Day Trip to El Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz

Tuesday, May 30, 2017--Jerez-Puerto de Santa Maria-Cadiz-Jerez

Last night after having a late happy hour, we went walking around the city again.  We passed the local Alcazar, the Cathedral (which we saw inside briefly before being told it was closing), the Tio Pepe Bodega (the warehouse of one of the sherry makers) before going back to the center of town to explore Calle Larga (the main street for outdoor dining), Calle Porvera (a beautiful street that is an extension of Larga and is lined with tall Jacaranda trees with purple blossoms), Plaza de la Asuncion, and Plaza de la Yerba (a square that is actually more lively with local people than Calle Larga).  When we returned, we had a nightcap of our sherry and went to bed early for a long day today of exploring the other area towns.
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We were up at 7:20 to get ready for a day of sightseeing.  Our final destination was Cadiz, but the guidebook had said it is more scenic to approach Cadiz on the ferry from El Puerto de Santa Maria (which proved to be true). So we took a 9-minute train trip to El Puerto de Santa Maria.  We walked through it, but didn't have enough time to see as much of it as I would have liked, because our train was a bit late in departing, had to stop to wait for another train on the way, and gave us only about 30 minutes to get to the ferry and take it.  (Ferries run only every hour, so we knew we needed to catch that one.)

There was a large group of school kids waiting to take the ferry when we arrived along with many tourists like us.  It is a catamaran.  Wes and I were among the first few passengers to board, so we got a side seat in the shaded area of the upper deck.  All the children were herded below by their teachers.  The trip was slow for about 15 minutes until we got beyond the jetties.  When we hit the open Atlantic Ocean, the boat really started to bounce.  It was fun to hear the children from below whooping, screeching, etc., as we bounced up and down!  For them, it must have been like a carnival ride.

The view of Cadiz as we approached was really great, and we had chosen the right side for me to be able to take photos.  Off the boat, we went to the nearby tourist office for a map on which the lady suggested a route for a one-day exploration of the city.

We saw a lot of Cadiz--the town hall and Barrio del Populo (the old quarter behind it), the outside of the cathedral (since we are burned out on tours of cathedrals), Campania Street and Columela Street (narrow, popular shopping streets), Mercado Central (where we bought a tuna empanada [spicy mixture that included eggplant] and a chocolate cream roll pastry), Castillo de San Sebastian and Castillo de Santa Catalina (two old fortresses with the latter one having two very nice art exhibitions), Balneario de la Palma (a beach between the two fortresses), Parque Genoves (a botanical garden), Gran Teatro Falla (the large old theater for opera and ballet), Tavira Tower (which is the highest point in the city, but we didn't climb it), Ancha Street (lined with grand buildings), Plaza San Antonio (also with grand buildings), and Rosario Street (another shopping and eating street). 

The train ride back was rather boring since it takes a long u-shaped route around the bay, so it is good we took the ferry in the morning.  We arrived back at our apartment around 18:00.  We had left it at 9:00 in the morning.  We were tired.  But tomorrow is another day for an outing starting about the same time in the morning but lasting later into the evening.