Andalusia 2020

Wednesday4November

After Gibraltar and Tarifa, here we are on the Atlantic side, in the famous city of Cadiz.

The "new" Cathedral according to its official name. Not so new since it replaced the old one burned in 1596.

Just next door, the Santiago Apostol chapel.

The city is spread over a long and narrow island 7 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide, connected to the mainland by a road lined with beaches. We are at the very north, on the oldest part of the island. The newer part is dominated by the Tavira 2 communication tower also called El Pirulí.

Failing to visit the cathedral forbidden to visitors, we enjoy the Santiago Apostol church.

Stroll through the narrow streets of old Cadiz

We go around the little curiosity of the neighborhood waiting for it to open. This curiosity is not the Tertulia as indicated by this Art Deco advertisement for a restaurant but the "Cámara Oscura". This building (the Tavira tower), thanks to a periscope perched on its roof terrace, allows you to discover the city in a very original way...

And hop. As indicated by this drawing hung in the building housing the Cámara Oscura, we will be able to observe the city, not like Captain Haddock, but thanks to an unexpected system which, by a set of mirrors will make the image of the city reflect on a horizontal screen in the shape of a vault...  

The stairs to access the dark room. And the periscope on the roof of the building.

Photos inside being prohibited, I found one on the internet. Here is what the image reflected by the periscope mirrors looks like. The image is really what the periscope "sees" and therefore moving. It is really curious to see.

And here is the city seen directly from the roof terrace.

The Tavira tower is not the only lookout tower in the city. In the 18th century, the port city is very busy and shipowners and other merchants need to see ships arriving from afar. The Tavira tower is the highest in the city at 45 meters high.

Observation towers are also competed by neighboring bell towers. Here the San Antonio church on the left and San Lorenzo Mártir on the right.

Compass rose with the cathedral in the background.

The cathedral completed in 1260 was built over 116 years.

The "Constitution of 1812" bridge will be built much faster than the cathedral in 8 years, between 2007 and 2015. It connects Cadiz to the mainland in a little over 3 kilometers and reaches a height of 185 meters. It is the highest and longest bridge in Spain.

The Tavira tower seen from below.

At the very end of the island, an arm of sand joins the fortified castle of San Sebastián.

Opposite, another castle, that of Santa Catalina.

An all-metal lighthouse sits in the middle of the courtyard of San Sebastián castle.

From the Tavira tower, a small forest emerged from the roof terraces... It was not a forest but two huge ficus trees!   The two mascot trees of the city are Ficus macrocarpa and were planted in 1909!

This botanical park was designed in 1892.

The narrow streets remind me of the streets of Syracuse in Sicily.  

San Francisco convent.

Argüelles Square

The statue of Francisco de Miranda

"Francisco de Miranda, born March 28, 1750 in Caracas (Venezuela) and died July 14, 1816 in San Fernando (province of Cadiz) (Spain), is a Venezuelan military and statesman, hero of his country's independence. He was appointed generalissimo and absolute dictator of the First Venezuelan Republic, on April 25, 1812, until his dismissal on July 31, 1812. He is one of the generals of the French Revolution, and as such, he is one of the few foreigners and the only Latin American whose name is engraved on the Arc de Triomphe on Place de l'Étoile in Paris. Handed over by Simón Bolívar to the Spanish, he was transferred to Cadiz at the end of 1813 and imprisoned in chains at the La Carraca citadel where he died of fever a few months later. © Wikipedia

At the monument of the Constitution of 1812, with the pretty flowers of a bottle tree (Ceiba speciosa).

And hop, Cadiz was only a stop in the day. We hit the road again to reach Seville but before getting there, we make a quick detour to the small white village of Arcos de la Frontera.

The Sun begins its slow descent, so we will have to come back to enjoy the dazzling white of the houses...  

And here we are in one of the most famous cities in Andalusia, we can even say in Europe: Seville! We will stay 3 nights and 2 full days to visit the must-sees of the city.