So let`s see.. I`ll retrogress as usual, step back in time and whatnot- all the way back to Friday evening, just a couple of hours before showtime!
Friday night was mostly waiting around for me. I was terrified I would miss my 3 AM bus, so that night I opted to not sleep at all- easier said than done! I paced around my room, I drew, I did pushups, I all but jumped to the ceiling. Trying to stay awake after getting little sleep from the many things I had been doing (concert, arab baths) was a bit of a challenge!
1 AM rolled around, and I decided to head out- I wanted to be there a little early, and I definately wanted to stay awake! So I grabbed my trusty school backpack, my camera, and walked out of my homestay into the night sky of Granada.
Walking to the bus station took me about 45 minutes, since it is on the other side of town! Of course, being Spain, a bunch of people were still out and about as I walked the long way there. I opted to follow more of the main roads, as I wanted to stick to the lighted areas- no need to wander through a dark shortcut and get lost! But soon I was entering into the bus station, and a bit more refreshed and awake from when I had been struggling at home.
2 AM came and went, and I paced in the bus station- all but hoping my bus would soon arrive so that I might run aboard and pass out. It didnt come till about 10 minutes before 3, and a seat change later I was in the the bus. Surprisngly, the bus was quite full- but I think that had more to do with that it had come from Cartagena. But I didnt pay much attention-I was just happy to settle down and try to sleep.
I dozed from a good portion of the trip, only waking when the bus stopped in Seville, and most of the passengers disembarked from there. I then took advantage of having a row to myself, and promptly went back to sleep from there.
When next I decided to awake, my wristwatch clearly displayed 8:15 AM. I only had gotten about 5 hours of sleep, but somehow I still felt refreshed all the same. My bus was empty besides a couple of passengers, and it was a nice way to wake up-all quiet on the bus front.
I stared out my window for remaining hour, watching the countryside whizz past with dozens of olive fields. Brown, rolling landscape and the green trees made the hour go by fast- I was entertained by trying to count rows, and watching the occasional billboard zoom by.
But suddenly the hills morphed away, and lo and behold, the ocean zoomed into my point of view. I sat up higher in my seat, becoming extremely interested at seeing the endless blue- this wasn`t just an ocean, but the Atlantic Ocean.. the same one that sits on shore back home in Florida.
When we first entered into town, it reminded me a lot of Chincoteague, Virginia- lots of marshland, and reeds sticking out of the water. But as soon as we entered into the city, the buildings loomed over, and between them the glance of the beautiful deep blue sea.
Our bus finally rolled into the small bus station, and the few of us hastily climbed out to stretch our legs after a very long night. I went to go buy a ticket to Algeciras the next morning at 6:45, as really wanted to get to Gibraltar early, and Algeciras was right next door. The tender was open, and 10 Euros later, the ticket was mine. Now back to the business of exploring Càdiz!
I had seen the tourist booth as we had pulled in, and thus made my way across the quiet morning street to sit in front of it and wait. The booth didn`t open till 10, so I had about a 20 minute wait before I could hop inside. I opted to munch on one of the small cornbread-like treat I had brought for breakfast, and shoo away lurking pigeons to occupy my time.
Soon enough the tourist reception was open, and I entered in the bright, happy looking place. The staff was extremely friendly, and immediately after asking them for a map, they gave me a wonderful map, and about 10 brouchers about what to do.. in English! (My accent must give me away.) They then proceeded to explain to me how to use the map, as it not only had everything marked on it, it had highlighted roads to follow. There were 5 different roads, each one representing different parts of history- for example, the Trading to the Indies historical route, or the Medieval route. It was extremely tourist friendly!
From there, I wanted to go check and see about a hostal for the night. I had read in my Let`s Go! Book about one that offered rooftop hammocks for 10 Euro night, and for only one night, it had sounded like a fun and rather cheap deal! I then walked down the main road as traffic began to pick up, as the morning was steadily progressing through.
I easily found the hostal I was looking for, however, the bright blue doors were locked shut. I knocked on the knocker, but no answer. Hm. Maybe they didn`t open their doors till 12? I decided to try my luck later, and see if I couldn`t get a room or hammock for the night.
