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.