From the balcony: Cadiz

Sitting waiting to pull off the quayside 

Meandering further in Cadiz

The sights and smells of the market were superb and made me realise I was getting hungry.

I fondly remembered the Hiperdino in Arrecife and their gorgeous apple turnovers......yum. No luck today, I'd have to wait until I was back on the ship for that.

So, wandering once more I chose a different alleyway to follow. It looked like one I'd not done so.....

I ended up at the Cathedral of Cadiz. Wasnt expecting that to pop up.

It was 7€ to go in so I did. 

Amazing interior. 

The number of local families who paid for various chapels was also an eye opener. Buying their way into heaven perhaps?

I took this of the main altar. Very lovely but still prefer the simple ones in places like Puerto de la Cruz de Tenerife or the very small one dedicated to the fishermen in La Gomera.

Having spent a very happy hour in there I came out, chose a different alleyway and meandered along that one.

It spat me out on the ramparts, not far from the Baluarte de la Candelaria and its associated gardens.

Sadly my cold was still affecting me and the headache was coming back with avengance. 

Strolling along the ramparts and then across the main square, I wandered back to the ship, glad to be able to take some paracetamol and grab some lunch, albeit late.

Think they were showing their skill set to students. Stalls and bouncy castles plus class groups of 16/17 year olds were floating in the vicinity. 

Grey skies, rain and umbrellas

So different from Arrecife. The mornings are darker and the skies, laden with rain.

Cadiz is a destination I remember with great fondness but then it was blue skies and temperatures in the upper 20s. 

Not today but wandering was just as enjoyable and having chosen the morning, I think I got back to the ship at the right time. It is now raining heavily and deep puddles are forming. 

So, back to my meander.

Houses are tightly packed but ornately decorated. You have to look up however. Walking along the narrow alleyways you see little, save large, wooden doors and muli-occupancy letter boxes.

Open the heavy door and you start to see the real beauty.

The ornate tilework, their inner quadrangle, the marble steps, all maintained by those who live there.

The alleyways are like a maze and pop you out into small squares with open areas to sit and talk. Cafés surround them; like little social lungs set within the districts.

This one was quite large and having its stonework reset, drains relayed and trees re-edged. I was caught by the thickness of the bricks/slabs. It's only when you see them you begin to understand why they are so much more durable than ours.

Next I fell into another very large square dominated by the fruit, fish and veg market. It reminded me of old Covent Garden before it was gentrified with stalls bursting with produce, the smell of fresh fish filling the air and small cafés surrounding the scene.

Day at sea. Another book read

What would I do without Kindle?

So, as a post script to last night, the Spanish authorities arrived somewhere around midnight to collect the illegal migrants. 

We'd waited alongside until the high speed boat arrived and then again until the people were alongside the rescue vessel. By the time it was ok for us to pull off it had already past midnight.

I drew the curtains and collapsed into bed. It had been a long and surprisingly interesting night.

So today I am pleased to find the Library has reopened and although we cannot serve ourselves, tea and coffee is once more available. 

I do hope people continue vigilance so we can have all facilities reopened.

Another book read and another downloaded ready.

One very happy bunny. Just need the cough to clear up and to stop needing paracetamol all the time.

Shuddering to a halt; a wooden boat drifts about

It's 8:30pm and we've suddenly come to a shuddering halt, did an about turn and are now holding a stationary position. 

We're supposedly off to spend a day at sea, making our way back towards the UK, first stopping at Cadizvand then A Coruña. Its quite a distance and we have to maintain a reasonable speed.

It seems, however, we almost ploughed into a migrant boat full of, well, migrants attempting to get to the Canary Islands.

We're expected by the rules of the sea, to wait, call the Spanish rescue people and then continue to wait until the boat load is 'rescued'.

Fingers crossed the Spanish come out and don't shrug their shoulders, otherwise we are duty bound to pick them up!

This is turning into an interesting trip.

Taken using my phone camera off the Galaxy 20S. It sets itself up to take night shots. What I saw was virtually pitch black. 

Taking a sea taxi

Watching as the two pilot boats took up, what appeared to be, sentry duty to the recently emptied container dock, I concluded they were waiting for something to come in.

Indeed they were.

Accompanied by a large tug, a flat bed cargo ship came in with four clients destined for the marina.

On the front with an incredibly tall mast attached is a deep sea racing yacht, complete with extra long fins to elevate itself from the water, two wide bellied catamarans and an exceptionally posh (and probably fast) speed boat.

I hoped to spend a few, very contented hours watching the unstrapping then dismounting of these vessels. After all there's plenty of time and turn around on dock space as well as ship hire is in the thousands not hundreds.

It's only when I saw people standing on the racing yacht that I realised just how big it was.

It began to turn into a 'how many men to change a lightbulb' moment with six men going repeatedly to the bow of the boat and climbing inside only to emerge, stand and discuss, change something they'd just done and then disappear again.

So far the straps are off save one holding the nose in place, the body of the ship is attached to an on board crane, the sails have been positioned and tied down, but they are still wandering up and down the body only to disappear inside the nose area.

Meanwhile, life goes on; fishing boats chug past to go fishing, containers are loaded and unloaded ready for the next ship in and still we wait the lifting out of the yacht.

Finally! In what seemed a matter of seconds the boat lifted, twisted out and is now hanging next to the mother ship/taxi.

Wonder if all the boats are part of the same team (support vessels and the like)?

That's a question I'll never be able to find the answer to.

A docking furthest away

The dawn rose over the starboard bow, well, until the captain did a spin on the handbrake to reverse into position.

I caught this just before it disappeared behind the bridge.

