We started our road trip on the coast and 40 minutes from Marbella is Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and headland, on Spain's south coast. It’s dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426m-high limestone ridge. First settled by the Moors in the Middle Ages and later ruled by Spain, the outpost was ceded to the British in 1713. Layers of fortifications include the remains of a 14th-century Moorish Castle and the 18th century Great Siege Tunnels, which were expanded in WWII. We stopped at a lookout where you could see Africa in the background. Our guide informed us that it is a tax haven. There was a lot of boats anchored in the ocean. Our guide informed us that people and drug smugglers are prevalent here. Further on our trip we saw fields of sunflowers (more fields will be grown as they used to import a lot of these from Ukraine), wind turbines, solar panels, olive trees and bull breeding farms for the bull fighting.
Iberian ham ,a type of cured leg of pork produced in Spain and, to a lesser extent, Portugal.
This is where they feed the pigs a strict acorn diet before eating they are smoked and salted. The difference between prosciutto to Iberian ham is that prosciutto is milder flavour where Iberian ham is more intense flavour.
Cádiz is an ancient port city in the Andalucia region of southwestern Spain. The home of the Spanish Navy, the port boomed in the 16th-century as a base for exploration and trade. It has more than 100 watchtowers, including the iconic Torre Tavira, which was traditionally used for spotting ships. On the waterfront is the domed, 18th-century Cádiz Cathedral, featuring baroque and neoclassical elements.
It has a population of 161,000. You drive in over a bridge that looks like the Anzac Bridge in Australia. You enter the old town with the old fort like walls. Our accomodation was overlooking the water called the Gulf of Cadiz. It has been a principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. It is also the site of the University of Cádiz. The Spanish constitution was made here in Cadiz in 1812.
We arrived about lunch time and headed into the old town for some sight seeing. We walked along the Playa de la Caleta which is a little bay where people were swimming and relaxing on the beach. The weather here is really warm about 34 degrees. Navigating around the Old Town for the first time was a little confusing but we finally found the Mercado Central. This market place has fresh produce including fish, meat, fresh fruit, olives, bread and vegetables. Further on we found the Catedral de Cadiz is a Roman Catholic church it was built between 1722 and 1838. Kylie researched a great tapas bar for lunch, which was where the locals go. The food was exceptional and really well priced compared to Marbella. We really enjoyed the prawn and salmon ceviche with mango. As dinner was booked for 8.30 we strolled back to the hotel for a siesta. (As they do over here) The restaurant was a 6km drive from our hotel. We arrived early and nd had a drink at a beach bar right on the sand. The beach was long and the sand was fine and much whiter, a lot more like home. The restaurant was a steakhouse with lots of dry aged meats. The croquettes were Iberian ham and were so tasty. We finished the evening walking on the old town wall in the cool night breeze, admired the near full moon and the light of the town. Tomorrow we continue our road trip to Seville.
Suzy
2022-06-14
I just loved CADIZ!
Doota
2022-06-14
Love the photos!
Suey
2022-06-16
Another interesting blog!! Bec, my sister Barb and I passed by Gibraltar on our way from Morocco to Spain. Unfortunately there was a thick fog present and we didn’t see a thing so appreciated your Blog.