It’s the first Tuesday of our cruise which means we are docking in Cadiz, Spain from 7 am – 5 pm. We set our alarm last night because of our early tour.
After getting ready we had breakfast in the Garden Buffet because Taste wouldn’t be open early enough and our memories of breakfast in O’Sheehans from our last cruise on Epic aren’t great. I had an omelette and a biscuit with gravy.
White Villages and Countryside Tour
We had booked the White Villages and Countryside Tour in advance.
Our meeting time in the Epic Theater was 7:40 and we got there about 10 minutes early. There were a lot of people taking trips to Seville. Never say never but the two hour bus ride each way didn’t appeal to me.
Our tour was called and we got stickers for bus 10. Once we were all onboard, we saw there were enough empty rows for each of us to sit by the window. The bus driver was Antonio and our tour guide was Mauro; he was okay but repeated himself ALL THE TIME.
It wasn’t fully daylight when we left. We passed the sea gates leaving the port and drove past the old tobacco company (beautiful building).
Cadiz once had over 100 watch towers and there are still a number left although I never got a good picture. I did photograph a gas station in Cadniz. I’m always fascinated by gas stations in other countries.
As we left the city, we drove by long, sandy beaches.
We also passed salt fields as that is one of the local products.
Vejer de la Frontera
After a 30 minute drive or so we were at Vejer de la Frontera in the hills.
It is an old walled city with some of the original walls and towers remaining. We were dropped off at a parking area at the bottom of the city (outside the walls) and then had to walk up to the town. A few passengers stayed by the parking area.
We walked past the north gate also known as the Gate of Sancho the 4th.
There is a statue nearby dedicated to Juan Relinque.
He was a 16th century citizen who fought for the city’s independence from the Duke of Medina Sedonia. Our next stop was an old church, Iglesia Convento de la Merced de Santa Catalina.
Notice the relief of the woman on the right. You’ll see something related a little later on. The architecture throughout Vejer was very beautiful. We next arrived at Plaza de Espana.
Too bad we didn’t have more time to explore the buildings (and the weather could have been better!). There was a most beautiful fountain in the middle of the plaza.
The plaza was built in the 15th century to host bullfights and serve as a marketplace. The fountain was not added until 1957 but adds a pop of color to the white village. We continued on in the fog.
The empty streets were very scenic.
We next came to the Divino Salvador Parish Church located in Padre Angel Square. It dates to the 14th century.
It sits on a site of what was a muslim mosque. Nearby is the Ancient Convent of Our Lady of The Conception.
It was built in the 16th century but closed as a convent in the mid 1800’s. We continued our walking tour and came across artistic walkways.
We were also passing stations of the cross along our walk.
Doors like this make me want to explore beyond them.
We then left the gated city.
Before walking down to thebus we passed the cobiijada woman which is the symbol of Vejer.
This last stop in Vejer is mornally very scenic. But with the fog, we didn’t get the effect.
After free time for visits to the restrooms or restaurants (a few were open), we took off for the next village.
Conil de la Frontera
Conil de la Frontera is a beach town and it was about a 30 minute drive from Vejer. We passed some interesting trees on the drive.
It was a few degrees warmer here but this town was emptier than the first! There was not much to see as all the shops were closed. Sister T. And I stopped at one open bar for a coffee and toast.
The toast is a toasted roll with cheese. Tomato jam and olive oil is served on the side. I used both on my little sandwich and it was quite good (as was the coffee). We sat on the warm, covered patio and T (and everyone else) could smoke right at the tables as each one had ashtrays. Something we forgot about in the US.
This gave us access to the bathroom before I left to try to get a few pics. I walked out to the beach; it was HUGE.
At this point, Africa was across the channel less than 30 miles away. Apparently you can see it on a clear day.
Not many people on the beach, but I saw bird prints.
The group met at the tuna sculpture at the end of our free time to get on the bus.
I guess it is big crop here. Here’s the view from the bus leaving Conil.
On the drive we saw a big sculpture of a bull; they’re also from this area.
We passed this sculpture coming back to the port. I couldn’t find anything about it online so if you know what it represents, please comment.
We were happy to see our home away from home.
There was an old anchor decorating the outside of the port building.
Afternoon Onboard
We decided to go to O’sheehans for lunch. Sister T. started with a bushwacker which was very tasty (she let me have a sip).
I started off with a salmon Caesar salad.
My main was the Thai chili chicken wings.
Sister T. went with the open faced turkey sandwich.
I gotta say, it looked and smelled great. Took a long time to come out though. For dessert my choice was the caramel cheesecake brownie and she had the healthier fruit and yogurt plate.
Then it was time for another afternoon nap. 🙂
An Epic Evening
The evening started at Shakers. I tried the cosmo but returned to le fizz for my second. Sister T joined me for one pre-dinner drink. She had the lavender one today and enjoyed it. We then headed to the Manhattan room.
I started with broccoli and cheese soup which was mostly broccoli.
Good just too much of it. Sister T.’s first starter was stuffed mushrooms.
My second one was mini tostadas. They were just tortilla chips loaded up.
Teresa had caprese salad although the menu called it mozzarella and plum tomatoes.
For entrees, I picked the short rib beef with pasta. Very good but so much!
Sister T had the bbq pork with rice and enjoyed it.
We skipped dessert as she had a headache from overpowering perfume (next table) and needed to lay down.
We did notice they were “advertising” Thanksgiving dinner in the dining venues.
I was able to catch the 7:30 pm show in the main theater. It was the two comedians. I found the Canadian one much funnier.
Then I went back to the room and read and watched a show on my iPad before hitting the sack at 11 pm. I ended up with 9,664 steps and 3.2 miles today.
Below is today’s Freestyle Daily. Click on the image for the full PDF.
Leave a Reply