The Plan
Friday showed a weather forecast of rain everywhere in Southern Spain, but we weren’t going to let the weather rain on our parade. When someone suggested we take a trip to Cádiz, a coastal city south of Sevilla, we went ahead and bought our bus tickets for 11:30am on Friday morning. The forecast for Cádiz showed there would be rain in the afternoon with cooler temperatures than we had experienced before. With no plan but to see where the day took us, we got ready for our trip to Cadiz.
Friday’s Start
The day began with me missing the 11:30am bus to Cádiz, on which my friends were already seated. Despite this hiccup, I approached the ticket counter who gave me a ticket for the next bus to Cádiz at 1:30pm. Finding myself with about 2 hours to kill, I headed to the closest cafe for breakfast. There, I ordered “tostado con aceite”, or bread and olive oil, and “zumo de naranja”, or orange juice. After eating my Spanish breakfast, I headed back to the bus station and waited for my bus to arrive.
The Journey
I boarded the bus and settled in for my 1 hour and 45-minute ride to Cádiz. Since I had nothing to do but kill time, I decided to read up on Cádiz and the history of the city. The city is over 3,000 years old and is regarded as the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe. The Phoenicians established a port in Cádiz in the 7th century BC, and the city became a trading hub for metals like gold, silver, copper, and iron. Over the years, it fell under the rule of the Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. Later, Christopher Columbus set sail for his first voyage from the port of Cádiz. I found the history behind the city really interesting and got even more excited to get there.
The City of Cádiz
I arrived in Cádiz around 3:00pm, when my friends were having lunch. As I took a taxi to where they were, I looked in awe at the beautiful coastline of Cádiz and the sea green water. Since they finished their lunch already, we all decided to find a gelateria nearby for a sweet treat. After treating ourselves to gelato in a plaza, we headed to Playa de la Galeta, the main beach of Cádiz.
The beach was a bit cold and it was a little windy, but that didn’t take away from the beauty of it. The sand was wet from the rain earlier in the day, and we walked along the coastline. From the beach, we noticed a bridge starting from the mainland and ending at a tiny piece of land with a couple of buildings on it. Curious, we decided to find out what was there and walked along the bridge. Along the bridge were stairs leading down to rock formations on the side of the bridge in the water. I ended up going down to one of the rock formations, and just stood there, watching the waves move back and forth. Just standing at the beach in Cádiz watching was so calming and therapeutic. I could feel the ocean spray on my face from the waves and smell the salt in the air. On the bridge, there was a small enclosed room with a glass window. Looking into the window, I could see a a plaque on the floor reading “Instituto Geografico y Catastral”, meaning Geographic and Cadastral Institute. There was also a cross in the room and a statue. Once we reached the end of the bridge and the piece of land, we realized that it was gated and turned back.
Once we reached the mainland around 5:30pm, we realized that we should start heading back to the bus station and find a place to eat on the way back. We ended up ducking into a restaurant as the rain started again. There, we ate shrimp croquettes and shrimp with garlic and olive oil, which was delicious, as Cádiz is known for it’s fresh and yummy seafood. After, we kept walking until we reached the bus station and headed back to Sevilla at 8:00pm.
I am so glad that we chose to spend our free day in Cádiz, as despite the bad weather, the beauty of the city shined. From the beaches to the delicious and fresh seafood, Cádiz is a perfect vacation destination and I’m so glad I got to visit and experience the city. I had so much fun, and can’t wait to visit again!
