Cádiz

Mileage: 162604

Today we started the day with a walk through Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Passing by the Castillo de Santiango and the Iglesia de San Diego de Alcalá, we arrived at the market hall, where we stocked up on fresh groceries. Apparently, today was market day, and the whole town was out and about visiting the stalls and shops in the central square. It was crowded.

We also strolled past a whole series of wineries – known as Bodegas – which occupied entire streets here, similar to Porto. However, we weren't in the mood for a tasting in the morning, as we still wanted to drive. A visit to the pharmacy, however, was on the agenda for today. We had tried unsuccessfully to buy the stomach remedy Iberogast several times in Portugal, but here in Spain, we had more success. To top it off, we passed by the Museo de la primera vuelta al mundo – the museum dedicated to the first circumnavigation of the world – which was right next to our parking spot.

After our city stroll, we were back with Gary around 1:30 PM and set off again with the motorhome.

It was now time to head to Cádiz. The city is one of the oldest in Western Europe. According to legend, it was founded by Hercules. Archaeologically, there is evidence of settlement in the area from around 800 to 700 BC by Phoenician sailors and traders. The city has played a recurring role in history, for example, when the Carthaginian Hannibal Barca visited the local sanctuary of Melqart in 218 BC before embarking on his famous journey over the Alps to Rome during the Second Punic War.

We had chosen a parking spot at the northern tip, right next to the Castillo de Santa Catalina. It was a paid parking area, but the location was promising. When we reached the spot, we were not disappointed; it was simply magnificent. We were lucky to get a spot with a view of the sea.

After a short break, we prepared the burger patties that we had bought today at the market hall from the butcher, along with buns from the bakery and tomatoes from the greengrocer; everything came together for a proper hamburger.

Today, we didn't succumb to our laziness but set off once again around 8:30 PM to grab a drink at a bar. It was hardly surprising that on a Friday night, with a pleasant 20 degrees, so many people were on the streets. In the square in front of the Gran Teatro Falla, the kids from the youth football team were still practicing their skills. We found an inviting little corner pub and ordered Cerveza. After a short time, we realized that we had obviously settled in a fan bar of the football club Real Betis, and Ines informed Sebb, using knowledge from the internet, about the historical and current development of the club from Seville. After one beer, it was already time to move on, and we were back home around 10:00 PM to spend the rest of the evening on the couch.