Artfully Ann's Adventures

Travel 

Saturday -- May 11 – At Sea; 

and, 

Sunday - May 12 – Cadiz, Spain

Saturday at sea was quiet.  John read, and I crocheted.  I have been creating many things for Artfully Ann’s and for a couple of fairs where I hope to sell some crafts this summer.  It looks like my application has been accepted for “A Taste of Edmond's ”  I’m enjoying the days at sea in my creative mode, in hopes of increasing my inventory.                                         

Here is a bowl I sold to a friend and passenger on the ship.  It was one of our  favorite.

We ended the day at sea with a lovely early Mother’s Day dinner at the ship’s Asian fusion restaurant called Tamarind.  I began the evening with a Saki Tumi and had some of the best sushi I’ve ever had.  The Saki was chilled and mixed with cucumber foam.  It was very good and I’d order it again…only one at a time!

Cadiz view from the ship

Sunday we arrived in Cadiz, or as many Spaniards call it “Cadith”. Actually, it’s more like “ka DEETH.”  The modern port city of Cadiz (originally called Gadir or Gardes) in the Andalucia region of Spain was a Phoenician colony of Tyre founded at least by the 9th Century BC, and perhaps as early as the 11th. The Rio Tinto silver mines appear to have been the driving force for Phoenician occupation of the region. Carthage controlled southern Spain in the 5th through 2nd centuries BC, and in 206 BC, the Romans took the city and established a fort there. Most recently, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, the German historian Rainer Kühne believes there are ruins in the muddy area of Marisma de Hinojos that may have inspired Plato's Atlantis story.  Oh, and did I tell you that Columbus was to have taken off from Cadiz when he started his voyage to the new world?  So the rumor goes…

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day and the weather was in the low 80’s.  John and I decided to just walk around Cadiz rather than taking a tour.  Boy….did we walk, my feet still hurt.  Cadiz is encircled by a fortress wall and we walked a fair amount of its perimeter.  The city has some beautiful parks and because the day was fairly warm we enjoyed walking in the shade of the trees.  The area is very tropical with a lot of palm trees and others – huge trees - that seem to look like small-leafed Magnolias.  However, I’ve been told that it is really called a Fikias.

Because it was Sunday, the local population was out and about after church.  This was apparently the weekend for baptisms, confirmations and related religious celebrations.  So many young babies and young girls were dressed up in their best white dresses.  The parks were full of families.  Locals and tourists were mixed and enjoying the beautiful day of rest.

There was a street fair (junk fest?) just like those we used to see in Russia.  We enjoyed taking a look at Cadiz “stuff.”  Some is the same and some quite different.  Many coins were quite interesting, but those were probably the items that would cause the most problems going through customs. I purchased some metal filigree and fabric covered rings.  The tops will look nice on bracelets or other creations.  They are definitely different and quite unique.

Plazade San Juan De Dios

Some say that the best beaches of Spain can be found here in Cadiz; they are Playa de la Victoria with modern facilities and Playa de la Caleta. There is no charge to use these beaches; they are close to the city and within walking distance.  We stayed on city streets and within the harbor, but it would have been a nice day to play in the sand.  We were hot and really ready for air conditioning when we got back on the boat

To top off the evening we listened to a wonderful tenor named Lee Bradley.   He is one of Europe’s leading international operatic tenors, and he has a great way of presenting this type of music.  If you ever have the opportunity to listen to Lee Bradley, I would highly recommend him.   

 

Sunset over Cadiz

The internet has been off and on.  When you get a whole ship of people trying to send email all at once it gets real slow.  If my blogs are a little delayed you now know why.  Stay tuned for the next Artfully Ann Adventure…. Malaga, Spain.  Adios!