July 26 Cadiz

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July 26
What is the thing to do if you are staying in a hotel with a sidewalk cafe, that is a 5 minute walk from a great beach? Get ready to go to the beach first thing when you get up, stop at the cafe for a cafe con leche and a croissant and head straight to the beach. So that's what we did this morning. There were lots of fun waves to bob on but not too rough to be intimidating to me (Linda). Once I was tired we went for a walk on the packed sand and let the water lap around our ankles and then Jim went back to play in the waves while I headed for the beach bar with my book. Jim joined me later and we had a remarkably reasonably priced glass of ice cold beer (1.50 Euro). All the bartenders turn the glass upside down over a thing that sprays the inside with ice cold water before they fill it with beer. Seems to work as the beer is always really cold.

After our siesta we took the number one bus downtown to walk around and have lunch. The buses are air conditioned so that is a plus but they do have lime green seats so are reminiscent of the 70's. As it was Sunday even the “lively shopping” streets and the “areas of interest to tourists” were extremely quiet. There were some places open for eating but not much else so it was kind of eerie.

After a second rest we went to the beach for the second time. I didn't swim as I wanted to take some pictures. Well we found where everyone was on Sunday. And boy does it take a lot of stuff for a day at the beach The bare minimum includes beach chairs, an umbrella, a cooler for drinks, toys for the kids and cards for the adults to play.

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Photos

Equipment for the beach
Equipment for the beach
The beach chairs look comfortable - even though they have short legs they have tall backs. The beach umbrellas come in handy carrying cases and many children have their own plastic backpacks for their sand toys.

Beach Bar
The bar on the beach is very comfortable and the beer is reasonably priced. They also serve food but the local places near our hotel are cheaper and the food is great so why mess with a good thing? So we have a beer come back to the hotel for a shower to rinse off the salt water and have a rest and then have lunch on the street outside our hotel before carrying on with our day

Bar beside our hotel
This is one of the two places we go to eat beside our hotel. You can't really see the tables as there are big planters between the tables and the street. This picture was taken from across the street where we catch the # 1 bus. One place is closed on Sunday and the other is closed on Monday so it worked out well for us.

Our Hotel
This is our hotel taken from across the street. We are on the second floor and face the street but do not have a balcony. Our window opens which is good as the air conditioining seems to go off in the middle of the night.

The # 1 bus
Actually all the buses are the same air conditioned, very modern, and very clean, with very green seats. .98 Euro a trip about $1.50 Canadian. They also come frequently and so we are very impressed