From there, I headed back to the huge plaza building I had seen that morning, and snapped a shot, impressed with it`s official looking front:
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The building was a governmental building of some sort, (I read the plaque early in the morning, and the information about it escapes me EDIT: I wikipedia it, and its the town hall!) and it dominated the whole plaza with its beautiful flags of Spain, Andalucia, and Càdiz flapping in the ocean wind.
My eye caught over to the adjoining part, which had an old bell tower still attached:
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The plaque talked how it used to be part of an old church, and was one of the only parts still remaining of it- the government building had protected this small part by adding it on, and it definately clashed dark against the pale color of the other. It definately made an interesting picture and eye catcher!
I then pulled out my map, and traced the closest historical route- the Route to the Indies. Being an American, I had to see this-the foundations of Europeans living in the Americas, going on have descendants, which makes who I am today!
The walk was barely 5 minutes until I ran into some more old churches, and buildings. Some were built pre-Indies period, but most of them were built after. All the money, gold, and riches Càdiz brought in from the Americas made the city turn into a hotspot overnight, which is reflected in the tall and beautiful sculptured buildings:
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Each one of them had a little sign to read more information about this signs, and also a little dot where on the route you were. A completely free tour of Càdiz- and I didn`t have to pay a cent to hire a tour guide!
I walked up and read a bunch of different signs, each one telling me when and why the individual buildings were built- however, it was a bittersweet tribute all the same- the thought that kept plaguing my mind was that all the funding for these beautiful buildings was mostly taken from a dead native. I guess I learned history a bit different with Dad growing up, which paints a more realistic picture than happier, glorious one that we associate with the golden age of exploration.
But all the same, very impressive!
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(gorgeous stained glass windows!)
I continued walking down the Indies route, but somehow the route overlapped with the Medival route, and I came upon an extremely old looking entryway:
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Definately before the trading to the Indies!
I passed through the large archway, double checking to make sure I hadn`t accidentally wandered off the Indies route- but no, I was still on it- and a huge tribute to it was smack dab in front of me, a huge tribute both to God and the golden age of Càdiz.. Càdiz`s Catedral!
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It definately wasn`t as big as the Catedral back in Granada, but the two different art forms that made up the huge church made for a definate stop and looksee. I scaled up the large steps, inspecting the front door- I had read that the Church had been started and completed in two different time periods in Spanish history, so the church reflected a difference in artistic taste- I wasn`t sure exactly what those arts were, but the color change halfway up was good enough indication for me. (I want to say neoclassic and something else... but so much has passed these couple of days, remembering specific information is super hard!)
I wanted to enter in the looming building, but the main doors were still closed for the morning, so I made to continue back on my route. But a sign right next door caught my wandering eye, happily displaying a large sign in both English and Spanish: Come visit the Torre, and see all Càdiz!
The bait was set out, and I immediately walked into the open door, fishing through my backpack to find my student ID for a discount. The ID found, I walked up to the door to the receptionist. She informed me it would only be 3 Euros, and if I was also interested in visiting the nearby archealogical museum? 6 Euros later, I had two tickets- one for the tower, and one for the museum. Excited I had things to see, I made my way up to the top- after a quick question of I wanted my audio in English, which I insisted be in Spanish, to the delight of the receptionist.
I climbed up the stairs, my mind wandering to a time I had made a similar climb in a lighthouse- but I am sure the lighthouse was not made of the same material as this old rocky one! A small metal rail was implanted into the side, indicating that this was a fairly recent addition. Having a good sense of balance is a must to scale up this winding staircase!
But finally, the stuffy air cleared with a cool breeze, and walking out of the dark staircase, I came up to the tower, with several bells guarding the tower and looking over the beautiful white city of Càdiz:
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I began to look all over the city, but suddenly a loud recording began to play, startling me for half a moment. The tower had a small radio nearby that was the location of this mysterious sound, and as I began to listen along, it began to tell me about the history of Càdiz, and all the different interesting sights to see! It covered pretty much everything, from Columbus to every church of historical value built, and as it talked along, I snapped pictures of every angle:
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(on the left part of the church, on the right the sea looking out to the New World.. eerie!)
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(more on photobucket!)
I really enojyed doing the audio tour, and I spent a good half an hour just staring from all the angles, trying to get a good feel for the layout for the city. But I still had a museum to visit, so with a silent farewell to the quiet tower, I scaled back down the stoney steps, and made my way around the church.
