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In the morning we explored the mideval quarter of Cádiz and the Cathedral before heading to Jerez, another small town slightly inland from Cádiz. We met a guy in our hostel who is living in Cádiz and working as a tour guide. He and one of his friends (an ERASMUS student from Ceuta, Spain – the part of Spain that is in Morocco) were planning on going to the feria in Jerez and invited us to go along. We had heard of the festival and were considering going anyway, so we decided to join them. Word of advice to future travelers: go to every single festival that is happening while you are traveling. It is a great way to actually meet locals and see the local culture that is not just touristy. I’m sure there were some other tourists there, but the vast majority of the people were locals from all around the region just enjoying the festival. Jerez is famous for its horses and the feria revolved around horses and Sevillana, a type of dance similar to flamenco, but not quite as angry and a little more social. Traditionally, all the women spend the whole year making their Sevillana costumes
(similar to the flamenco dresses) and then they show them off during this festival. I’m sure today many of them buy the dresses, but there are still a lot that are handmade as well. For the dancing part there is singing, sometimes guitar, and then a drum-sort of instrument that is essentially just a box with guitar strings attached inside that vibrate when you hit it. One of the guys we were with knew how to play it and had brought one along, so he instigated many spontaneous outbreaks of dancing throughout the festival. The layout of the festival was grid-like, with dirt streets filled with horses and carriages, bordered by restaurants and bars with huge dance floors. Everybody was dancing Sevillana, both in the streets and on the dance floors, and all the women were wandering around with their dresses on. There was also a park off to the side where tons of young people were hanging out when they wanted a break from the actual festival. We ate lots of jamon iberico – essentially really thinly sliced smoked ham, almost like bacon except smoked instead of fried (delicious!) and sampled rebujito, the traditional drink of the festival. This
whole day was one of the neatest experiences of the whole trip so far and we got in lots of good Spanish practice as an added bonus! 😊
The next morning we finished wandering around Cádiz, saw the beach and castles, and had delicious paella in the main square (not quite as good as the famous Doug Eby variety) before packing up and moving down the coast to Tarifa. Tarifa is as far south as you can go on the European continent and we could see the mountains of Morocco across the Strait of Gibralter. In the evening we wandered around the Old Town and on a small rocky beach and ate some delicious fresh fish. Saturday we rented mountain bikes and went up into the hills behind the town and on the boardwalk along the beach. Lots of cows, wind turbines, and great views. We had a picnic lunch looking out over the coast and off-roaded it on a little dirt path through some cow pastures. Then after exploring the rest of the old town we went down to the beach for a gorgeous sunset. The big thing to do in Tarifa is windsurfing and we definitely understand
why! The wind is incessant and incredibly powerful. And when I say powerful I mean powerful! One time I stopped biking to let a car go past and the wind literally blew me sideways off my bike. It made the whole biking experience about 10 times harder than it should have been, but was also nice because it kept it from being too hot. Tarifa (and this whole region) is really big on using the wind for power. There are turbines everywhere! We also saw some fields of solar panels on the bus ride in. Yay for alternative energy sources!
Every single town that we’ve been to has been amazing! I am absolutely in love with Spain and it is definitely up towards the top of my list of favorite countries. It has the old historical charm that so much of Europe has, but also the distinctive colorful culture that some countries lack, mixed with natural beauty, very friendly people, and a language that I love. This whole trip so far has been wonderful beyond words. And it helps that I have the greatest travel buddy ever 😊
And HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO THE BEST
MOM IN THE WORLD! WE LOVE YOU!
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