Venga...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
Like "allora" in Italy and "uh" in English, we heard "venga" peppered in conversation all day long from the locals in wonderful Cádiz, Spain. Yes, wonderful--- we really enjoyed our 2 months here, more than we anticipated.
Maybe it was the celebratory statues of Hercules (the founder of Cádiz) and Gaia placed on the main entrance of the historic center that made us feel at home. Ok, or maybe they're there to celebrate Carnaval-- we choose the reality we wish to live in! (more on Carnaval below)
Maybe it was the stunning architecture and coastline. Here is the Catedral de la Santa Cruz. Our guide told us that the original cathedral was the rectangular building in front of the dome-- they built it very simply so that invaders wouldn't destroy it, thinking it couldn't possibly be of importance. When all was clear, they began construction in 1722 and took 116 years to finally finish it. While no Sagrada Familia timeline (144 years and counting! ), there had to be some significant construction issues or lack of funds for this puppy to take so long !
One of the many mansions of the merchants back in the day. The towers served as a lookout to see when the next ships were coming in.
Interestingly, many of the buildings are made of this sandstone that is laden with seashells. Taking walks and examining buildings became a kind of "Where's Waldo?" to see who could find the biggest intact sea shell.
Maybe it was the beach? We're not usually seeking out beach cities but it was nice to be able to walk 20 minutes from our apartment to the beach and not have to commit to being there the whole day. And with cool temps and little in the way of crowds it was perfect.
Maybe it was the great group of people we met at our volunteer gig with Madre Coraje, where we sorted through clothes donations to see what could be sold at their second-hand shop. The funds raised there go to villages in Peru and Mozambique to finance educational and cooperative projects. Along with Joss, Cristina and Esmeralda (shown here) we were a fine oiled machine-- we sorted through the mountainous pile of incoming donations from the left hand area and re-bagged the unsellable items, placing them on the right for recycling. Victorious!!
Could our affection for Cádiz possibly stem from the fact that I saw my last name everywhere in town??
In the old town, former cannons are repurposed as corner guards on the narrow city streets. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where all armaments of war are unneeded and used for utilitarian purposes? F-15 fighters as slides in a playground? (NEED ANOTHER) We can dream.
Some locals leave the historic center of the city for the 10 days of Carnaval in February because, frankly, it gets noisy and takes over the narrow streets and plazas. But what a fun time it was! Music, parades, costumes, and the most important aspect of it all-- the singing groups. These groups practice all year for the big competition at the beautiful Gran Teatro Falla where they sing their songs filled with local humor, slang and political scrutiny, including songs about the current US administration. If you have Instagram, check out this reel for a taste of the fun.
There was one song in particular that was so catchy we still sing parts of it when we want to show something to the other-- "Mira, mira mira mira mira...." (look, look, look, look, look...). We heard this song the first time from our bedroom window (shown below.) The tradition is that after the competition, the singing groups stroll around the historic center for about a week, find a quiet street (like ours!) and sing their repertoire, usually about 5 songs. In their entirety. Up until about 1 am some nights oh boy...the double pane windows and noise-blocking apps helped. And the audience listening can be as few as the one shown below or it can completely pack the street (I had trouble getting to our front door one time!). All in all it was fun to be in the middle of everything -- we scoured our very own Madre Coraje for 2nd hand costumes, saw a Kpop tribute concert (ok it was for the kids but don't stop me!), and stopped to listen to other groups while we had the obligatory bocadillo de tortilla and drank manzanilla like everyone else.
Maybe our affection for Cádiz stems from the fact that the mass transit is terrific-- we were able to take so many great day trips via train or bus.
San Fernando is said to be the "bedroom community" of Cádiz, but our visit to SF showed it to be a lively town on its own. Here is the town hall ready to welcome the pasos or floats for Semana Santa.
The book lovers in us appreciated these clever benches featuring the work of local authors. And you know what? Not too uncomfortable!
On the way we played "Who can spot the bull?" These bull billboards in the countryside are leftovers from a marketing campaign in the 50's by Grupo Osborne to promote sherry. They've become the perfect vehicle for protest statements, like this one showing Palestinian solidarity.
Arcos de la Frontera is one of the 19 villages in Andalusia on the Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos, named for the color of the buildings.
Honestly, we weren't too upset that we were in town on the 3rd of April instead of the 4th or 5th! When we first saw this sign I wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly- the release of the bulls? This isn't Pamplona!
But then we came across this poster and, well, there you go! There will be no overnight stay in Arcos, thank you very much.
