Cadiz; Sunday, 19 March, 2017

Breakfast completed I headed out to pick up the morning tour bus, just to lap up some more sun whilst it was still early (and to make use of the quite expensive ticket.) I did a full circuit from the Cathedral and then on one further stop to La Caleta beach where I got off to go for a wander.

I walked down onto the beach and had a bit of a look around before heading over to one of the two castles that protect the only bit of beach in the old town, and built after the English ransacked the city in the 17th Century, Castillo de Santa Catalina. I had a long look around inside the castle taking in the views of the beach and calm bay.

The opposite side of the beach is the Castillo de San Sebastián. When I visited Cadiz from Jerez in 2011 this was still a military site and out of bounds to tourists – all you could do was walk down the causeway to the first small fort. Since 2012 the site has been de-militarised and a refurbishment in well underway. The first small fort is still very dilapidated, but the larger fort immediately behind it is in much better repair, albeit just an empty shell with the main lighthouse for the bay located in the centre of it.

It was a pleasant walk down the 750m or so causeway from La Caleta to the fort and well worth it for the stunning views back over the city and the whole sweep of the isthmus. I took quite a few photos from the fort before heading back down the causeway to the main road.

I picked up one of the city buses and caught it along the coast to the main beach area, about 4KM from La Caleta and then, having taken off my shoes and socks, went for a nice long walk/paddle in the sea all the way back to where the city walls meet the sea near Puertas de Tierra. At this point the beach stops and its rocks so I took the path back up to the main road and came upon a very pleasant looking restaurant with some seats in the sun so I stopped for a very late lunch or slightly early dinner in the late afternoon sun.

By the time I’d finished lunch it was starting to get quite late and by the time I walked the final kilometre or so back to the Cathedral and the hotel it was already heading towards 7pm so I headed up into my hotel to freshen up (and to wash the last of the sand off of my feet).

Once it was dark I headed back out for a wander through the old town down to La Caleta to take some pictures of the beach and the forts in the dark – though I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t appear to be that floodlit.

Having taken a final few photos I wandered back towards the hotel, stopping off for a quick snack and a small beer in a tapas bar near the market.