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Cunard Queen Victoria 2022
Western Europe Cruise Part 2 - Cadiz
Map Embarkation and Southampton La Coruna - Spain Cadiz - Spain Malaga Changed to Gibraltar at last minute Lisbon - Portugal
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Map

Cadiz

There is usually a stop somewhere down the West coast of Spain or Portugal on ones way to or from the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean or onwards to the Canaries or towards the Cape. La Coruña, Cadiz, Vigo, Lisbon and Malaga are prime candidates and Cadiz is therefore another port we have visited many times. We have in fact visited five times in the last four years covering A Voyage to the Greek Islands on the Queen Elizabeth in Autumn 2016, the Queen Elizabeth 5th Birthday Cruises 2015, the Christmas 2014 Cruise on the Queen Victory when we visited Seville on a tour from Cadiz, the Wonders of the Mediterranean 2014 - a cruise on the Queen Victoria in 2014 as well as the Mediterranean Discovery Cruise on the Queen Victoria in 2013.

We are therefore just going to pull out the parts which are unique to this visit and then add a section at the end covering our favourite areas which we frequently go back to based on our earlier visits for our first time readers.

Cadiz this visit - December 15-16 2022

Many visitors to Cadiz by ship decide to take the long day trip to Seville, 80 miles away as we did in 2014, or else go to Jerez de la Frontera for sherry tasting. However Cadiz is a fine town in its own right and we had a few well defined targets for today, specifically the market and our favourite Alameda cake shop. We did not follow our usual route through the Plaza de Espana and and set off on the same route as we cover in the "Cadiz for the First Time Visitor" section at the end with our first stop being at the Castillo De Santa Catalina which has often been closed. Entry was free and we spent some time there, partly because the weather was very variable and there was epic rain for a period. We found a fascinating exhibition for the anniversary of a massive explosion in 1947 caused by an ammunition dump spontaneously exploding. It had been left over from the war and it is thought some German mines which used an unstable nitrocellulose based explosive was the cause and set off 1500 mines, 600 depth charges and 41 torpedoes - 200 tons of TNT. The shock wave completely destroyed the naval base, the shipyards, the railway station and all the surrounding housing. Every window in Cadiz broke and fell into the streets in an immense rain of glass. There were 10,000 casualties 1000 serious and 150 deaths making it the greatest disaster in the history of Cadiz.

The other end of the sweeping beach is protected by the Castle of San Sebastian which is itself at the far end of a long breakwater. It is worth the extra walk because it is interesting to visit but we found it is currently closed so we continued and visited the Baroque 18th Century San Lorenzo Parish church which is supposed to be one of the best examples of the 18th century Cadiz style. We do not recall visiting it before but it is now 'on the list', you will see why from the pictures.

It was now time to head towards the Market. After a short exploration of the small Carrefour supermarket for typical Spanish Christmas specialties to take home as presents we walked up to the Torre Tavira and our next important target, the Alameda cake shop opposite. On our previous visit we had enjoyed the coconut macaroon biscuits, Sultana con Yema but they were not available this year so we tried a couple of other specialties whilst sitting on a very wet seat in the market. Thus encouraged we returned for a much more luxurious purchase which was a typical Turron (a local version of marzipan) Christmas cake which are only made here. The typical family size cake costs about 50 euros, because of the price of the ingredients, but after much discussion and sampling of the other wares we decided it would be our Christmas present to each other. We hoped it would not be too fragile to get it safely home. This proved correct and you can see a picture without all the wrapping, the design just appealed to us. We spent time round the market, we love the Spanish markets, we have nothing to compete in the UK.

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Twenty minutes later we reached the Cathedral, the square outside was covered in a Christmas Market stalls and the Cathedral was offering commercial experiences - we said we might come back the following day as it is interesting with a Crypt containing the remains of Falla. It was then on to see how the excavations and restorations of the old Roman Amphitheater were proceeding - a free experience and interesting. I had not realised that most amphitheater seating looks so badly eroded because all you are looking at is the rubble which supported the huge block of stone forming the seats which had been removed and re-purposed. It was then a leisurely walk back to the ship at the end of our first day.

The original itinerary had been changed so we were in port for two days because Cunard were taking the opportunity to change one of of the blades on an azipod whilst in Cadiz. Each blade weighs in at 4.8 tons and is held on by 8 massive bolts. We watched with interest and they eventually the divers got the bolts out but we gather the blade would not come off whatever they did and eventually some repairs were made instead. We guess it had hit a semi-submerged container - there are tens of thousands of contains lost off ships every year many so low in the water even radar does not pick them up and is the reason the bulbous bows on ships often look dented. We eventually left at 2300 with everything seeming to be running smoothly so they had obviously managed to reshape the blade in situ. Note following January: It seems everything was not fixed as the next cruise had an unexpected two day stop in Cadiz and she went straight into dry dock, we do not know yet how successful that was.

We walked back to the the square ready to visit one of the Beléns promptly at 1100 when it opened. We got some interesting pictures in the Plaza san Antonio whilst we waited and visited a couple of smaller Beléns whilst we waited for the Belén de la Fundación Cajasol (Los Gozos De Diciembre Belén) to open. Every Belén is very detailed yet very different in style. Although we were on time we found a school group was already inside so we had to be very careful avoiding any close contact.

