunch, to take advantage of the just-waning high tide. It was good timing and we spent the afternoon in the waves and on the beach. The boys have made a habit of coming out of the waves and lying directly in the sand…
And the girls were quite content to write love letters to Luongo (Alia’s celebrity hockey crush) in the sand.
After dinner we went back for a stroll along the beach at low tide (the writing was still there...).
This morning we went to the Old City to follow Alia on her guided tour of mostly castles and bastions.
We had traversed a lot of her tour during our meanderings last week, but it was still interesting to hear her commentary regarding the history of the buildings.
We walked around the majestic Grand Theatre.
The kids observed that this building was quite “young”, at 100 years old (built in 1910).
We also enjoyed the views of the ocean, as well as the beach from the Santa Catalina Castle.
This fortress is a curious mix of the old and the new, in that it was built in the 17th century and maintains much of its original construction, but now houses exhibits of local modern art.
Everyone enjoyed the walk even with its redundancies. It was a pleasant surprise to me, to hear the kids’ relief and excitement about reestablishing our walking tours.
This afternoon, we out-smarted the low tide and went to swim in the bay protected by “Crab Pier”. Although they had to walk far to get to the waves, the kids were not impeded by rocks. Unfortunately, this strategic maneuver was not obscure to other beach-goers and the area quickly became very crowded. We did, however, enjoy the afternoon and headed home for dinner, showers, and bed.
A lot of touristy things are not open on Monday and since the tide is no longer on our side, we “hung” out at another park this morning.
And low and behold, in the middle of the park, there were actual Roman Ruins.
This park is across the main street from us. This whole time, we had no idea they were that close to us. Not that there aren’t reminders all over the place that we are in an area rich in civilized history. The wall behind us at the beach, for example; with its sand stone blocks and look-out notches, is obviously part of an old fortification. But, to find them neatly excavated, sitting in public domain, with nothing more than a plaque to signify their significance, makes them all the more remarkable.
After grocery shopping, we waited out the tide in our casa this afternoon. It’s amazing how much faster time goes when you are out walking around…
We were able to plan our activities for tomorrow, though. The Tourist Information in Cadiz has generously organized four colour-coded walks of the Old City (for everybody – not just us). It is quite convenient for us in that everyone has selected a walk as their own to lead. Tomorrow will be Alia’s Walk.
After dinner we went to the beach…of course. The tide was coming in, but it was still a little shallow. The kids swam for a while and then started erecting miniature settlements in the sand. The boys mostly played with a train station they had created, but the girls made a very elaborate town with houses and farmland and a castle.
Today we were unable to get the timing of the tide right.
Before heading to the beach this morning we hung out at the park.
Once we got to the beach for our crab collection, it was still high tide. So, not so much crabbing was to be had. Alia did put in a good effort and came up with one tiny one.
On our way home, we picked up some fresh (right out of the oven – and VERY hot) bread. YUM!
After lunch and a short rest (while Alia finished her Week 3 Post) we headed back to the beach. This time we hit the tail end of low tide. At first the kids were not impressed –they were prepared to jump waves, not hunt crabs. However, they quickly found that there were other options during low tide. They found a spot on the rocks where they could jump into a fairly deep section and had fun doing that for a while. Jasmin, unfortunately, got a small cut on her knee, which brought the girls out of the water. So, they joined Lukas in his excavation of a very deep hole.
We went back to check the effects of high tide on the moats and hole after dinner.
Roughly 2 hours had passed.
Since we got an early start on our walk this evening, we went quite far along the beach. It made us appreciate our section of the beach even more, because the further we went, the more trash there was. This could have been a byproduct of “Sunday-at-the-Beach”. [Did I mention that pretty much everything is closed on Sundays? So everyone is at the beach. Everything is closed, except the bread place, which does not qualify as a bakery. It’s more like a Mini-mart with fresh bread.] The quality of the sand was poorer, as well. There were a lot of sharp shell pieces mixed in, which made the stroll a little unpleasant. We headed inland for part of our return (and also in search of ice cream). Once our mission was accomplished (ice cream), we headed back to the beach for the rest of our walk back.
By the way, upon return from our walk (another 1.5 hours) basically no traces of the kids’ sand formation remained.
There was a hazy marine layer when we woke up this morning. It is the first suggestion of weather we’ve had since we got here. The beach was eerily quiet.
The kids fervently set off on their now ritual crab hunt on, what they have dubbed, “Crab Pier”.
The crabs were out in abundance, but they were not so easy to catch.
After a relatively short hunt, we swapped buckets for our bus pass and headed into the Old City to check out the Saturday morning markets. There were some interesting things for sale. The most fascinating was the bags of snails.
Made me think we may be sitting on a Gold Mine at home…
We lunched in the city, FINALLY found some postage stamps, and had some ice cream, of course, before returning to our casa.
As in California, the marine layer had burned off by noon and did not deter the Saturday Beach-Goers (including ourselves).
This is the beach at 6:50PM. Even after being here for 3 weeks, the long daylight hours still impress me.
After dinner we returned to the beach once more for another walk. This time we came across a sand sculpture that had been constructed during the day.
(Sorry it may be a little dark). It is a giant sculpture of the Crucifix, complete with seaweed “thorn” crown. Makes you wonder what will show up on Sunday…
We returned to the beach for low tide in the morning,
And then high tide this afternoon.
(See what I mean about "Quite Low" Tide - these two pictures were taken in the same spot!!)
The only deviation from yesterday was that we added one more time this evening, for the sunset.
This morning the tide pool theme was: Hermit Crabs. Ben found at least five tiny ones and Alia found a nice medium sized one.
She was also given a large Sea Snail (by a fisherman), which was about 4x the size of her hermit crab (and a little creepy).
This afternoon, the wind was not as strong as yesterday, but the wave potential was still awesome.
Lots of jumping and diving was had by all.
After dinner, we decided to head back to the beach for a “walk”.
Everyone had a lot of fun making footprints in the sand and watching the sun set.
