Day 87 Cádiz, Spain

 Two different tours for Philip and I today. Philip a "forest" bike ride and for me "The White Villages of Andulusia".  Both tours were not until the afternoon so we enjoyed a walk around Cádiz this morning.  From our ship it is an easy walk across the road to the City Hall of Cádiz.  

The city hall is surrounded by lovely parks and as we wander further, guess what we came across?  Yes, another ABC.  This one is the Cádiz Cathedral.  

No mucking around with names a mile long in Cádiz.  Adjacent to the Cathedral is a Carousel unlike any other I have seen as it is a double decker.  It's gorgeous.

We walked around the town centre for around an hour.  Of course we got lost but google maps to the rescue again.  When will we learn that these ancient streets are never straight!  Back to the ship for a quick light lunch before we begin our afternoon tours.

Philip said that he enjoyed his ride although it was probably the most strenuous out of all the rides he has done.  Everyone was given a choice between electric or push bike.  Philip of course chose the push bike.  We were both laughing before his tour about where they would find a forest in this region of Spain and indeed it was not what we would call a forest, more like bush. They travelled over sand dunes and rode past some beautiful beaches with really lovely views.  Their guide pointed out land in the distance that he said was Morocco.  Here are his pics.

My tour was around five hours and I was lucky enough to be on tour with Keith and Judy so I was not lonely.  Our first stop was the village of Medina Sidonia.  It is not a long stop.  Just long enough to walk to the top of a small hill for some lovely views out over the terrain.  The landscape is literally covered in wind turbines, and the buildings within the villages are almost all painted in white paint.

Now we are headed for the village of Arcos De La Frontera, and as we leave the bus, we are fronted by a very steep hill.  I had read about this in the tour description but nonetheless it was very steep and really got the heart rate up.  Over the past three months most of our walking tours have been almost entirely flat so this one was a bit of a shock to the system.  When we reached the top of the steep hill our tour guide reassured us that we had done the hard bit.  Not so.  Although it was not as steep, the next hour of the walk was all uphill.  All I could think was "well, it's going to be all downhill on the way back to the bus!"

This village is another that is so typical of Spanish Architecture.  Yes there are lots of white buildings but now and then you will spot a splash of colour as if in defiance.  The Basilica that we were making our way towards at the very top of the hill was built in the 15th century and once again it defies my imagination as to how they managed to build such magnificent structures with just muscle strength.  When we finally reach our destination, just past the Basilica, the views are breathtaking.

Our guide takes us to a hotel near the Basilica where we enjoy a glass of the regions Rioja and olives.  I love olives and the taste of these was outstanding.  I would love to know what they pickled them in to achieve the orange colour.  The view from the dining room was extra special with its wall of glass looking out over the valley below.  

After our snack it was a long walk, all downhill thank goodness, back to the bus.  Our bus took a different route on the way back and we drove by some lovely beaches with golden sand and azure water. There are lots of surfers riding the long breaking waves and our guide tells us that it is a favourite place for surfers.

This is our last day of tours and tomorrow is a day at sea (and the packing!) before we reach Barcelona where we will stay for two nights.  Lots to see here so stay tuned.