Next was the visit to an archealogical museum, and unfortunatly I was not allowed to take any photos of the area. That just means allof you will have to go and visit for yourselves! Description wise, it was a huge complex with thick, glass staircases so that you can literally `walk`over the site of an anicent Roman complex, as well as some Phoenician structures too. It was incredible to walk and look under my feet, to see aquaducts and edificies, stables, and more. All original, all lying there below the ground, for guests to step back and be amazed at how society progressed in the olden days. Very neat!
I spent a good time walking through the entire museum, and then it was back in the sunshine of Càdiz. It was quite sunny outside, but not horribly hot with the cool ocean breeze that continuously winded through the many buildlings. From there, I decided to go visit the Roman theatre, which during my audio tour I had managed to locate its general direction.
5 minutes later, and a couple of steps up, I had found the theatre. It actually wasn`t where I thought it was, so I pretty much found it on accident. I entered into the complex, (free entry as well!) and lo and behold, the 2nd largest intact Roman theatre in the world lay just below me:
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Sneaking past a slow moving tour group, I waltzed down the stairs, and headed for front and center of the anicent theatre. It was hard not imagine performing for a live audience while I was down there...anyone for a bit of a Midsummer`s Night Dream?
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I then walked through the tunnel behind the theatre, as other people studying the stone layout, I was definately more interested in seeing the actual length.. it did indeed wrap around the entire structure!
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The complex wasn`t too big, so I was only in there for less than 45 minutes, but all the same.. I`m still amazed how many Roman ruins in Spain! You really don`t have to go Rome to see Roman Ruins!
I walked across the street, checking out what looked like another Roman theatre, only to realize it was only a circular shaped sports complex. But I wasn`t deterred: the ocean was right next to it, so I camped on the walkway and ate a bocadilla (sandwhich), a peach and small juice my host mom had nicely packed for me! Yum!
After finishing my tasty meal, I decided to finally get back on track, and finish the rest of the Indies Route. I made my way back to the front of the Catedral, but to my happiness, the doors of the great church were now open. So, I was once again distracted away from continuing along route, and heading inside to check it out:
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(more on photobucket!)
It reminded me a lot of the Catedral in Granada, but it definately had a different charm and setting about it. Different paintings, settings, and even rooms simply for religious officials of the Catholic Church. A huge organ with wooden decorations, and large scale monuments to Jesus and Mary.... a very Catholic Church, indeed! All of the different carvings of stone depicted saints, priests, and angels all around. It was very similar in the aspect of Granada`s Catedral when I had visited before , but I didn`t recollect in Granada there being a crypt underneath the church!
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It was a definately gloomy dark down there, and a rather realistic looking wax-woman lying dead in a crypt made me stare for a couple of hair raising seconds. I remembered hearing that art went through a revolution of realism back in the day.. and I can firmly say it looked pretty realistic. Eeech!
The rest was quite dark and hard to get good pictures of, but the rest were small, simple stones with names and dates of religiously affliated persons. I was soon climbing back into the cheerful light of the rest of the Catedral, and spent the rest of the time looking at all the paintings and sculptures.
With a quick recommandation from the receptionist of the Church, and the promise of free entry, I walked to the other side of the Church to check out its museum:
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(one of the many hallways full of paintings)
There were tons of paintings, religious icons, and a good deal of golden looking statues. Religious organizations have always been excellent at preserving different parts of history, and walking through every level of this enclosure gave me a wealth of knowledge of the progression of Càdiz Church. The later the dates became, the better and wealthier looking the trinkets became... all related to the conquest of the Americas!
After touring the Catedral`s history, I simply walked into a church right next door. It was a smaller church, not as grand and big as the cathedral, but still impressive and historical:
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The thing that caught my attention most was the columns holding up the roof. As I had learned in Cordoba, the Moors liked to use geometric shapes, and they made archways in the shape of palm trees. I am 99% certain that this little church wasn`t always a church- in fact, I was pretty sure this had been a mosque before!
The time was going well into the afternoon, and after visiting the small church, I figured it would be a good time as any to try my luck out at the cute looking hostal I had seen before. Càdiz isn`t too big, so it only took me a matter of 20 minutes before I was back in the front part of the hostal. This time I got in, but unfortunately, the placed was packed full of accented youth. A quick inquiry later had me walking out, hastily flipping through my book. My hostal was full up.. where next!?
