cádiz

Two of my fellow WWOOFers and I took a day trip to Cádiz. It was our one day-off for the week and we decided to stave off boredom by seeing one of the nearby cities.

Possibly the oldest city in Europe according to Lonely Planet, Cádiz stands on an outcrop of rock jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. The city is heavily fortified as a result of attacks that occurred over the centuries. The first attack, by the Dutch in 1596, led to the building of the Castillo de Santa Catalina. Other fortresses, the Baluarte de la Candelaria and Castillo de San Sebastián were built on points just out in the water. We toured the Castillo de Santa Catalina, a very empty stronghold (we were the only patrons) that has been converted to historical exhibits and contemporary art galleries. From there, there were lovely views of the Castillo de San Sebastián, a fort at the end of a 750-meter causeway. Oddly enough, the causeway is open, but the castle itself is not. Folk walk, bike, or vespa out to the end to… turn around and come back again. Also puzzling are the staircases from the bridge down to the ocean rocks that appear to be covered by the tides at times.

The town itself was very small, completely walkable from border to border in an afternoon. And if it’s afternoon, all you have to do is walk: everything is closed for siesta. Even the tapas bars stop cooking and only serve drinks from 1:30 to 5. We spent a good deal of time just trying to track down a bar that would serve us food, finally giving up and buying “artisan” ice cream instead. I had flan con caramel: delicious!

After exhausting our options as tourists, we headed back to the bus for the trip back to Villamartín. As nice as it was to get away from the Hacienda and see a new city, we all felt a little out-of-place playing tourist. I think I much prefer my work in the olive grove to gawking at a sleepy Mediterranean city. However, this trip was not without a practical saving grace: I found a bank that could give me cash on my credit card and I didn’t have to use English once. Another remarkable point of the day was when we ran into two guys from San Francisco in front of an ad featuring the Golden Gate Bridge. After a brief conversation in Spanish (in which they immediately learned I’m from the United States), they got around to telling me where they were from and finally asking if I spoke English. Weird.