23. April 2019

Hoy me he asomado al balcón de Mar de Cádiz,

y he tenido un diálogo con los duendes que duermen en sus caracolas;

Hoy he rozado mi piel con las rocas de la Caleta,

y me emborraché con el eco de sus historias;

Hoy en esta playita, el levante que no volverá,

ha atado mi alma inquieta;

Y mis pies mojados de agua y mis manos cargadas de arena.

Mi Libertad pregunta: ¿Dónde guardan las olas su tristeza?

[Eva M^a Rodríguez Gavira. 2003]

The last day has unfortunately come and even Rodrigo gets up fast today to make the most of the few hours we’ve got left. We follow Paqui’s recommendation and get Churros in La Marina on Plaza Topete 1. Always order your Churros with hot chocolate to dip, anything else would be such a shame.

Afterwards we purchase tickets for a tour to the Camera Obscura located in the Torre Tavira and before it starts we stroll around to see a bit more of the city.

The Torre Tavira is a must-do, and please also do the tour, which is anyway included in the price, but you do have to sign up for it when you buy your ticket. First of all, the views from the top are great… look for all the different towers they have in Cádiz, about 6 different building styles and 133 towers in total. There is one tower that is called the hidden beauty, as you can only see it from one of the viewing platforms in Cádiz and not from the bottom.

The second reason to visit the tower, and in my opinion the main reason, is its great 20 minutes introduction to the Camera Obscura. The guide basically gives you a tour of the whole city of Cádiz by turning the Camera into several directions, shifting the focus and projecting the images on the screen.  I recommend doing this tour at the beginning of your visit, as you can find out which attractions you’d like to see during your stay. Our guide has a lot of fun and even plays around with the people walking across Plaza de las Flores. She takes a piece of carton and “lifts” them up or builds little bridges for them (as the image then is obviously projected differently). Rodrigo and I wonder how many people have watched us walk around already, and if we’ve also been lifted up by the guide.

We do the usual “last day in Spain”-shopping (Jamón, stuff for Rodrigo’s sister, and Fuet) and walk towards our apartment. On the way, we come across two of the four gifted hundred-year-old ficus trees, absolutely impressive, and the botanical garden. These trees are a legacy of Columbus’s discoveries, their saplings were brought back from America and planted in Cádiz.

When we pick up our stuff from Paqui, she even gifts us a little souvenir and jokingly says how she would give us a second night for free if we stayed. Such a lovely woman!

Before we really have to say goodbye, we quickly check out Cádiz’s beach, the only beach in the old part of the town, and it’s so gorgeous. It makes us both want to stay at least one more day. Nevertheless, we’ve experienced so much in Andalucia that it doesn’t really feel like only 10 days, especially because we’ve got even more done than originally planned. A very complete journey and definitely worth it.

The flight home is direct this time. I sit next to a couple that reminds me a lot of Rodrigo and me. She is Austrian, he is Spanish, they speak in English together and their three kids speak all three languages. Also, they live only a few houses away from us. It’s interesting to chat with them, as we have so much in common (not the kids, obvi). We even take the same taxi home together.

It’s weird to know that a couple of hours ago I was standing on the beach and in a couple of hours I’ll be teaching my students again. It feels surreal how fast you can get from point A to point B nowadays. I think soon I’d like to do some slow travelling, via bike or just by foot. Maybe some camping. Let’s see what’s next. For now, I’m looking forward to cuddling my cats and snake, and my own bed…. and a washing maschine ;-).