Let`s Go!, my constant friend, suggested that I try going to Pension España. A little more expensive than the 10 Euros I had wanted, but when I went, the price was 30 Euros for a night. I was just happy I was able to get a room after my first disappointment, and I wasn`t willing to go hostal hunting to find out all the rooms were full! So I filled out a quick sheet with the pension`s owner, and then proceeded to organize my things into my room:
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After inspecting my quaint room, and discovering a shower down the hall, I then flipped open my book to figure out what to do next. I wanted to try and go to the beach, but a reccomendation to not miss the Museum of Càdiz had me itching to visit. (also free for students!) So I changed into my bathing suit, threw some clothing over my traje de baño, and left my room to explore more!
A couple of winding roads later, I found the grand museum, and immediately checked in with my student ID. I got a brouchure and a ticket of entry, and I was soon exploring the great museum. What was extremely awesome about this museum was that all of these were originals- no reproductions at all! I took several pictures of what I could, but most I could not take pictures of just because of preservation purposes!
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(intact Phoenician sarcophogi! Incredible!!! More pictures on photobucket!)
The next two levels of the large museum had both old and modern paintings, from people to religious imagery, to great ship battles to displays of puppets. It was definately incredible to see these oil paintings, and guards were littered everywhere, inspecting to make sure I wasn`t an art thief. I was really happy to visit this museum, because every single piece in there was authentic!
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(hopefully not this one!)
After my intellectual stimulating trip to the museum, it was well time to go relax at the beach. I shucked my belongings on my suitcase (aka my backpack) and followed where the breeze took me. It led me straight to the port, where I watched some ships head out to see- the port of Càdiz is still open, and being the oldest known European civilization still inhabited, it`s the best in the business!
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I walked along the old paseo, enjoying different sights along the way such as magnificient gardens, cannons, and a bit more of the beautiful ocean.
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I traveled down the long paseo for a good while, until it finally opened into a beach area. But that didn`t catch my eyes: moreso were the two castles stoically perched around the beach:
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I entered in the one closest to me, on the right, and ran amuck in one of Spain`s older castles, a guard against invading British, pirates, and CSU football players:
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(of course, more on photobucket... but you knew that was coming, didn`t you!)
It was definately a lot of fun to imagine myself as a Spanish soldier overlooking the ocean, though I`m not so sure I would have enjoyed staying up all night to make sure no one invaded the place!
The beach was teeming with people and children, but I had to go see the other castle before I could readily partake in the festivities. The other castle was quite a long walk: to get to it, you have to take a long bridge way out into the water to get there. I was a bit hungry and tired when I finally reached its gates, but to my disappointment... it was closed! auggh!!!
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It was a bit of disappointment to walk all that way and it not be opened, but I at least counted it as good exercise! Even though I was beyond starving!
I walked the long way back, but I did get to study the newer part of Càdiz (Càdiz is divided into an old part and a new part) Strangely enough... it remind me a lot of Ft. Lauderdale:
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I finally made it the oceanside, and I hopped down to put my feet back into the Atlantic. I opted not to go swimming: the beach was very far from the water, and the thought of leaving my belongings unattended was too nerve wracking for me.
It was soon hitting around 8 PM, so I decided to locate the Carrefour express, and do some quick lunch shopping for my trip to Gibraltar. After buying a ample supply of nuts, candy, and bananas, (a complete 3 day meal for a student) I treated myself to a paella dinner at a nearby restaurant. I`ll have to say it wasn`t as good as the one in Nerja, but all the same, delicious!
The clock chimed 9, and I headed home to my hostel after a long and fun day in Càdiz. I took my shower, brushed my teeth, packed, and changed into my outfit for the next day. I set my travel alarm clock for 5:30 AM and then proceeded to hop into bed... and not even 5 minutes later, I was dead asleep. But all in all, an extremely successful day in my 2 part trip!
*From here, I`ll stop the entry, and continue with Part 2, which will consist of my adventure to Gibraltar and beyond! Stay tuned! :)*
Until next time!
2 comments:
Well you have that Journalism major right... you seem to enjoy writing step by step adventures
You know what? You could even print the whole thing and have a hard cover... and maybe promote it to other abroadco students through this organization.... sounds good eh?!
by the way, anonymous is David jjajaajja
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