The interactive museum had me locked in-- I immediately searched my surname on the database of wineries in Spain. What a coup it would have been to get a hold of a bottle of one of these babies!
The moorish architecture around town took our breath away.
To stay so close to Africa and not visit the continent would have been a shame so Tangier here we come! Don and Zach did a day-trip back in 2009 and came back with some lively stories, including one where a nervous Don found his nose in a container of a spice he just could not take! Older and wiser, he wanted to give the city a 2nd chance and show me what he saw.
Our guide said that when a door is segmented like this it's an indicator of the number of rooms in the living space beyond, helpful for those looking to rent a room or buy the home.
Why two door knockers? Our guide said if the husband comes home and uses the big knocker it means he's bringing home a guest and the women inside need to put on their headscarves. The small knocker sounds? As you were.
We didn't have time to grab lunch or even a cup of mint tea so we hope to return to Tangier one day, with a plan that accounts for delays and includes an overnight. But who knows-- maybe by then the powers that be will have smoothed out the kinks. Until then, we'll keep doors like this in our memories.
Another point for Team Cádiz-- we were positioned so close to two of our wonderful groups of friend families: our Marseille Saunier and Rossini (Chantal was at work-- someone has to pay the bills!)...
.. and our new Nimes family, Michou and Bernard (we missed you, Elodie, Olivier, Lilou, Noam and Manon!)
The magnificent snow-covered mountain in the distance is Tacoronte. Snow covered because just a day prior to our arrival a tremendous storm hit the island, causing flooding everywhere. We were blissfully unaware and flew out as planned. Thankfully there were only some minor flooding and strong winds and no major effects on the island so our arrival was not an issue And the waves the storm brought on were so dramatic-- we had a front row seat from our balcony of Mother Nature flexing her muscles!
We were surprised to see that the capital Santa Cruz is fairly large and very busy. With only hours to go before our flight out, we visited the small but surprisingly good archeological museum there. One excellent exhibit in particular showed the mummified bodies of some of the island's first inhabitants, the Guanches. We know this gent from 1195-95 AD suffered from a dislocated jaw and a messed-up eye but looks like he could boast a fine head of hair for it to stay on his head after all these years!
So our overall impression of our stay in Cádiz? Yes, the cruise ship groups could clog up the historic center (we learned to plan our day trips based on how many groups were planned to descend on the city on a particular day) but overall we could definitely see ourselves coming back for another stay-- it was a great option for the winter months. ¡Hasta luego, Cádiz! ¡Venga!
In Chiclana de la Frontera we came across a church that had 4 different pasos ready for the procession the following day.
Some might look at this plate and want to turn away but I was so excited to tuck into this dish of anchovies over salmorejo (gazpacho with bread in the mix).
In El Puerto de Santa Maria we toured a former mosque turned Castle of San Marcos to a winery and event space where you can store your own cask of wine. Look who's storing his brew on the bottom left.
In El Puerto de Santa Maria we toured a former mosque turned Castle of San Marcos to a winery and event space where you can store your own cask of wine. Look who's storing his brew on the bottom left.
On the way we played "Who can spot the bull?" These bull billboards in the countryside are leftovers from a marketing campaign in the 50's by Grupo Osborne to promote sherry. They've become the perfect vehicle for protest statements, like this one showing Palestinian solidarity.
Honestly, we weren't too upset that we were in town on the 3rd of April instead of the 4th or 5th! When we first saw this sign I wasn't sure if I was reading it correctly- the release of the bulls? This isn't Pamplona!
We've been to other cities in Spain which feature nunneries where the nuns, usually cloistered (no contact with the public) bake and sell cookies to raise funds. And usually they offer 2, maybe three varieties of goodies. The nuns here at MMMD aren't fooling around-- look at this array of sweets! The process-- you place your money on a revolving turntable, you say your order and turn the enclosure. The nuns turn it again with your change and your box of cookies, ready to enjoy . Kinda like the pre-cursor to the Dunkin Donuts drive-up window!
We planned an overnight to Jerez de la Frontera to meet up with some other frequent traveling friends Ellen & Ryan and Carle & Andy and to sample some sherry. We almost didn't make it when 3 days before I swallowed a half of a spiky star anise (I was using it to flavor the water in my bottle) and it ripped the heck out of my esophagus doh! Two emergency room visits and 2 doctor visits later to make sure it had passed led to 5 weeks of broth, tea and pureed solids until I could swallow normally again. But at least I got in one day with a group (see below)! (Note-- add the anise debacle to banging up 2 fingers in Mexico -- they still look frightening as I wait for the nails to fall off-- and this has been 6 months of bizarre ailments!)
