A Sunday in Cadix, Andalusia

This blog has been rather silent over the past weeks… I travelled to Andalusia, the most Southern part of Spain, a province whose shores border both the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This is also an area of hills and fields covered with olive trees and all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Andalusia’s mountains (sierras) are familiar to a Swiss visitor ; thick forests of pines, high peaks,  pastures, winding roads and snow covered mountains. 

Andalusia is also a province of ancient and magnificent cities where Hispanic and Muslim cultures blend in beautifully. I visited three large cities : Granada, Cordoba and Cadix and many other smaller towns or “pueblos blancos”; their architecture and setting were just as  amazing and enchanting: Baeza, Jaen, Ubeda, Vejer de la Frontera, Arcos.

On a sunny and windy Sunday morning I was in Cadix, walking on a promenade  along the Atlantic ocean, in luxuriant and almost tropical gardens.

It was a Sunday of celebration, a First Communion Day. Many families were walking in the gardens, all dressed up, chatting happily and enjoying this special day,  all generations together.

Further along the walkway, I reached the harbour and the beach. There, in the midst of boats facing the ocean people were having a happy lunch or sun bathing, away from the crowd and the busy streets of the city. A real holiday mood !

The merchant city of Cadix or la Habanita (little Havana) is one whose history is present at the corner of every street, a city where I loved spending my Sunday. I sat for a while in the parks looking for shade or at the harbour.  Coming from the mountains, sea has always fascinated me. I could sit on a beach or in a harbour, looking to the sea and imagine the ancient ships which left the Andalusian shores centuries ago and sailed toward the New World. My visit ended with a delicious “café solo con pastel” (coffee and pastries) on the terrace of the Parador (hotel) facing the ocean. A slow and relaxing day I love to remember.

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