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CADIZ AND THE WHITE VILLAGES Sunday, 8 May. Mothers' Day! We were up at 6:30 to
get ready for our excursion. The ship docked in Cadiz, Spain, at 7:30.
Cadiz has a unique geographic situation. It was originally an island in
the Atlantic but centuries ago was connected to the mainland by a causeway. Founded
by the Phoenicians about 1100 B.C., Cadiz claims to be the oldest
continuously occupied city in Europe. After periods under Carthaginian,
Roman, Visigoth, and Roman (again) rule, the city was ruled by the Moors
for more than five centuries (711-1262). The original city was destroyed
by the Visigoths in 410, and most of the rebuilt city was destroyed again
by fire in 1569, so there is little left older than that. (Jane and I had
visited Cadiz on a bus tour in 1972 while we were stationed with the Army
in Germany.)
Continuing north, we drove by the Plaza de Espana, a large park with a tall monument to the constitution. We then turned west along the San Carlos walls, lined with interesting old street lights. Rounding a corner of the peninsula (Candelaria), we came to the Genovese Gardens, filled with a fantastic variety of trees and shrubs.
Soon after, we passed a large equestrian statue of Simon Bolivar, somewhat of a surprise to find here since he liberated most of South America from Spanish rule. Rounding the next corner (Castillo de Santa Catalina), we rode along Coleta Beach. At the next corner of the peninsula was the San Sebastian Fortress. Although it looks like an island, there's actually a narrow causeway connecting it to the shore. Passing San Sebastian and heading east, we could already make out the Cathedral. We stopped briefly to see a fica tree reputed to be more than a thousand years old.
We saw the Cathedral, and just past it, the Old Cathedral. The latter had been built right on the edge of the remnant of an ancient Roman theater. Then we passed the Royal Prison and finally exited the old walled city. As the bus left the shoreline to get onto the main street (Avenida de Andalucia), we passed the outside of the huge Puertas de Tierra gates.
We had left the "head" of the peninsula and were soon on the autovia (expressway) heading southeast down its neck. Soon we were on the causeway to the mainland. Actually, the causeway from Cadiz connects to another island (Isla de Leon), not directly to the mainland. However, it appeared that a great deal of filling had been done (and was continuing) and that Isla de Leon was well on its way to becoming part of the mainland. The land was very flat and there were large undeveloped areas of marshy land and occasional derelict old buildings. As we crossed from Isla de Leon to the mainland, we saw the Zuazo Bridge, once the only link to the island. This bridge was built in the 16th century on top of the remains of a Roman aqueduct.
After clearing Isla de Leon, the bus turned south. Beyond the small city of Chiclana de la Frontera, there were power lines on tall steel towers running parallel to the road. On top of every tower, without exception, was a large storks' nest, and we could see at least one stork in every nest. There were also many storks in the air along the towers. For a time, the countryside was very flat. But as we got closer to our destination, Vejer de la Frontera, it started to become hilly. We saw three old windmills on a hill as we approached Vejer, and finally we had our first sight of Vejer itself. Vejer is one of several "White Villages" between Cadiz and Malaga, Spain's answer to the "Perched Villages" of France's Cote d'Azur. We arrived just after 10:00. Our bus parked in a lot below the old walled village, and our local guide led us up the hill. This was the first real test of Jane's mobility, and she did quite well using her cane. About halfway up the hill, we turned into a square (La Piazuela) on which stood the old Convent of San Francisco, now a hotel. Continuing on, we could see that we were now walking along the outside of the walls of the old village. They appeared to be completely intact. There were some picturesque streets just outside the walls, but most of the newer town was in a separate area on an adjacent hill.
Just before we came to the first gate into the old walled village, the
guide led us onto a large patio where there was a great view of a hillside
covered with the whitewashed houses of the newer part of town. On the
patio was a black statue of a heavily covered woman, apparently wearing
conservative Muslim dress. This was the Monumento a la Mujer Vejeriega
(Monument to the Vejer Woman). The guide explained that, after several
centuries of Moorish rule ended, the women of Vejer continued to wear
traditional Middle Eastern clothes until relatively recent times. They
were called "Las Cobijadas de Vejer" (The Covered Women of Vejer).
We then entered the walled village through the Closed Gate (Arco de Puerto Cerrado).
This took us into the old Jewish Quarter (Juderia).
We wound around through the Arcos de las Monjas (Nuns' Arch) and past the Conception Convent and on to the Church of the Divine Savior, originally a mosque.
Nearby was the Gate of Safety (Arco de la Segur), the Village Gate (Arco de la Villa) to the Mayorazgo (literally "Entailed Estate"), a 17the century baroque house built into the ramparts. It had a beautiful garden in its courtyard and connected to a 13th-14th century tower.
Looking down from the wall, we had a good view of the Plaza de Espana below. Coming down off the wall, we continued on past the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Olives and exited the walled village through the Sancho IV Gate.
We walked outside the walls down to the Plazuela where we'd stopped on the way up. There we were given a few minutes of free time, but it wasn't enough to do anything, so Jane and I just walked back toward the bus. The bus left at 11:30 and drove us to Trafalgar on the coast to see the lighthouse. The waters off Trafalgar were the site of a famous naval battle in 1805 when Admiral Nelson led the British Navy to a spectacular victory over the combined French and Spanish fleet, dealing Napoleon a major set back. Then we headed back north to Conil de la Frontera. Conil is another of Spain's "White Villages," but very
different from Vejer. It is directly on the Atlantic coast where the land
is relatively flat. Apparently it once was a walled village, but only one
gate remains. Today it's primarily a beach resort. Jane was wearing down by this time and wanted to rest her sore foot, so she found a bench in the shade in the square. Meanwhile, I went looking for the Puerta de la Villa, the last remnant of the old walls. This took me down some side streets and through the rather plain Plaza de Espana.
I found the
gate and went out into the Plaza beyond it, finding a very modern fountain
with stylized sheet metal fish.
The ship sailed at 5:00. After dinner we went to the
8:00 show in the Vista Lounge. It featured a juggler / comedian. The ship's
"Dessert Extravaganza" took place at 10;00 and I went to that
for a short time, but it was disappointing. Not enough
chocolate.
It was still light when we went to bed about 11:00. As our guide had pointed out on the bus, Spain so wants to be a part of Europe that it put itself on Central European Time, along with France, Germany, and Italy (not to mention Poland!) even though it's almost entirely in the Western European Time Zone. And Cadiz, being so far west in Spain, would actually be in still another time zone earlier if the lines were drawn straight. (It's west of Greenwich, England, where the next time zone is supposed to begin.) She said that, when they are on daylight-saving time, Cadiz's official time is two and a half hours ahead of sun time. During the night, the Noordam passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean.
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