Hail to our Jerez sherry-sampling crew at the beautiful Sherry Gallery! (Additional note-- I really thought Don was sitting next to me lol. We're a close bunch!) Many of us agreed that the sherry cream was the tastiest sample of the bunch.
Don and I didn't get a chance to tour the impressive Alcázar but the rest of the group did and said it was worth a visit.
My wonky throat kept me from eating even the soft parts of this luscious bacalao dish. The tears were real. Camera shy (or we don't want to include the pic because it looks kind of gross)- rabo de toro or oxtail stew.
What we found is that old Tangier is still full of striking architecture, little twists and turns, beautiful artistry at every corner. And with the final touches of a new port of entry to ease the flow of traffic during high season, Tangier is getting ready for the influx. We only wish all these time-saving measures had been in place when we visited. Granted, our schedule was tight with a 10.30 port arrival and an 11 am tour, but we faced delays at every turn. First the boat arrived late, then a huge line to have our passport stamped, more lines to have it checked twice, then we couldn't find our guide. All in, by the time we met up with our guide Yusef we had an hour left of our booked 2.5 hour tour. We fast-walked it through the city streets, trying to keep up with Yusef and still managed to take pictures of the striking doors and buildings we saw, all while making sure we didn't get left behind in that maze of streets!
The Lalla Abla Mosque just outside of the port was an impressive sight with the city just beyond.
Here is just a smattering of what felt like hundreds of pix of the amazing doors we saw.
Our guide said that when a door is segmented like this it's an indicator of the number of rooms in the living space beyond, helpful for those looking to rent a room or buy the home.
Another point for Team Cádiz-- we were positioned so close to two of our wonderful groups of friend families: our Marseille Saunier and Rossini (Chantal was at work-- someone has to pay the bills!)...
.. and our new Nimes family, Michou and Bernard (we missed you, Elodie, Olivier, Lilou, Noam and Manon!)
Someone had a very big birthday this year.... and it wasn't Don, much to his chagrin! To celebrate my 60th (yeow!) we headed to the Canary Islands where my mom's grandmother's family came from. We chose Tenerife (yes, of current Hantavirus fame) because it's known to be less touristy than Grand Canarias. We lucked out on our Airbnb in El Pris because it was absolutely local and had this great view from our albeit small but well positioned balcony--
Unfortunately our plans to hike the trails in Tacoronte were cancelled because of the flooding but we found a great alternative in the sunny mountains of San Cristobal de la Laguna. Don was absolutely in his element here.
We had a car so we made it a point to check out the entire island-- you can drive the circumference in about 3 hours. We hit the south that was absolutely teeming with Dutch tourists, so much so that many of the stores and restaurants had their signage in Dutch as well.
Here's Don taking a stroll in colorful San Cristobal de la Laguna in the northeast, the first Spanish city on the island and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
One point of interest-- the vast amount of banana farms. When we first caught sight of the acres of cloth-covered structures we had no idea what we were seeing. It was only when we were close enough to one of these structures that we could see the banana trees inside. Acres and acres of these structures- it was unreal!
We were surprised to see that the capital Santa Cruz is fairly large and very busy. With only hours to go before our flight out, we visited the small but surprisingly good archeological museum there. One excellent exhibit in particular showed the mummified bodies of some of the island's first inhabitants, the Guanches. We know this gent from 1195-95 AD suffered from a dislocated jaw and a messed-up eye but looks like he could boast a fine head of hair for it to stay on his head after all these years!
We'll bend the rules a bit for this post's SOL-- not quite a slice of life of the locals but a very special slice of life for Donny B (of Hot Rod fame) as we celebrated his birthday on a river cruise (more on that in our next post). See the clever way in which the chef handles Don's pesky lactose intolerance.
We've been in Asturias, Spain, now since mid April where we've done a tour of my mom's roots (more on that in our next post!), Next week we head to Zagreb, Croatia where we'll stay for 3 weeks. We're looking forward to seeing our friends Olja and Goran, their son Victor and be introduced to little Vanja ! Slovenia, Berlin, Chicago, Wisconsin, and NJ follow--we'll be bouncing around a bit-- until we settle in Halifax, Canada for the month of July.
Wishing you all good health ! Until next time-- thanks for following along!
Don and Monica
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