Shoreline of Cadiz
The cathedral, Baroque Style with Neoclassical elements.
Sunsets and Chocolate Ice Cream on the Beach
These three places have been on the list since we arrived to Spain. Friends have stated that Cadiz has one of the most beautiful beaches. March 9th we drove to El Puerto de Santa Maria, a town close to Cadiz, to stay in a Bed and Breakfast we found on airbnb. We use this website often to find places to stay because it is usually cheaper than the local hotels or hostels and offers more space. People offer their whole house or a room for rent. We have had great experiences so far and this little B&B in Puerto de Santa Maria was no different, in fact it was pretty great. We were welcomed by our host Friday night and after a brief introduction he invited us to go with him to a Flamenco show. He took us to a little bar where we met his friend and shared some tapas and drinks. The show started soon after and included a flamenco dancer, a guitar player, and a singer. It was an incredible experience. I really enjoyed the show and it was truly a gift that they invited us to this free flamenco display. Saturday, after a morning run, we headed to Cadiz by ferry. We walked around Cadiz enjoying the sights and visited the Carrefour grocery store for a liter of chocolate ice cream. We went to the beach and shared the ice cream in the sun. We hung out in Cadiz watching the sun-set and then took the ferry back to Puerto.
Nice artwork near the Casbah
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| Morocco December 1777, became the first nation to recognize the US and together they maintain the longest unbroken treaty. The original embassy is inside the old city walls. |
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| Infamous Continental Hotel |
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| View from the roof of a store |
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| Spices Galore |
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| Bakery |
Sunday we got up bright and early and drove to Tarifa and took a fast ferry to Tangier, Morocco. We wanted to visit the old city in North Africa for the day. Once off the boat we were approached by two different men from the "Tourism Office" offering a cheap tour. We took the second, older man up on his offer after he followed us for a couple blocks and lowered his price in half. The man was very nice and took us throughout the "old town" of Tangier and he did a great job of explaining the history. During the tour he took us to the market where they were selling anything you could think of from fruit and vegetables to fish and other meats to clothes and tea kettles. The bad part of the tour was the dreaded sales trap, we were led like little happy tourist to a few rug and miscellaneous stores. The final stop was an overpriced restaurant, we "negotiated" to a more pleasing price and ate a nice couscous. After eating, our guide took us to see a famous hotel and then bid us farewell and good luck. Reminding us to not trust anyone. We patrolled the beach while waiting on the ferry, which became a roller coaster of a ride, Angela almost made us of the bags they handed out. That night we drove to La Linea, a town outside of Gibraltar.
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| Half way up the Rock, a fortress. |
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| 2.6 square miles and monkeys |
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| Landing, causes lots of traffic. |
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| The Rock of Gibraltar |
Monday, we woke up feeling exhausted and sick. We headed into Gibraltar, England. Yes, England has a 2.6 square mile territory in Spain. It was so strange to visit a beautiful little English town and hear our native tongue. The border is at the airport, you must literally walk across the runway to get to town. But the planes get the right-of-way and back up both car and pedestrian traffic, it was fun to watch one land. Gibraltar is one of the most dangerous places to fly into due to the winds around the Rock. We enjoyed walking around but were only able to stay a couple of hours.
We also made a stop into Fuengirola to get a notary from the Consulate. This is the last weekend we will try to fit some many places into 3 days. It was a memorable, a little ill-conceived, but overall, fun.
