May 12, 2022: Cadiz, Spain

May 13, 2022 cjbishop@yahoo.com

Back to the mainland of Spain with a stop at Cadiz. Most of the ship’s tours headed to Seville, which we had seen on a previous trip so I again looked for an alternative. We were going to visit “The White Villages of Andalusia”, a 5 hour tour of the small villages of Medina-Sidonia and Arcos de la Frontera, where virtually all structures are painted white, thus the name of the tour.

We were lucky to be here today as we were told it was 93 degrees yesterday; today it was nice and cool-mid 70s. Cadiz can be hot and humid in the summer, temperatures often reaching as high as 118 degrees!

Leaving the ship we first drove through the countryside to the hilltop village of Arcos de la Frontera. It is located at an elevation of 607 ft with a population of about 30,000. It is definitely old with evidence of stone age dwellers and Roman ruins in the area. The Moors occupied it in 1011. As advertised the buildings are white, the streets are narrow and the village is quaint. We walked the streets, went to a territorial viewpoint and visited an old elaborate church before stopping at a local hotel for some tapa snacks and wine before moving on to another nearby village.

Clubs dating back centuries that participate in religious services during the Lenten season.

Narrow streets lined with white buildings.

Wine, garlic laced olives and chips at Parador de Arcos hotel in Arcos.

Basílica menor de Santa María de la Asunción

Olive groves outside Cadiz. They were everywhere.

Medina-Sidonia is located at an elevation of 1,106 ft with a population of ~12,000 people. It is considered by some to be one of the oldest villages in Europe. Because of its elevation it was of prime importance as a military defense location. Like Arcos the buildings are white, the streets are narrow and the village is quaint. It was a bit of an uphill hike to get to the village center but we managed.

Entrance to village during medieval times

Another town with narrow streets with all white buildings.

Ordering cookies from cloistered nuns at their convent. You ring a bell, place order on turntable, rotate it, and wait until your order is sent back to you. No visual contact at any time.

Many homes had decorative ceramic signs defining who/what it was.

It was then back to the ship for more drink, food and entertainment. Dinner tonight was back in the Compass Rose dining room and tonight’s entertainment was another show put on by the singers and dancers of the ship’s Production Cast. It was called Diamond Run and featured the music of Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nancy Sinatra and Michael Buble.