The coast of Cadiz province has been nick-named ‘Cadizfornia’. Little suprise really when one considers the bright ocean light; the broad unspoilt beaches; and the potential to enjoy a great road-trip in a relaxed and laid-back region.
Here are a few highlights of our recent road-trip from my instagram gallery…
Beachlife – Cadizfornia
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Heading west, past Gibraltar, one of the first major beaches we reached was Playa de Los Lances – it’s a favourite with those learning to kite board & surf. It’s a stunning view, with the backdrop of the mountains of North Africa.
This is the coast one dreams of – unspoilt beaches
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Flower Power
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Beyond the iconic beaches, once passes through the countryside on the way up to Vejer de la Frontera – in early summer is a mass of sunflowers.
Atlantic Resort
On this trip, we ventured to Sancti Petri; taking in the maritime street art by artist Antoni Gabarre @a_gabarre
This was once a small fishing community but is now a resort community, on a coast renowned for its seasonal tuna.
Sancti Petri is an established residential area amongst Atlantic pines, including upscale vacation resorts bordering some of the finest beaches in Andalucia. It’s got plenty of local Spanish flavour as it’s a popular destination for domestic tourism
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Cadiz Capital
Cadiz is the regional capital, found on Andalucía’s Atlantic coast. Here you can see the the spires and glittering dome of the city’s Santa Cruz de Cádiz cathedral built during the city’s golden age from wealth created by trading with the Americas. Cádiz ‘casco antiguo’ old town has a very Latin feel architecturally – reminding one of Cartagena de Indias; Havana or old town Panama City – it’s exported the Spanish style to these ports.
The Spanish navy is based nearby as is a US naval base.
The city is much cleaner than I remember it. In modern times it’s been one of the poorest parts of Europe; contrasting with when it was once the wealthiest. Yet Cádiz is clearly on the up.
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Time for Tapas
Jerez is the capital of sherry, so expect to enjoy some interesting wines. I particularly like fino. It goes so well with the tapas here. Since we’ve reached Sanlúcar de Barrameda, then the fino to have is Manzanilla – perfect to cut through the fat of the tasty Tortillitas de camarones. We also ordered Mediterranean mackerel with potato salad, and cured ham – that’s lunch, Cádiz-style. This port city at the mouth of the River Guadalquivir is also famous for its prawns – some of the best in Europe.
This town made its name with trade and making the specific type of fino sherry called Manzanilla – a very light sherry wine, unique to Sanlúcar, and reflects the more humid conditions of the wineries by the Atlantic and Guadalquivir estuary.
Personally I think Manzanilla could be one of the potential saviours of the sherry sector. It’s light, versatile, refreshing and I think can be marketed as a modern drink. (Try #Xixarito by @bodegasbaron its delicious)
However, despite a few notable innovators in the Sherry sector, it’s still a classic business-school case study of an industry doing the same thing (despite falling sales) and expecting different, better results. This means the town is very poor; you notice it everywhere. But it has a real charm, mainly for the lively, friendly Cadiz people, the romantically crumbling old town and barrio alto, and the tasty food.
Tortillitas de camarones are a favourite – crisply prawn fritters made with tiny shrimp from the area which are cooked and eaten in their shells. ‘Tortillitas’ means little fritters – but here @barbianabar they are huge!
It was great to see this Bar Barbiana so busy! Full of locals and domestic tourists (practically no foreigners today). Everyone enjoying local produce.
(In Sanlucar they still serve their sherry wines in unfashionable, traditional glasses. I wish bars would get rid these, as it makes people think sherry is old fashioned and strange – something you need a special glass for, which you don’t…).
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We visited a no-frills locals bar, Los Aparceros, in Sanlúcar’s barrio alta.
With the drink, (served directly from a small wooden cask) comes a free tapa (second photo) called ‘ajo campero’ – country-style garlic. It’s tomato, garlic and bread mixed and served warm.
This is a bar where working people pop in for a quick refreshing glass of sherry and go.
Our drinks, tapa, cheese and salted almonds came to 4 euros – that’s the ‘real Spain’ as they say!
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No road-trip photo album is complete without a bridge crossing 😉 This is the new 3km long Constitution bridge, which connects the city island of Cádiz with the mainland of Spain.
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Hispanic History
For the first time we visited the fort or Santa Catalina castle in Cadiz. This view of a fortified turret – like many across Iberia and the ports of South America – could be Palma; Cartagena; or Havana.
Cádiz is at the very epicentre of Spain’s maritime history. It was from this coast that Spanish explorers ‘discovered’ the Americas for Europeans; and it was from here that Spain created one of the world’s greatest trading routes, with the Americas. Scroll through the images to see more.
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Beautiful Bornos
Although much of the territory we covered on this summer road trip was familiar, on the way back we visited the town of Bornos. Here is an image of the square, complete with white storks nesting in the church tower!
Even after all these years travelling around Andalucia I still discover new places, like this charming Cádiz village overlooking an inland lake.
White Storks used to be migratory birds in Spain but since becoming protected, thousands have made Cádiz province their home and you see their huge nests on pylons, and church steeples.
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The town is chockful of historic buildings, in various states of romantic decay.
Scroll thrugh these images of the Los Ribera Palace in Bornos, with renaissance style gardens designed by Italian Benvenuto Tortello.
It’s a romantic place – crumbling grandeur, with plants looking wild; this is how heritage is done in rural Andalucia.
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