Day No. 131 - Cadiz - Old or Young?

Torgit: When I wake up, it's still pitch black. That always irritates me a bit here. From Portugal, I'm still used to it being light in the morning when I wake up. The clock change from Portugal to Spain has confused my internal clock a little. When I take the earplugs out of my ears, I can hear the highway behind us.

You read that right: A highway. Why are you standing on a highway? After our bike tour through Cadiz yesterday, we decided to go back to the old town today. So we drive Hector just 5 km out of the city and park him on a beautiful beach for the night. We don't think it's so important that the highway is 100m behind us. Marc can't hear much downstairs anyway, and I can hear more upstairs because I don't have any metal around me, but I sleep very well with the Ohropaxi - Marc's comment: It's clear, the old man only hears what he wants. - My old man was already accused of this - "He can hear badly" - I call that selective perception. - Earplugs would certainly have been appropriate tonight. But as it is, I don't want to have any in my ears in places where they would be useful. Because I sleep even more restlessly when I can't hear whether someone is messing with Hector. - But the location by the sea and the city is worth a little noise. - The fact that the highway is "only" a four-lane expressway doesn't make it any better or worse.

A glance at the clock: 7.30 am. A good time to get up. Quickly down to Marc's, snuggle up warm, I sleep well upstairs at night, but in the morning I notice the cold of 8 degrees. He's still a bit tired, he probably didn't sleep that well after all.

When I open the sliding door, it's not as dark outside as I thought, there's just more condensation on the window than usual. The view of the beach is sensational. The waterline is less than 75 meters away from us. I quickly make a coffee and the day is my friend. Where the waterline was yesterday, a small reef is visible this morning.

We don't take an outdoor shower today because Hector can be seen from the highway. So a quick cat or tomcat wash at the sink.

Today we park at Cadiz train station and want to explore the old town on foot. As the city is situated on a headland and is only 1.2 km wide and 1.8 km long, it sounds pretty relaxed. We let ourselves drift through the narrow streets and suddenly see a sign for 'Theatrum Balbi'. - What might that be? Only at second glance do we realize that we are standing in the middle of the old town of Cadiz in front of a Roman theater from 70 BC. And I'm not talking about a small thing here, it has a diameter of 120m and could hold 10,000 people. This is the second largest theater in Roman Hispania. It had been forgotten and built over and was only rediscovered in 1980.

We continue to drift along and are soon back in front of the cathedral. I'm divided: Is it worth paying 6 euros to visit? If we don't go in, I'll feel like I'm missing out on something. So I pull out my money and go in. The central nave is impressive, reminds me of 'The Pillars of the Earth', simple and beautifully large. If only there wasn't this net under the ceiling that catches falling ceiling debris. The nativity scene is designed with great attention to detail. My favorite part is the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a cross on a globe. It makes my heart beat faster. No one is surprised now, are they? Did I ever mention that Marc gave me a globe bedside lamp? It makes me happy to go to sleep at night with a view of the globe and dream of traveling, and to wake up in the morning with a view of the globe. But I'm already digressing again. The crypt is probably the best-restored part of the whole cathedral, but some parts are empty and I can't shake the feeling that things are missing here. Speaking of feelings: if I had known beforehand that the crypt is below sea level, I would have felt quite different. Supposedly you can hear the sea down here. We didn't hear anything. Once we're there, we also climb the cathedral's bell tower, up a stairless serpentine path. That's all the exercise we need for today. - Marc's comment: I didn't hear the sea either, but the acoustics down here are amazing, every step echoes. A little chamber concert here. - But I was also really impressed by the cross with the globe in the cathedral. Especially the shadow cast, on which Jesus seems to be bending down to reach for something or someone. The helping hand. - I found it very sympathetic.

From up here you have a fantastic view of Cadiz:

We look out over the old town, the harbor and the longest bridge in Spain, the Constitution Bridge of 1812, which was proclaimed on March 19, the name day of St. Joseph (Pepe). While we enjoy the view, a green parakeet perches on a saint. And they always say that green parrots only exist in Cologne.

Our next stop is the Taperia de Columela. Delicious tapas at last. Here they are not on the counter as in Bilbao, but are ordered a la carte. This doesn't detract from the quality. We are happy. As much as I love Portugal, I just can't get used to Portuguese cuisine. We continue through the old town with its beautifully restored houses, we particularly like the doors.

As we stroll through the alleyways, we come across an old T2 van that has been converted into an ice cream parlor. Marc's eyes light up. It reminds me of our vacation in Sicily on a pistachio farm. - Marc's comment - the tapas were already good, but ice cream for dessert. - Happiness can be so simple.

We drift on and suddenly find ourselves in front of huge trees, 2 Ficus Macrophylla. - A man like a tree puts things into perspective here. - On the way back we pass a fruit vendor. - They all look good, don't they? - Could almost be organic, but then why is the lettuce in bags again? - We won't be exploring it again today. - We'd rather get back on the road. - We want to go a little further south today. - We want to go to Barbate. Today it should be a campsite, we need a bit of electricity.