I remember docking this far out on the Marella ship, Majesty, but the surrounding area was very different then.

I remember getting off next to a large container ship and walking under one of the large cranes. 

Instead of paying 6€ for a shuttle bus ride, I walked. It was just over 3 km and part of it was over rough terrain.

Now, that rough terrain has been replaced by roads, storage depots and service yards. The dock area has grown tremendously and looking out even now, I can see land reclamation for a new pier.

The entrance to the port has been tidied up further since I was here last year and shops and bars are moving ever closer. The marina and downtown area are becoming the new hub.

As the shuttle bus service with Saga is free I climbed aboard, after all, I could use that 3km more pleasantly in Arrecife itself.

Manrique influence is everywhere, even in the planting around the old fishing harbour.

Walking past the cafés and bars you're forever reminded of the debt owed to the sea. The boats here go out most evenings to catch by torchlight. Fresh fish is then sold the next morning.

At first glance, this photo appears to be nothing until you highlight it and realise a whole sea 'monster' sits with pigeons climbing in and out of the eye sockets. 

Yes, it's real. It was dug up locally when they were building something.

Obviously no longer sea worthy, the locals recycle their row boats.

The High Street gearing up for Christmas..... well the 12th day, the one they hold sacred. 

Managed to get some decent aloe gel and sunblock, replace my earrings which are in the sand on La Gomera somewhere and a packet of peanuts! How I've missed them!!

Popped into the first ever church on the island. Think it said it was built in the 1400s. Nice, simple altar. None of the pomp and ceremony of yesterday's one.

Spotted along some hidden back street (you know I love those) a painting which caught my eye..

 

Second slice of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife apple

Street so typical of the old town. In some of these the houses are painted vivid colours which really brighten the area as you walk along.

Such a nice frontage to this building. The ironworks is so nicely produced.

Love their road signs.

A sculpture from the main square by the harbour. The one below is a modern one depicting Atlas. It's a representation of each one of us shouldering the world of emotions contained within our hearts and minds. So clever.

Cloudy but warm: a typical Tenerife day

Clouds hung heavy threatening to rain but the temperature was already creeping over 24°C.

A nice day even though light levels were poor.

I waited until around 9:30am before I got off. It seemed easier to let those on trips leave first and then I could catch a shuttle into town and walk from there.

I wandered for about 3 hours coming across areas I'd failed to register before. The hearts show stopping points where I was getting my bearings.

A hidden back street. Much of the pain is peeling off but it carries a charm which captured my imagination.

I've been here before......but it was on a coach and we barely acknowledged it. A fabulous park, full of trees, cactii, exotics and of course, parakeets.

An unknown square with an amazing frontier to presumably a church. Seemed to be derelict.

Just a little bit of gold and silver! The ornate central altar in their main basilica.

Outside, a new take on Christmas lights - a complete fake blossom tree.

Another square filled with beautiful gardens and statues. Loved this one. They are all looking towards the one shown below.

The boss I presume?

Sun, cumulus and less sneezing

Another day at sea and another one avoiding too many public places. 

Although the norovirus is abating rather than growing I was surprised to read those who've recovered remain contagious for two weeks afterwards. 

It's going to be quite a restricted remainder of a cruise but hey ho.

Another misconception is this is common on cruise ships. Nope. It appears we are less likely (by a large margin) to catch it on board than we are in public spaces at home. Mm.

Anyway, slept long and hard so the cold is also in abaitment.

Feeling better I've been reading on the lido deck. It's windy and the clouds skud by but it's still about 24°C which is far better than at home.

Am looking forward to tomorrow and exploring Santa Cruz. Be good to get away for the day.

Tostada y café americano 😊 yes please

Norovirus, coughing and flying fish

Notorious numbers have only increased by 2 overnight so we could be seeing the back of it. Only concern is the two weeks window when those who had it still shed the virus.

The Library, Sauna, Hydrotherapy, craft classes (and I wouldn't mind betting bridge) have all been curtailed.

Some people just don't get it. 

🤷 

I don't get them. Do they really want it?

On a different note, the cold which is going around has, of course, found me. I'm determined to be through the worst of it by the time we reach Tenerife,  which is the day after tomorrow. 

I'm going to catch the shuttle bus and then explore the town. Me, plus Google maps, should make a good pair.

I watched the travel guide this morning and there appears to be a few gardens and possibly museums to explore, apart from some retail therapy in the supermarket. 

Lastly, on this uneventful sea day, I've been watching for flying fish.

Yep, today I've seen some.

Yesterday it was the massive frigit bird. That's another off my tick list.

Will I go down to Cape Verde again? No. It really is a third world experience and now I've done it, I'm satisfied with the Mediterranean thank you.

Sun, white sands and gentle waves

Feeling improved, I took the shuttle into the centre of Mindelo and had a wander.

The artifacts express the horrendous history of this place, in fact all of the islands really.

Slavery.

What a perfect place to bring 'seasoned' slaves for sale for the rest of the slave trading world.

It does make me feel ashamed of my ancestors. Let's face it, few wouldn't have been involved somehow. 

The streets here are very Portuguese reflecting their colonial history, but this island is far wealthier than the previous one we stopped at.

Tourism is taking off and with beaches like the one I played upon today, it's no wonder this is now becoming a second mecca after Sal.

We cruised past many yatchs on their way down here. The bay is already filling up, so there is money to be made from the winter migration.

One thing did make me grin as I walked past and that were the triangular buildings in the marina entrance. Reminiscent of the sauna and cold fjord dipping favoured in northern Norway, I suspect these too house saunas, showers et al.