5 Take aways:
1. Cádiz has an unusually high number of parks and mature trees for a Spanish city of its size. See this link for more information.
2. You can buy a public transport card, which will save your money and make transfers between different forms of transportation easier. More info here – but in Spanish.
3. The pavements (sidewalks) in the city can be difficult to negotiate particularly with wheeled luggage – as I found out to my cost. Take care if you have limited mobility too.
4. Cádiz is a lively seaside town and has a party atmosphere – even in the off season. Carnival takes place for up to 2 weeks every year around Mid-February. Click here for more info.
5. Cádiz would make a good base to get to other parts of Andalucia – it has good transport links to other cities and even Gibraltar.
Cádiz has been known to me from childhood for a rather silly reason. You see, I spent some of my very early years (3-5) in a small town near Salford, Manchester called Cadishead. There was once a rumour (long since debunked) that it had some historical connection to Cadiz in Spain. As a child with a fondness for the exotic, I clung to the idea that one day I’d visit its Spanish namesake.
And so, this was the time.
Arrival:
The train journey into Cádiz is unforgettable—narrow land, sea on both sides, the kind of approach that makes you sit up and feel like something is about to begin. It did. Just not in the way I expected. A mix-up with the bus, a tumble with my suitcase, and a deep gash in my leg later, I found myself not sightseeing but bleeding, slightly dazed, and being bandaged by a kind pharmacist in broken gestures and antiseptic cream. It was not quite the arrival I’d envisioned.
I had checked with Google Maps as to which bus I should take for the 15 minute journey to my digs and amongst the offerings was the M-011 bus, which was the first to arrive at the bus stop. I was a little surprised to see a coach rather than a bus and I tried to climb on with my case, but the driver stopped me and opened the luggage area underneath. Whilst I was trying to put the case on, I managed to trip over it and cut my leg quite badly; but I got it on and the 15 minutes later motioned to get off and for the driver to let me have access to my case. He was not happy and later I realised that this service, although it stopped in several places in Cádiz was aimed at people going to other cities such as Jerez, so – not a local bus. Lesson learned and I managed the short walk to my accommodation which was not Airbnb for a change, but a private rental.
My host met me at the door, as arranged and I was let into the flat by Jesus. I don’t think I have ever met a person called Jesus before and it felt a little strange calling him that, even with the Spanish pronunciation. He firstly showed me that I could upgrade to the flat next door (he owned the whole building) which was larger, was at the front of the property and had a better view – but the negative was that the bed was located on a mezzanine level and the bathroom was downstairs, so, reluctantly, I said no. That may have been a mistake given what happened later in my stay. He then gave me a rather long introduction not only to the flat, but to the city of Cádiz and its history and highlights – so it was some time before I could hitch my trousers up and have a look at the damage to my leg. It was a lot worse than I had realised – a really deep gash that was still bleeding and needed sorting out.
I decided to go to a pharmacy, at least to get a bandage and as I was in the tourist part of the city (the beach was 1 minute away) it didn’t take long to find one. When it came to my turn at the counter I checked if the server spoke English and when she said no – I simply shrugged and rolled up my trouser leg. She nodded and told me to go and sit down.
I waited and soon she came over and showed me some antiseptic cream and some bandages. I nodded and she asked me to roll up my trouser leg again, then she proceeded to get some water and with a wet-wipe clean around the edge of the wound before applying some of the cream and then covering it with the bandage. It took a good few weeks for the wound to heal (I had already left Cádiz by then) and I still have a red mark on my leg to remind me of my journey to the city. No need for tattoos with this guy!
Stay on the beach or travel?
My next move was to go to the beach. Victoria beach is on the south side of the Atlantic coast and stretches for some 2800 metres, (1.75 miles) My apartment was 1 minute from the centre of it and I was surrounded by bars, fast food joints, pizza restaurants etc. However my flat backed on to a usually empty square so was mainly quiet – although as I was to find out, this was not always the case. By the time I had reached the beach the sun was already setting, so I sat on the promenade wall to watch and was rewarded with some amazing colours. I came back to the sight at least 4 or 5 times during my 10 day stay. I felt I had chosen my place pretty well as I was on a major bus route into the city and also out to Jerez and other Andalucian towns. The nearest station was about a 15 minute walk away and there was plenty to see and do (and eat and drink) in the immediate area.
I (as usual) bought a travel card as soon as I could and was pleased to see that it also worked on the local commuter train line to Jerez de la Frontera. Within a few days of arriving I made the journey as far as San Fernando and later all the way to Jerez. The trains get really busy and I had to stand sometimes but they are a quick way to get out of the city and to see more of the stunning countryside. I also took the bus to see the city centre sights, the cathedral, the roman amphitheatre and the old town, but the thing that made it for me was the trees. Some of them were planted from seeds brought back from the “New World” after the voyages of Columbus and are over 500 years old. For a tree lover like myself, these are a must see. And there are other places to see trees as well.
Even more trees!
In the centre of the city there is a little triangle of land which is covered in trees (and a few outdoor eating places) and is called The Parque de los Cinco Continentes. As it is surrounded by roads, it’s not the most serene of places but is interesting for the variety of trees there and it does have specimens from the different continents of the world.
That spurred me on to find other botanical gardens and I could see that there was one in the town I had visited when I first arrived – San Fernando, so I took another trip there with this in mind. The botanical garden is a little way out of the town centre near to the beach and highlights plants and trees that naturally grow in that environment. It is one of three such gardens maintained in the greater Cádiz area – the others being at El Castillejo located in the El Bosque National Park; and El Aljibe located in the National Park of Los Alcornocales. I was sad not to be able to fit the other two into my schedule but they were too remote to be visited easily by public transport.
Having got my fill of trees I then took the train down to Jerez de la Frontera and had a walk around this lovely town for a couple of hours. It really didn’t do the place justice and I made a mental note to come back here when I am next in the area (how often have I said that!)
My other regret was not getting a boat from the city to either Rota or Puerto Santa Maria, both of which are possible with the local travel card. I love boat journeys and I believe both destinations are special, but I only had so much time. There are also weekly ferries to other islands in Spain such as Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Party town Cádiz ...
As my stay went on, I realised that a problem with my accommodation the ground floor location facing a square with a bench directly in front of the (only) window. On occasion, I was given access to rather long conversations from people sitting there to chat. But it was in the evenings that it became an issue. One night it was clear that a group of young people had decide to use the bench as a venue for a party.
I did think that they would soon get fed up and go elsewhere (a bench in an empty square is not ideal is it?) but at 2am they were still there … So I went out to meet them. They were very nice – about 6 people 3 girls, 2 guys and one who could identify as either (I didn’t ask.) I was offered an accepted a drink, vodka and orange from a 2 litre bottle but I refused the offer of some pot. They were interested in why I was in Cádiz, where I had been and where I was going to next (I think they were a bit disappointed that my answer was Madrid. One of the girls was going to London soon on a college exchange, so was asking me some questions about that. I did ask if they could let me sleep now, but they didn’t seem to be in a hurry when I left some 20 minutes later. But by 2.45 they had gone.
I pointed this out to Jesus (I didn’t mention I had joined them) and he said he had been petitioning the council to get the bench removed. If I had taken the other room I might not have been disturbed, but then on the other hand I wouldn’t have had that encounter.
A few days later and it was time for me to leave. There was no repetition of the bench party and I spent the last evening watching the sunset and taking a night walk along the promenade. I knew it would be the last time I would see the ocean for a while … so breathed in the sea air and went to bed relatively early as I had a train to catch to the Spanish capital in the morning.
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Finally ...
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