After another quick look round the market and consumption of a couple of small cakes from Alameda Pasteleria we continued to the Theatre Falla. Leaving the Plaza San Antonio one quickly reaches to the Plaza Fragela with the Gran Teatro Falla, named after the famous composer Manuel de Falla who was born in Cadiz and is buried in the cathedral. We have yet to visit the inside but even the outside is magnificent and very detailed. We passed through the Flower market having stopped to admire the old post office with its shining steps and impressive interior including a huge stained glass roof-light - well worth a few minute diversion if you pass. We had a quick look in the Museo de Cadiz which had a special exhibit of puppets but discovered most of the upstairs picture galleries were closing early. We got back to the ship quite early to give time to recover for an early supper and a theatre box in the evening.

Cadiz for the fist time visitor

Cadiz is said to be the oldest inhabited town in the western world, with 3,000 years of history. It is a major port, and is near to Jerez for exporting sherry and brandy. Seville is 80 miles away. Cadiz is a compact city, and is almost an island because it is circular with a narrow join to the rest of Spain. The old town is easy walking, and the Plaza de Espana is just outside the dock gates as well as the HopOn HopOff bus. There are recommended walking tours, each painted a different colour on the pavement, and the orange one is along the city walls, through the Alameda de Apodaca and Alameda Marquis de Comillas gardens, and along the Genoves Park to the Castle of Santa Catalina, then along the Playa de la Caleta sandy beach to the Castillo de San Sebastian.

The San Carlos walls which were constructed at the end of the 18th century and were the start of the yellow walking path. We preferred to climb the walls for the views instead of following the path around the base and then descended into the Almeda gardens with ceramic tiled benches and water features, passing the pink baroque church of Saint Teresa and the bastion of La Candelaria. We then reached the Engineers Building which dates from 1760 although the small square tower was added later. It is now the HQ of the Reina Sofia Cultural Centre and contains offices and exhibition rooms. We looked at the permanent exhibition of prize-winning work of Juan Luis Vassallo who was born in Cadiz in 1908 and died in 1986. Entry was free. Further along the coast the castle of Santa Catalina was again closed. It was built on the orders of Felipe II after the Anglo-Dutch looting in 1596 in order to protect Santa Catalina Cove. The work was completed under Felipe III. The chapel of Sanata Catalina inside was constructed in 1693.

Turning along the beach the impressive Naval College and the derelict old Hospice next door have not changed for years. The derelict Hospital-cum-Orphanage is temporarily in use for parking but rumors are that it might become a new 5-star hotel. The Balneario (Spa) of Our Lady of La Palma, built on the site of the old Royal Baths in 1924, is more modern and now contains offices. The other end of the beach is protected by the Castle of San Sebastian at the end of a long breakwater. It is worth the extra walk because it is interesting to visit and there has been reconstruction work since our previous visit. It is easy to walk along the top of the walls and the views towards the sea are good. It was named after a hermitage built in 1457 by crew members of a venetian ship who were recovering from Plague. In 1706 work on the fortified enclosure began. The lighthouse is modern and was built in 1908. Continuing along the coast the one option is to go directly to the cathedral but instead we often turn towards the Market which always has an impressive selection of fish and vegetables on display and, of course local cheeses. From there it is easy to find the Carrefour supermarket if one needs to stock up from a good choice of local red wine from Cadiz, and they often have some very cheap Cava and they are a good place basic local cakes and confectionary to take home to add interest to our coffee mornings.

Nearby is, the Tavira Tower with its camera obscura, which is well worth the climb. In 1778 it was the highest lookout point and was the official watchtower. From the top of the tower there is a 360 degree view and it was clear there are many watchtowers in Cadiz, by memory 129, and most houses have rooftop terraces. Our red funnel was visible in the distance, and we identified many of the familiar landmarks from our morning walk, including the Castillo de San Sebastian, the new Cathedral and the Mercado Central.

Entry includes a demonstration of the Camera Obscura, which projects an image of the scene below and around the tower onto a large white circular screen. Other worthwhile places to visit include the Museu Provincial and the Museum of Manuel de Falla and bookshop, all are in the Placa de Mina. We often try to purchase local specialties but beware, our favourite cake shop the Almeida cake shop nearby closes for the typical afternoon siesta. We look for Christmas specialties at the appropriate time of year and the Sultana con Yema, soft large coconut biscuits sandwiched with an eggy cream are another favourite to revive one.

The square in front of the Cathedral is usually busy with tour groups, many paying to visit the cathedral. The 'new' Cathedral was built between 1722 and 1838 so is a mixture of different architectural styles. The high altar is in the form of a tabernacle, supported by paired columns. The statue of the Immaculate Conception dates from the 17th century. The choir stalls predate the construction, dating from 1702. The crypt was the first part to be built, between 1722 and 1730. It is made of oyster stone, a local stone excavated from the sea and containing lots of shells. The Chapel of Bishops contains the remains of all the prelates. The famous composer Manuel de Falla was born in Cadiz in November 1876, but died in Argentina in 1946 and was returned to be buried in the crypt. Outside, in Pio XII Square, there is another church on the corner, of Santiago Apostol, a Jesuit church, built in 1635.

 

The nearby Fray Feliz Square is one of the most important spaces in Cadiz, including the Old Cathedral, the Cathedral Museum and the Bishops House. Nearby we again visited the Roman Theatre where work seems to have now ended. It is possible to walk through the tunnels and sit on the steps of the theatre, looking across at the exhibition rooms of the museum. Finally we followed the blue walking path to the Town Hall in the Plaza San Juan de Dios. The nearby interesting building is the Casa de los Pazos de Miranda. This square has a line of fountains, leading to the port.


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Content revised: 3rd January, 2023