MANILVA TO CADIZ AND BACK.

THURSDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2010.

After breakfast of tea, toast and fresh figs we set off in the Micra on a rather cloudy day with the forecast of the first rain in five months; I headed down the N 340 towards Algerciras and then turned onto the motorway towards Jerez through the mountains. It’s a spectacular route on a fast road, just before Jerez you hit the Express road to Seville and head in the opposite direction to Cadiz.

The road into Cadiz goes across a spectacular bridge into the new part of the city; it crosses the rivers and sea that surround Cadiz on three sides; as you enter the modern part of the city there is what must be the longest Avenue anywhere, it is dead straight and lined with tall buildings and is three lanes in both directions and goes into the distance. All along the avenue are overhead traffic lights, we lost count but well over a hundred and as you make your way along the change in blocks and keep the traffic flowing !

At the end of the avenue you then pass through the old city walls down into the port and the old part of Cadiz; we had been this far before but today we carried on and explored further; the road soon becomes a single lane and takes you around the headland and into another part of the city; this a tree lined road that borders the university campus with modern and very old buildings side by side. At the far end we came across the very old and twisted tree in the picture and I am checking out the details later as well as giving you the names of the church etc.

As we drove along we saw for the first time the old part of the city, the streets are very long and narrow and are towered over by tall buildings on either side; we took the plunge and drove down one of them into the unknown! The area is vast and I just went with the flow as you can only go one way and follow the signs, as we drove slowly along we came across all sorts of squares with church’s, the theatre district, different shops, candle makers, shoe makers, mirror makers and a dolls hospital to name but just a few ! You can’t stop and you are soon lost, the only way is to carry on till you get out! As we went along the sites and sounds, as well as the smells are amazing, there are also lots of very old and wonderful bars to explore on another day. Eventually we came out and headed for the main sea front parade which stretches for about 3kms. Along the white sand beach, it carries on further on either side of the city and must be over 10kms in all. On the beach this time the sand sculptor was making an elephant, last time it was a giant crocodile !

We stopped at our favourite Tapas bar,Restaurante Art Serrano for lunch and introduced them to beer and tapas as you can see in the pictures below; after a very pleasant lunch the girls dipped their feet in the Atlantic swell as the weather had changed and was now very hot and sunny,33degs in the shade ! We then headed back down the coast towards Tarifa,the road out of Cadiz in this direction goes across a wide causeway with the railway, motor way and then the beach all along a very long and fast stretch, you then hit the old N 340 over the mountains and down to Tarifa past the largest wind farm in Europe. On the way we dropped off into Bolonia for a late afternoon aperitif, this is where the animals can roam free,horses,donkeys,goats,sheep and cattle are common on the streets along the bay and beach,Bolonia was once the farthest outpost of the Roman Empire.

After a “ Helluva “ day we got back to the house in Manilva just in time for a quick siesta before we had our evening cocktails, a late supper of Pork Cutlets in a Lemon and Lime butter sauce with Llonyanaise potatoes and vegetables rounded off a great day down in a very sunny Andalucia.

Thought for the Day;

You never know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks, an old Eskimo warning !

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